Orbit

Highly experimental linear backend clone written entirely by GPT-5.4 and now GPT-5.5.

Linear-compatible backend foundation.

Current stack:

• Nix flakes
• Phoenix
• Absinthe GraphQL
• Ecto + Postgres
• Oban

Current runtime slice:

• /up health endpoint
• /graphql endpoint
• /oauth/token and /oauth/revoke token endpoints
• API-key auth via Authorization header
• bearer auth via minted access tokens
• viewer, teams, projects, issues, webhooks queries
• issueCreate, issueUpdate, webhookCreate mutations
• issueCreated, issueUpdated subscriptions
• webhook delivery job + delivery history

Demo app:

• demos/linearlite is a Typescript/TanStack Start SSR frontend adapted from ElectricSQL's example
• uses Orbit GraphQL directly for issues, projects, cycles, comments, notifications
• uses /socket for live inbox updates when subscriptions are available

Boot

Preferred:

nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' develop
scripts/bootstrap.sh
mix phx.server

Without entering the shell manually:

nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' develop -c scripts/bootstrap.sh
nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' develop -c mix phx.server

Default local database:

• host: 127.0.0.1
• port: 55432
• user: postgres
• password: postgres

Seeded Dev Auth

priv/repo/seeds.exs creates:

• user: zero@orbit.local
• API key: orbit_dev_key
• teammate: teammate@orbit.local
• teammate API key: orbit_teammate_key
• observer: observer@orbit.local
• observer API key: orbit_observer_key
• OAuth client id: orbit_dev_client
• OAuth client secret: orbit_dev_secret

Use it like:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4000/graphql \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -H 'authorization: orbit_dev_key' \
  -d '{"query":"{ viewer { id name email } }"}'

Storage config:

• default: filesystem
• S3-compatible adapters supported via ORBIT_STORAGE_PROVIDER=tigris|r2|aws|minio
• S3 provider requests are now signed/performed through official aws-elixir primitives plus hackney
• supporting env vars: ORBIT_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY_ID, ORBIT_STORAGE_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, ORBIT_STORAGE_BUCKET, ORBIT_STORAGE_ENDPOINT, ORBIT_STORAGE_REGION, ORBIT_UPLOAD_ROOT

Token exchange example:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4000/oauth/token \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "grant_type":"api_key",
    "client_id":"orbit_dev_client",
    "client_secret":"orbit_dev_secret",
    "api_key":"orbit_dev_key"
  }'

Example Mutation

mutation CreateIssue($input: IssueCreateInput!) {
  issueCreate(input: $input) {
    success
    issue {
      id
      identifier
      title
    }
  }
}

Variables:

{
  "input": {
    "title": "Ship Orbit",
    "description": "Make Linear clients happy",
    "teamId": "TEAM_ID",
    "projectId": "PROJECT_ID",
    "priority": 1
  }
}

Status

This is not full Linear parity yet.

It is the working backend foundation:

• schema/runtime shell in place
• local reproducible dev env in place
• database boot/migrations in place
• GraphQL vertical slice in place
• reactive hooks/subscriptions/webhook jobs in place

Next work is breadth:

• larger schema coverage
• richer filtering/pagination
• more webhook payload parity
• SDK/client compatibility testing against real Linear consumers