Why we committed to a zero-bugs policy

What Is the Zero-Bugs Policy?

Linear’s engineering team adopted a bold stance: no bug goes unresolved. Every bug is either fixed immediately or consciously marked as “won’t fix.” There’s no backlog, no deferral, no “someday.”

⏱️ How It Works

• SLAs:

  • High-priority bugs → fixed within 48 hours

  • Low-priority bugs → fixed within 7 days

• Morning Ritual: Engineers start their day by checking for assigned bugs and fixing them before anything else.

• No Backlog: Bugs aren’t stored—they’re either resolved or rejected.

🧹 How They Started

• Cleared 175 existing bugs in a 3-week sprint.

• Paused all feature development to reset the slate.

• Instituted rotating triage and a dashboard to track bug load and reassign when needed.

✨ Why It Matters

• Customer Delight: Users often report bugs and see them fixed the same day.

• Trust & Advocacy: Fast fixes turn frustrated users into loyal fans.

• Engineering Culture: Developers write cleaner code knowing they’ll have to fix any bugs they introduce.

• Hiring Signal: New engineers know quality is a core value.

📊 Impact

• Over 2,000 bugs fixed last year.

• More than 700 resolved in the last three months alone.

Linear’s approach flips the conventional wisdom: instead of letting bugs pile up, they treat each one as an opportunity to improve the product and build trust. It’s not just a workflow—it’s a philosophy