I want to create a Jira automation rule to prevent a sub-task from being closed until all of its linked issues are in the Done/Closed status. Requirement: * When a user transitions a sub-task to Done/Closed, the automation should check all linked issues. * If any linked issue is not in the 'Done' status category, the sub-task should not be allowed to close (or should be automatically transitioned back to its previous status with an appropriate comment). * The sub-task should only be allowed to close once all linked issues are in the Done/Closed status. Could you please advise on the best way to configure this using Jira Automation? If this is not possible with automation alone, please let us know whether a workflow validator or another solution is required.

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I want to create an automation rule so that Subtask can't be close until link issue are not closed

jyoti_suryan

I want to create a Jira automation rule to prevent a sub-task from being closed until all of its linked issues are in the Done/Closed status.

Requirement:

When a user transitions a sub-task to Done/Closed, the automation should check all linked issues.
If any linked issue is not in the 'Done' status category, the sub-task should not be allowed to close (or should be automatically transitioned back to its previous status with an appropriate comment).
The sub-task should only be allowed to close once all linked issues are in the Done/Closed status.

Could you please advise on the best way to configure this using Jira Automation? If this is not possible with automation alone, please let us know whether a workflow validator or another solution is required.

Accepted answers

Martin Runge

Hi @jyoti_suryan

While you can technically use Jira Automation to achieve this, I would prefer to use a Workflow Validator or Condition instead if you have the needed capabilities. Jira's native workflow validators cannot do this, so you need marketplace apps like JMWE or JWT.

Jira Automation rules run asynchronously, firing after the user clicks the button and transitions the sub-task to "Done." If the rule finds the closure invalid, it reopens the issue and writes a comment explaining the status change, resulting in a poor user experience, unnecessary notifications, audit logs, and the consumption of automation limits. Depending on the user experience, you could use a workflow condition to hide the transition completely or use a workflow validator to explain to the user what is wrong.

Remember, a sub-task is strictly locked to its single parent issue, but it can have multiple independent relationships via issue links from different projects. That is why I prefer your requirement not be in the 'Done' status category, since there could be different "Done" statuses.

Your automation could look like this:

Trigger: transitioned to Done.
Lookup issues action with JQL: issue in linkedIssues("{{triggerIssue.key}}", "blocks") AND resolution is EMPTY
(drop the link-type argument if you want all links).
Smart values condition: {{lookupIssues.size|0}} greater than 0.
Comment, then transition back.

All comments

Christos Markoulatos -Relational-

Hi @jyoti_suryan

The behavior you are describing is a known Jira limitation, not a missing setting. Jira Automation runs after a transition completes, so it cannot truly block a sub-task from closing, and Jira's native conditions and validators can only check sub-tasks and the parent, never linked issues. Your options are a soft automation workaround (trigger on the transition to Done, check the linked issues, and transition the sub-task back with a comment if any are still open) or a real block using a Marketplace app validator such as JMWE's Linked Issues Status Condition or a ScriptRunner scripted validator on the Close transition. If you want to stay mostly native, create a "Can be closed" checkbox, have automation tick it only when all linked issues are resolved, then add a workflow validator that checks that field. I would raise a support ticket only to confirm your automation execution limits before building a multi project rule.

Hope this helps!

Helpful links:
https://support.atlassian.com/jira/kb/how-to-automatically-transition-an-issue-to-a-closed-status-when-all-linked-issues-are-closed/
https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Jira-Service-Management/How-can-I-block-an-issue-from-being-closed-until-its-linked/qaq-p/2973798
https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-43369

Martin Runge

Hi @jyoti_suryan

Your automation could look like this:

Trigger: transitioned to Done.
Lookup issues action with JQL: issue in linkedIssues("{{triggerIssue.key}}", "blocks") AND resolution is EMPTY
(drop the link-type argument if you want all links).
Smart values condition: {{lookupIssues.size|0}} greater than 0.
Comment, then transition back.

Germán Morales

Hi @jyoti_suryan , straight to your closing question: automation alone can't truly prevent the close. Rules run after the transition completes, so the most a rule can do is let the sub-task reach Done and then bounce it back; it can't stop the click itself. If that reactive behaviour is acceptable, the rule is:

Trigger: Issue transitioned, into your Done or Closed status.
Condition: a Related issues condition over the linked issues requiring their status category to be Done, or branch on the linked issues and check each one.
Action: when any linked issue is still open, transition the sub-task back to its previous status and post a comment explaining why.

