Subscriptions

Subscriptions keeps a bb thread in step with the GitHub pull requests and Linear issues it cares about. You follow an item once, and the plugin checks it on a schedule and posts a short update to the thread whenever something you track changes.

What you get

• Per-thread subscriptions to GitHub pull requests and Linear issues.
• A count in the thread heading that shows how many items you follow, with a hover that lists each item and its current state.
• Update messages that name the change, such as a state transition or a new field value, and link straight back to the item.
• Bulk subscribe and unsubscribe, persistent subscriptions across restarts, retry backoff on failed checks, and paused checks for archived threads.

How it works

Ask the agent to follow an item, for example "subscribe linear ENG-123", or run bb subscriptions sub github owner/repo#123. The plugin compares state on an interval you set and sends a message to the subscribing thread when it sees a change. An idle agent is woken so it can act on the update.

When several changes arrive close together, they are coalesced into one message. If a thread is busy and already has a queued message waiting, later changes rewrite that message in place instead of stacking up, so a fast-moving item never floods the queue with outdated notes.

Requirements

GitHub reads use the gh CLI already authenticated on the bb server. Linear reads use one personal API key, which needs only the Read permission. There is no separate management panel; you manage everything through the agent or the bb subscriptions command.