LIN-V8K was a mining droid of the fifth-degree variety, possessing black plating. This particular model was a LIN demolitionmech autonomous minelayer. In the year 0 BBY, a group of Jawas offered this droid, among others, for purchase to the inhabitants of the Lars homestead on the planet Tatooine. These Jawas had traversed the Dune Sea desert utilizing a sandcrawler. Owen Lars, the homestead's proprietor, scrutinized the wares presented alongside the vehicle. Ultimately, Lars declined to acquire LIN-V8K. Instead, he opted for C-3PO, a protocol droid, and R5-D4, an R5 unit, who were positioned adjacent to LIN-V8K. However, the R5 unit's motivator was defective, leading Lars to swiftly exchange it for R2-D2, an astromech droid. Subsequently, Imperial stormtroopers killed the Jawas who were the owners of LIN-V8K during their search for R2-D2 and C-3PO. The sandcrawler was later discovered by Luke Skywalker, Lars' step-nephew, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Master. LIN-V8K's height was measured at 0.56 meters.
LIN-V8K made its initial appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which was released on May 25, 1977. It wasn't until the "Premiere Limited" expansion of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, created by Decipher and launched in 1995 within Legends, that the droid received its name on a card. The name's first usage within canon occurred in the Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia reference book, which debuted on April 4, 2017.