For a hard block that stops the transition before it happens you need a validator on the Done transition, not automation. Jira's built-in validators don't cover linked-issue status, so that part takes a workflow-validator app from the Atlassian Marketplace, or ScriptRunner if you are on Data Center. Atlassian's write-up of the linked-issue automation pattern is here.

jyoti_suryan

I am using Jira Premium. any option in this

Germán Morales

Premium doesn't change the core of it, @jyoti_suryan : no Jira plan ships a native validator that blocks a transition based on linked-issue status, so a true hard block still needs a Marketplace workflow-validator app or ScriptRunner. That part is identical on Standard and Premium.

Where Premium helps is running the reactive rule without limit worries. Single-project rules are unlimited on every plan, and the multi-project or global rule you'd need when linked issues sit in other projects gets 1,000 runs per licensed user a month, pooled across the site, per Atlassian's automation service limits. So the bounce-back rule runs fine for you; it just stays a revert, not a true block.

jyoti_suryan

Can you Please Explain how to do that?

The bounce-back rule

jyoti_suryan

I Screenshot 2026-06-29 143325.png have created the automation rule as you said, but it's not getting triggered. I have attached a screenshot for reference

Maya Lindholm

Hi Jyoti,

I agree with the validator approach if you need to truly stop the transition before it happens. Automation runs after the transition, so it cannot really prevent the user from clicking Done. It can only detect the problem afterwards and move the sub-task back.

If that fallback behavior is acceptable, the automation shape would be:

1. Trigger: Issue transitioned to Done/Closed

2. Condition: Issue type equals Sub-task

3. Lookup issues with JQL for linked issues that are not done

4. Condition: Lookup issues count is greater than 0

5. Action: Transition the sub-task back to the previous/open status

6. Action: Add a comment explaining which linked issues are still open

The key part is the lookup JQL. For example, start from something like:

issue in linkedIssues({{issue.key}}) AND statusCategory != Done

Then test it with your actual link types and statuses, because some sites use several Done/Closed statuses.

For a clean user experience, a workflow validator from a Marketplace workflow app is usually better because the user gets blocked immediately with a clear message. The automation version is workable, but it is more of a correction-after-the-fact rule.

jyoti_suryan

Thank you Its working now.

Nacho Moreno Ortega

Hi @jyoti_suryan ,

I am Nacho and i am part of Decadis.

If using a third party app is an option for you, i would recommend to use a validator from our app Jira Workflow Toolbox, in which you can also add an error message.

We have this specific case on the following page of our documentation, which you can easily implement in your instance: Block a transition based on issue links.

With the following jira expression, you can assure that all linked issues must be in the status DONE, which can be modified depending on your needs.

issue.links.every(link => link.linkedIssue.status.name == "Done")

If you require assistance with this implementation, please do not hesitate to contact us via our support portal.

Best regards,

Nacho

Thiago Wenceslau -Appfire-

Hi @jyoti_suryan

I’m Thiago, a support engineer at Appfire.

While Jira's native automation can technically transition an issue back to its previous status after it's closed, it cannot inherently block a user from clicking the transition button in the first place.

If you are open to using a third-party app to truly prevent the transition, you can easily set this up as a workflow restriction using JMWE (Jira Misc Workflow Extensions).Here is an example of how that looks:

Screenshot 2026-07-02 at 03.32.02.png

How it works:

This validator restricts the sub-task from being moved to "Done" if it finds any linked issues that are not in the "Done" status category.
If the conditions are not met, the "Done" status will simply not show up for the user, preventing them from making the transition in the first place.

Please contact our support if you have any other questions about this.
Best regards, Appfire support team.

Andreas Keul

Late to this one, but since the question keeps coming up: Martin's point is the key one. Automation can only undo the transition after it happened, while a validator stops it with a message the user actually sees. Two additions for anyone landing here from search:

If the dependency is expressed as "is blocked by" links, Jira Cloud has three options today: an Automation rule on the transition to Done that checks the linked issues and transitions back with a comment (works in every project type, but after the fact, and you need a rule per project); a workflow suite (JMWE, JWT, Workflow Toolbox, ScriptRunner) with a linked-issues validator (really prevents it, company-managed projects only, and you pay for the whole suite); or a small app built for exactly this one rule.
Disclosure: I built that small app, Dependency Guard for Jira. It adds an "is blocked by" validator for company-managed projects and an automatic guard that also works in team-managed projects, where validators are not available. It notifies the waiting issues when a blocker is done and has a one-time override that is recorded as an audit comment. It only looks at "is blocked by" links, not at other link types. Free for up to 10 users. https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/3010916545/dependency-guard-for-jira

The underlying feature request is JRACLOUD-43369 if you want to vote for a native solution.

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