Features

Subtasks & Dependencies

Build task hierarchies and dependency relationships with Asana CLI

Subtasks & Dependencies

Model complex workflows by breaking work into subtasks and expressing "blocked by / blocking" relationships between tasks.

Subtasks

Subtasks let you decompose a task into smaller pieces while keeping them grouped under a parent.

List Subtasks

# Direct children of a parent task
bun run dev task subtask list PARENT_ID

# All nested levels (recursive)
bun run dev task subtask list PARENT_ID --recursive

Recursive output includes a depth column so you can see the hierarchy (0 = direct child, 1 = grandchild, and so on).

Create a Subtask

bun run dev task subtask create PARENT_ID \
  --name "Write unit tests" \
  --notes "Cover edge cases" \
  --assignee me \
  --due-on 2026-07-01

Convert an Existing Task into a Subtask

Re-parent any existing task under a new parent:

bun run dev task subtask add TASK_ID PARENT_ID

Dependencies

A dependency means "this task is blocked by another task." The blocking task must be completed first. The inverse relationship is a dependent.

Add a Dependency

# TASK_ID is blocked by BLOCKER_ID
bun run dev task dependency add TASK_ID BLOCKER_ID

List Dependencies (what blocks this task)

bun run dev task dependency list TASK_ID

List Dependents (what this task blocks)

bun run dev task dependent list TASK_ID

Remove a Dependency

bun run dev task dependency remove TASK_ID BLOCKER_ID

Combined limit: Asana allows at most 30 dependencies and dependents combined per task. The CLI checks the current count before adding and fails with a clear message instead of letting the API reject the request.

The CLI also rejects:

Self-dependencies — a task cannot depend on itself.
Invalid GIDs — all task GIDs must be numeric.

Circular dependencies (for example, A blocks B and B blocks A) are rejected by the Asana API; the CLI surfaces the API error message so you can resolve the cycle.

Example Workflow

# 1. Create a parent feature task
bun run dev task create -n "Ship checkout flow" -w WORKSPACE_ID

# 2. Break it into subtasks
bun run dev task subtask create PARENT_ID --name "Design API"
bun run dev task subtask create PARENT_ID --name "Implement API"
bun run dev task subtask create PARENT_ID --name "Write tests"

# 3. Express ordering: "Implement API" is blocked by "Design API"
bun run dev task dependency add IMPLEMENT_ID DESIGN_ID

# 4. Inspect what is blocked by the design task
bun run dev task dependent list DESIGN_ID

Task Management - Core task operations
Quick Start - Basic command examples

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Configuration

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Advanced Features

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