# Sub-issues and relations

Breaking work down, and the four typed links between issues — blocks, blocked by, relates to, duplicate of.

Status: Available

Documentation updated: 2026-09-23

Source: https://docs.orneos.com/docs/sub-issues-and-relations

Two different mechanisms, often confused. **Sub-issues** express containment. **Relations** express dependency or similarity between issues that are otherwise independent.

## Sub-issues

An issue can have a parent. The child appears on the parent's page, and the parent shows progress across its children.

Use it when the child is genuinely part of doing the parent — the parent is not finished until the children are. A parent issue with five sub-issues is one deliverable broken into steps.

Sub-issues are ordinary issues: they have their own status, assignee, labels, dates and [Intent](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/intent), and they appear in lists and filters on their own account.

**Depth is not a feature**

A tree three levels deep is usually a [project](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/projects) that has not been recognised as one. If the parent has its own start and end date and you would report on it, make it a project and let its issues be flat.

## Epic progress

Set an issue's type to **Epic** to see its child-issue progress chart. It shows burnup and progress estimates derived from the child work. Estimates describe the recorded work; they are not a delivery guarantee.

## Relations

Relations link two issues that are not parent and child. There are four types:

| Relation | Meaning | Inverse |
|---|---|---|
| **Blocks** | This issue must be done before the other can proceed. | Blocked by |
| **Blocked by** | The other must be done first. | Blocks |
| **Relates to** | Relevant to each other. No ordering implied. | Relates to |
| **Duplicate of** | Same work, recorded twice. | Duplicate of |

Blocks and blocked by are two views of one link — record it from either end and both issues show it.

### Blocked by is the one that earns its keep

It is the only relation that changes what you should work on. An issue that is blocked by something open is not startable, and a triage list that ignores that produces plans that cannot happen.

The suggested "Blocked" [saved view](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/filters-and-saved-views) uses a team-maintained label. It does not automatically evaluate these relations; inspect linked blockers before starting work.

### Duplicate of does not merge

Marking a duplicate records the relationship. It does not merge the two issues, move comments, or close either one. Close the duplicate yourself, deliberately, so the discussion on it is not silently orphaned.

## Relations and the context bundle

Relations are part of an issue's context. When a reviewer is trying to work out whether a change is complete, "this was blocked by ENG-51, which is still open" is exactly the kind of fact that should not have to be remembered.

See [Context bundles](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/context-bundles).

## Related

- [Issues](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/issues)
- [Projects](https://docs.orneos.com/docs/projects) — when a breakdown has outgrown sub-issues.