Issue Dependencies (Blocked By / Blocking)

Dependencies let you mark that an issue is blocked by another issue. This creates a formal dependency relationship visible in the UI and trackable via API. No MCP tools exist for dependencies; use REST or GraphQL directly.

Using REST API

List issues blocking this issue:

GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/dependencies/blocked_by

Add a blocking dependency:

POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/dependencies/blocked_by
Body: { "issue_id": 12345 }

The issue_id is the numeric issue ID (not the issue number).

Remove a blocking dependency:

DELETE /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{issue_number}/dependencies/blocked_by/{issue_id}

Using GraphQL

Read dependencies:

{
  repository(owner: "OWNER", name: "REPO") {
    issue(number: 123) {
      blockedBy(first: 10) { nodes { number title state } }
      blocking(first: 10) { nodes { number title state } }
      issueDependenciesSummary { blockedBy blocking totalBlockedBy totalBlocking }
    }
  }
}

Add a dependency:

mutation {
  addBlockedBy(input: {
    issueId: "BLOCKED_ISSUE_NODE_ID"
    blockingIssueId: "BLOCKING_ISSUE_NODE_ID"
  }) {
    blockingIssue { number title }
  }
}

Remove a dependency:

mutation {
  removeBlockedBy(input: {
    issueId: "BLOCKED_ISSUE_NODE_ID"
    blockingIssueId: "BLOCKING_ISSUE_NODE_ID"
  }) {
    blockingIssue { number title }
  }
}

Tracked issues (read-only)

Task-list tracking relationships are available via GraphQL as read-only fields:

• trackedIssues(first: N) - issues tracked in this issue's task list
• trackedInIssues(first: N) - issues whose task lists reference this issue

These are set automatically when issues are referenced in task lists (- [ ] #123). There are no mutations to manage them.