Relationships

Work depends on other work. Writing that down is the difference between a tracker and a list.

Hydrant has three kinds of link, and they’re independent. A parent doesn’t block its children, and “related” doesn’t imply anything at all.

Link	Says
Blocked by / Blocks	This can’t sensibly start or finish until that does. One direction.
Sub-issues	This is a piece of that. One parent per issue.
Related	Worth knowing about. No consequences.

Before you start

Two issues in the same workspace. Links don’t cross workspaces.

Steps

Add a link

1. Open an issue and press Relations, or right-click a row and open Relations.
2. Press Add relationship and pick the kind: Related to, Child of, Parent of, Blocks or Blocked by. Hydrant spells out the direction (“#12 is blocked by…”) so you don’t build it backwards.
3. Search by title or #number and pick the other issue.

Changing an issue’s parent asks you to confirm, showing From and To. Hydrant refuses links that would make an issue block itself in a circle.

Read the chips

Rows can show a Blocked chip (things in this issue’s way) and a Blocks chip (things waiting on it). Each opens a short list of up to five issues, with View all for the rest. Entries under Blocks may add “Also waits on N other issues”. Clearing your blocker isn’t always enough to free them.

If the chips aren’t there, turn Blocked and Blocks on under Display.

Open the graph

Graph, on an open issue, draws one hop around it: its blockers on one side, what it blocks on the other. Solid lines are active; dashed ones are resolved and kept for history. Select a node to see its state, and center on a neighbor to go deeper. Tab moves between nodes, Enter selects and Shift+Enter centers. With the drawing focused, the arrow keys pan, + and - zoom, 0 fits it and F returns to the focused issue. The graph has its own address, so Back works and you can share the link.

Cancel or trash a blocker, carefully

Moving a blocker to a canceled stage, or to the trash, first shows what depends on it: how many issues lose this blocker, how many blockers each has left, and whether it will then qualify for Available to start. Read it, then confirm or press Keep issue unchanged.

What you should see

The Relationships summary on an issue lists Blocked by, Blocks, Sub-issues (with how many are done) and Related. With nothing in the way it says “No blockers. No excuses.”

If it goes sideways

• The other issue doesn’t show up in search. It’s in another workspace or in the trash. Links stay inside one workspace.
• “Already linked.” It is. Look under the other kind, or the other direction.
• Blocked count looks wrong. Only open blockers count: Done, Canceled and trashed ones don’t, Iced and Snoozed ones do. See Status, Refined and Blocked.
• Finishing every sub-issue didn’t finish the parent. Correct. Relationships never complete anything on your behalf.
• “Cancellation impact changed or needs review.” Something shifted while the dialog was open. Review the list again, then confirm.