Skip to main content
Generated from bd help --doc dep. Manage dependencies between issues. When called with an issue ID and —blocks flag, creates a blocking dependency: bd dep <blocker-id> —blocks <blocked-id> This is equivalent to: bd dep add <blocked-id> <blocker-id> Examples: bd dep bd-xyz —blocks bd-abc # bd-xyz blocks bd-abc bd dep add bd-abc bd-xyz # Same as above (bd-abc depends on bd-xyz) 
bd dep [issue-id] [flags]
bd dep [command]
Flags: 
  -b, --blocks string    Issue ID that this issue blocks (shorthand for: bd dep add <blocked> <blocker>)
      --no-cycle-check   Skip per-edge cycle checks for speed (bulk wiring); bulk --file adds still run one final whole-graph check before commit

​
bd dep add

Add a dependency between two issues. The depends-on-id can be provided as:
  • A positional argument: bd dep add issue-123 issue-456
  • A flag: bd dep add issue-123 —blocked-by issue-456
  • A flag: bd dep add issue-123 —depends-on issue-456
The —blocked-by and —depends-on flags are aliases and both mean “issue-123 depends on (is blocked by) the specified issue.” The depends-on-id can be:
  • A local issue ID (e.g., bd-xyz)
  • An external reference: external:<project>:<capability>
For bulk wiring, pass newline-delimited JSON with —file. Each line must be an object with “from” and “to” fields, and may include “type”. The aliases “issue_id” and “depends_on_id” are also accepted. Use —file - to read stdin. External references are stored as-is and resolved at query time using the external_projects config. They block the issue until the capability is “shipped” in the target project. Examples: bd dep add bd-42 bd-41 # Positional args bd dep add bd-42 —blocked-by bd-41 # Flag syntax (same effect) bd dep add bd-42 —depends-on bd-41 # Alias (same effect) bd dep add gt-xyz external:beads:mol-run-assignee # Cross-project dependency bd dep add bd-42 bd-41 —no-cycle-check # Skip cycle check (bulk wiring) bd dep add —file deps.jsonl # Bulk JSONL: {“from”:“bd-42”,“to”:“bd-41”} 
bd dep add [issue-id] [depends-on-id] [flags]
Flags: 
      --blocked-by string   Issue ID that blocks the first issue (alternative to positional arg)
      --depends-on string   Issue ID that the first issue depends on (alias for --blocked-by)
      --file string         Read dependency edges from JSONL file, or '-' for stdin
      --no-cycle-check      Skip per-edge cycle checks for speed (bulk wiring); bulk --file adds still run one final whole-graph check before commit
  -t, --type string         Dependency type (blocks|tracks|related|parent-child|discovered-from|until|caused-by|validates|relates-to|supersedes) (default "blocks")

​
bd dep cycles

Detect dependency cycles 
bd dep cycles [flags]

​
bd dep list

List dependencies or dependents of one or more issues with optional type filtering. By default shows dependencies (what issues depend on). Use —direction to control:
  • down: Show dependencies (what this issue depends on) - default
  • up: Show dependents (what depends on this issue)
Multiple IDs can be provided for batch dep listing. With —json, the output is a flat array of dependency records across all requested issues. Use —type to filter by dependency type (e.g., tracks, blocks, parent-child). Examples: bd dep list gt-abc # Show what gt-abc depends on bd dep list gt-abc gt-def # Batch: deps for both issues bd dep list gt-abc —direction=up # Show what depends on gt-abc bd dep list gt-abc —direction=up -t tracks # Show what tracks gt-abc (convoy tracking) 
bd dep list [issue-id...] [flags]
Flags: 
      --direction string   Direction: 'down' (dependencies), 'up' (dependents) (default "down")
  -t, --type string        Filter by dependency type (e.g., tracks, blocks, parent-child)

​
bd dep relate

Create a loose ‘see also’ relationship between two issues. The relates_to link is bidirectional - both issues will reference each other. This enables knowledge graph connections without blocking or hierarchy. Examples: bd relate bd-abc bd-xyz # Link two related issues bd relate bd-123 bd-456 # Create see-also connection 
bd dep relate <id1> <id2> [flags]

​
bd dep remove

Remove a dependency 
bd dep remove [issue-id] [depends-on-id] [flags]
Aliases: rm

​
bd dep tree

Show dependency tree rooted at the given issue. By default, shows dependencies (what blocks this issue). Use —direction to control:
  • down: Show dependencies (what blocks this issue) - default
  • up: Show dependents (what this issue blocks)
  • both: Show full graph in both directions
Examples: bd dep tree gt-0iqq # Show what blocks gt-0iqq bd dep tree gt-0iqq —direction=up # Show what gt-0iqq blocks bd dep tree gt-0iqq —status=open # Only show open issues bd dep tree gt-0iqq —depth=3 # Limit to 3 levels deep 
bd dep tree [issue-id] [flags]
Flags: 
      --direction string   Tree direction: 'down' (dependencies), 'up' (dependents), or 'both'
      --format string      Output format: 'mermaid' for Mermaid.js flowchart
  -d, --max-depth int      Maximum tree depth to display (safety limit) (default 50)
      --reverse            Show dependent tree (deprecated: use --direction=up)
      --show-all-paths     Show all paths to nodes (no deduplication for diamond dependencies)
      --status string      Filter to only show issues with this status (open, in_progress, blocked, deferred, closed)

​
bd dep unrelate

Remove a relates_to relationship between two issues. Removes the link in both directions. Example: bd unrelate bd-abc bd-xyz 
bd dep unrelate <id1> <id2> [flags]