# Linear open-only pilot import before archive drag

> Pilot the migration with a few teams and open issues first before dragging years of stale backlog into the evaluation workspace.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/linear-open-only-pilot-import-before-archive-drag/
- Source: [linear.app](https://linear.app/docs/import-issues)
- GrowthDex source hub: [Linear Docs: Importer](/sources/linear-docs-importer-linear-app/)
- Last checked: 2026-06-08T12:08:13.000Z
- Rarity: rare
- Budget: low
- Channels: Migration, Onboarding, Developer Tools
- Stages: switcher intent, activation, migration, workspace setup


## Why this can grow

A switch stalls when the first demo workspace already feels bloated, historical, and hard to parse. Linear's importer docs are blunt about that tradeoff: some teams use the move as a clean break, some keep a fuller history, and evaluators often start by importing only a few teams. Pair that with the option to bring only open issues while sending old work to the archive, and the trial starts to feel like current work instead of a museum of the old system.

## Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. My bias is to treat this as a small market test first. Make the audience narrow, make the promise concrete, and let the first real response decide whether it deserves more work. For activation, the useful question is not whether users liked the page. It is whether they got to the first meaningful win faster. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

## Action plan

1. Define one narrow startup segment where linear open-only pilot import before archive drag can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Migration and Onboarding channel.
3. Use the evidence from linear.app to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

## Source-backed example

Linear recommends considering whether old data needs to live in the new workspace at all, suggests piloting with just a few teams during evaluation, and lets import assistants bring only open issues or also place closed and stale work into the archive.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [Linear top-level team import before sub-team polish](/growth-ideas/linear-top-level-team-import-before-subteam-polish/) - same source, 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [Reviewable import assistant with bulk reimport safety](/growth-ideas/reviewable-import-assistant-with-bulk-reimport-safety/) - same source, 1 shared channel, 2 shared stages
- [Source-specific import assistant for switchers](/growth-ideas/source-specific-import-assistant-for-switchers/) - same source, 3 shared stages
- [Clean-break import pilot for switchers](/growth-ideas/clean-break-import-pilot-for-switchers/) - same source, 1 shared channel, 1 shared stage

## Read GrowthDex essays

Browse the plain-English essay index at [GrowthDex Blog](/blog/).

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The switch should look like current work before the cutover](/blog/the-switch-should-look-like-current-work-before-the-cutover/) - migration, project operations, developer tools

## Advisory

If you want help turning this into a working growth system, Ian Goh offers advisory at https://iangoh.com/advisory.