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Issue relations let you describe dependencies between coding tasks so the agent worker executes them in the right order. When one issue blocks another, Gentic automatically holds the blocked issue in the queue until its dependency is completed or cancelled — no manual coordination required.

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What issue relations are

A relation connects two issues with a directional dependency: issue A blocks issue B. The agent worker respects this constraint at the moment it polls for work. If issue B is in the Todo queue but it is blocked by issue A, the worker skips issue B and moves on. Once issue A reaches a completed or cancelled state, issue B becomes eligible and the worker picks it up on the next poll cycle. This is useful any time one piece of work must land before another can safely begin — for example, a database migration that must run before the API layer that depends on the new schema, or a shared utility module that must exist before the features that import it.
Break large features into multiple focused issues and use blocking relations to sequence them. Smaller issues give the agent a tighter scope, produce cleaner pull requests, and are easier to review. A chain of three well-scoped issues almost always produces better results than one monolithic issue.

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How blocking works

The enforcement happens at the worker level, not the UI level. The Gentic API filters out issues that have unresolved blockers when it responds to the worker’s poll. This means:
  • You can move a blocked issue to Todo at any time — it simply will not be executed until the blocker clears.
  • The home screen shows a Blocked badge on any issue that has an unresolved blocker, so you can see the dependency state at a glance.
  • A blocker is considered resolved when its status is completed or cancelled.

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How to add a relation

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Open the issue you want to block
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Navigate to the issue that should wait for another issue to finish first. This is the downstream issue — the one that is blocked.
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Find the Relations section
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Scroll down the issue detail page to the Relations section.
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Click Add relation. A picker appears where you choose:
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  • Related issue — search by title or issue ID to find the upstream issue that must complete first.
  • Direction — choose blocks to mark that the issue you are currently viewing is blocked by the selected issue, or choose the inverse to mark that the current issue blocks the selected one.
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    Save the relation
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    Click Add to save. The relation appears in the Relations section immediately, and the home screen badge updates on the next page load.

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    Relation directions at a glance

    DirectionMeaningEffect
    This issue is blocked by issue AIssue A must complete before this issue runsWorker skips this issue until A is completed or cancelled
    This issue blocks issue BThis issue must complete before issue B runsWorker skips issue B until this issue is completed or cancelled

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    How to remove a relation

    Open either issue in the relation and scroll to the Relations section. Click the remove (×) icon next to the relation you want to delete. The relation is removed immediately and the blocked issue becomes eligible for the worker on its next poll.

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    Example: sequencing a multi-step feature

    Imagine you are building a new notifications system. You might create the following issues and link them in sequence:
    1. Add notifications table migration — no blockers, runs first.
    2. Implement NotificationsService — blocked by issue 1. Runs after the migration lands.
    3. Add notifications API endpoints — blocked by issue 2. Runs after the service exists.
    4. Build notifications UI panel — blocked by issue 3. Runs last, once the API is available.
    Each issue has a tight, well-defined scope. The agent works through them in order, and each pull request builds cleanly on the previous one.
    Issue relations only affect the agent worker’s execution order. You can still manually change an issue’s status or reset the agent at any time regardless of its blocked state. Use the Blocked badge on the home screen as a reminder, not a hard lock on your own actions.