Task Dependencies

Task dependencies let you define which tasks must be completed before others can start. If "Design mockups" must finish before "Build frontend" can begin, you set a dependency: "Build frontend" is blocked by "Design mockups". PrimeTask prevents you from accidentally creating circular dependencies (A blocked by B blocked by A), limits each task to 10 prerequisites, and visualises the dependency chain as arrows in Gantt View.

What you can do

How to add a dependency

You can add dependencies from three places in PrimeTask.

From the Task Details Page

From Gantt View

The toolbar buttons show a count when the selected task already has prerequisites or dependents - for example, "2 Prereq" or "Blocks 3".

From the task creation or edit modal

When creating or editing a task, the modal includes a Prerequisites section where you can add and remove blocked-by dependencies. Click Add prerequisite task to open the dependency picker.

The modal also shows which tasks this one blocks, so you can see both sides of the relationship while editing.

How to remove a dependency

From the Task Details Page

In the Dependencies section, each prerequisite has a remove action. Click it to unlink the dependency immediately.

From Gantt View - click the arrow

Dependency arrows in Gantt View are interactive. Hover over an arrow and it highlights - click it and PrimeTask asks you to confirm the removal. Confirm, and the arrow disappears along with the dependency.

From the task creation or edit modal

Each prerequisite listed in the modal has a remove button. Click it to unlink.

Things worth knowing

Two directions - blocked by and blocks

Every dependency has two sides:

• Blocked by (prerequisites) - "This task can't start until these tasks are done." The tasks you add here must complete before the current task can proceed.
• Blocks (dependents) - "These tasks can't start until this task is done." The current task must complete before the linked tasks can proceed.

Both directions create the same link - adding task B as a prerequisite of task A is the same as adding task A as blocking task B. PrimeTask shows the relationship from both sides.

Maximum 10 prerequisites per task

Each task can have up to 10 prerequisites (tasks it's blocked by). This limit prevents overly complex dependency chains that become hard to manage. If you reach the limit, consider whether some of the prerequisites should be subtasks or sequential tasks instead.

Circular dependency prevention

PrimeTask checks for circular dependencies before allowing you to add a link. If task A is already blocked by task B, you can't make task B blocked by task A (directly or through a chain of other tasks). This prevents impossible loops where no task in the chain could ever start.

If you try to create a circular dependency, PrimeTask shows an error and the link is not created. Tasks that would create a circular dependency are automatically excluded from the dependency picker - you can't accidentally select them.

The dependency picker

When you add a dependency - from the task detail page, Gantt toolbar, or task modal - a picker opens showing all tasks in your Space. You can:

• Search by task name to find specific tasks
• Filter by project to narrow the list to a specific project
• Filter by status to focus on tasks in a particular state
• Hide completed tasks to remove done tasks from the list
• Show or hide subtasks to control whether nested tasks appear
• Select multiple tasks at once - hold Shift and click to select a range
• See task status on each item to help you pick the right ones

The picker enforces the 10-prerequisite limit - once you've reached it, no more selections are allowed.

Viewing dependencies on the detail page

The Dependencies section on a task's Task Details Page shows two things:

Prerequisites (blocked by) - every task that must complete before this one can proceed, shown as a card with its status and name. Click any prerequisite to navigate directly to that task. A progress summary shows how many prerequisites are complete.

Dependents (blocks) - every task that this one is blocking, shown as a compact list. This lets you see the full picture - what's upstream and what's downstream - from a single page.

Dependencies in Gantt View

Gantt View draws arrows between dependent task bars on the timeline. This is the clearest way to visualise a project's critical path - which tasks must finish before others can start, and where bottlenecks exist.

The arrows are interactive:

• Hover over an arrow to highlight it
• Click an arrow to remove the dependency (with confirmation)
• Hover a task bar to see its prerequisites listed in the tooltip - up to three are shown by name, with a count for any beyond that

You can also add dependencies directly from the Gantt selection toolbar without leaving the timeline view - select a task, click Blocked By or Blocks, and use the dependency picker.

Dependencies and task completion

Dependencies are advisory, not enforcing. You CAN complete a task even if its prerequisites aren't done yet - PrimeTask shows the dependency as a planning tool, not as a hard blocker. This is intentional: real workflows sometimes need flexibility, and a hard block would prevent you from working around delays.

Dependencies and subtasks

You can set dependencies between subtasks, between a subtask and a parent task, or between any combination. The dependency picker shows all tasks including subtasks (when the subtask toggle is enabled). If the task has subtasks that are prerequisites, the parent task context is shown so you understand the hierarchy.

Common questions

Where to go next