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Task dependencies let you define execution order — a task won’t start until all its parent tasks are complete. Claude Board supports full DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) dependencies: a task can depend on multiple parents, and multiple tasks can depend on the same parent.

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Adding Dependencies

1

Open task modal

Click edit on an existing task, or create a new task.
2

Expand Options

Click the Options section to reveal the dependency editor.
3

Search and add

Click Add dependency to open the search panel. Type to filter tasks by title or task key. Click a task to add it as a parent dependency.

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Dependency Types

RelationshipDisplayMeaning
Waits forBlue card with arrowThis task depends on the parent — it won’t start until the parent reaches done or testing
BlocksGray cardThis task is a dependency of another task (read-only, shown for awareness)

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Cycle Detection

Claude Board prevents circular dependencies. If adding a dependency would create a cycle (A → B → C → A), the operation is rejected with a red warning:
“Adding this dependency would create a cycle”
The backend uses DFS (Depth-First Search) to trace the ancestor chain before allowing any new edge.

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Dependency Patterns

Sequential execution: A → B → C → D. Each task starts only after the previous one completes.

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Queue Integration

When auto-queue is enabled, dependencies are enforced automatically:
  1. A backlog task is only eligible to start if all parent dependencies have status done or testing
  2. When a task completes, the queue immediately checks all its children — if their other parents are also complete, they start automatically
  3. This creates a cascade effect: completing one task can trigger a chain of dependent tasks
Dependencies override queue position. Even if a task has position #1, it won’t start until all parents are complete.

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Planning Mode Integration

When using Planning Mode, Claude can generate dependency relationships between proposed tasks. Approved plans create tasks with proper DAG structure, ready for wave-based execution.

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API

Dependencies are managed through the Tauri IPC API:
  • addDependency(taskId, dependsOnId) — Add a parent dependency
  • removeDependency(taskId, dependsOnId) — Remove a dependency
  • getTaskDependencies(taskId) — Get parents and children
  • getDependencyGraph(projectId) — Get full graph with edges and waves
  • getExecutionWaves(projectId) — Get wave groupings