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Linking Items with Relations

Connect related tasks, epics, and sub-tasks to make dependencies and hierarchies visible across your boards.

Relations let you link tasks together to show how they’re connected — parent/child hierarchies, blocking dependencies, or simply related work.

Sub-Items (Parent-Child)

Every item can have sub-items — and every sub-item can have sub-items of its own, as deep as you need. Use them for breaking a large task into smaller steps.

Creating a sub-item

In Table view:

  1. Open the row’s … menu and choose Add subtask, or click the quick-add button next to the row.
  2. Type the sub-item title and press Enter.

This works on top-level items and on sub-items alike. If the parent row is collapsed, it expands automatically so you see the new row.

From the item detail panel:

  1. Open a task.
  2. Open the Dependencies tab (shown as an icon — hover it for the tooltip).
  3. In the Sub-items section, click Add sub-item, type the title, and press Enter.

Sub-items appear under the parent in Table view (collapsed by default — click the expand arrow to see them). A sub-item’s row menu offers the same actions as a normal row: pin, archive, copy ID, and delete. In My Tasks, your sub-items are nested under their parent in a collapsible tree, even when the parent isn’t assigned to you.

Adding sub-items to an existing parent

Sub-items are always created from the parent. Dragging a row in Table view only reorders items — it doesn’t nest one item under another, and an existing item’s parent can’t be changed from the detail panel.

A cross-board Relation field is on the roadmap. Until it ships, use a URL custom field to reference related items:

  1. Add a field: + Add Field → URL → name it “Related Task” or “Blocks”.
  2. Paste the link to the related task in that field.
  3. Click the link to jump directly to it.

Blocking / Blocked-By Dependencies

TskVlo supports dependency relationships between items. Mark Task B as “blocked by” Task A to make the dependency explicit.

Adding a Dependency

  1. Open a task.
  2. Scroll to the Dependencies section in the detail panel.
  3. Click + Add Dependency.
  4. Search for and select the blocking task.

The blocked item shows a warning badge when its blocker is not yet complete.

Using Dependencies in Automation

Automation conditions can check dependency state:

  • Has blocked dependency — fire only if the item has an incomplete blocker
  • Has no blocked dependency — fire only if all blockers are resolved

Tips

  • Sub-items inherit the board’s custom fields — track time, status, and assignees on each sub-item independently.
  • Use sub-items for checklists on complex deliverables (e.g., a “Launch Feature” task with sub-items for design, development, QA, release).
  • Nest as deep as the work requires, but keep it readable — two or three levels are usually enough for a checklist that stays easy to scan.
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