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Breaking Down Issues into Sub-Issues

Sometimes a bug or issue is complex enough that it needs to be split into smaller, individually trackable parts. Sub-issues let you do exactly that — attach child issues to a parent, each with their own status, assignee, and timeline.

When to use sub-issues​

Use sub-issues when a single issue encompasses multiple independent problem areas that:

  • Need to be investigated or fixed separately
  • May be assigned to different people
  • Have different timelines for resolution

Examples:

Parent issueSub-issues
"Payment flow broken after v2.1 release"Sub-issue 1: Payment validation fails on mobile, Sub-issue 2: Confirmation email not sending, Sub-issue 3: Duplicate charge on retry
"Performance degradation on dashboard"Sub-issue 1: API response slow, Sub-issue 2: Frontend rendering bottleneck

For simple tracking within a single issue (e.g., a checklist of things to verify), use checklists instead.

Creating a sub-issue​

  1. Open the parent issue.
  2. Scroll to the Sub-Issues section.
  3. Click Add Sub-Issue.
  4. Enter the sub-issue title.
  5. Optionally fill in severity, priority, and assignee.
  6. Click Create.

The sub-issue is created and linked to the parent. It also appears in the main Issues list where it can be found independently.

Nesting depth

Sub-issues support one level of nesting only. You cannot create sub-sub-issues.

Editing a sub-issue​

Sub-issues have all the same fields as regular issues — title, description, severity, priority, status, assignee, planned dates, attachments, and comments.

To open a sub-issue's full detail page:

  1. Open the parent issue.
  2. In the Sub-Issues section, click the sub-issue title.
  3. The sub-issue detail panel opens.

All edits work the same way as on a regular issue.

Tracking sub-issue progress​

The parent issue shows a progress summary:

Sub-issues:  1 / 3 resolved  ████░░░░  33%

The parent issue is not automatically resolved when all sub-issues are resolved — you still need to manually update the parent's status. This is intentional, as the parent may require additional verification even after all sub-issues are closed.

Assigning sub-issues​

Sub-issues can be assigned to different team members. This lets a single complex bug be distributed across the team.

  1. Open the sub-issue.
  2. Click the Assignee field.
  3. Select a team member.

Sub-issues on sprint boards​

Sub-issues appear on the sprint board and Kanban board just like regular issues (if they are assigned to a sprint). They are labeled as sub-issues with a small indicator showing their parent.

To add a sub-issue to a sprint:

  1. Open the sub-issue.
  2. Click the Sprint field.
  3. Select a sprint.

Viewing all sub-issues from the issues list​

In the main Issues list:

  1. Look for the hierarchy indicator next to the issue title — parent issues show a collapse/expand arrow.
  2. Click the arrow to expand and see child sub-issues inline.
  3. Click a sub-issue title to open it.

You can also filter by Type: Sub-issue to see only sub-issues across the workspace.

Closing a parent issue​

When all sub-issues are resolved, you can close the parent issue:

  1. Open the parent issue.
  2. Verify all sub-issues show a terminal status (Resolved or Closed).
  3. Change the parent's status to Resolved or Closed.

If any sub-issues are still open, Varai Sprints shows a warning — but you can proceed if appropriate.