Task Chaining & Branch Lineage

Task chaining connects dependent pieces of work. A parent task can create or unblock a child task when a trigger is met, so multi-step work can advance without losing the relationship between the steps.

Use chaining when one task's output should feed a known next task. Use Chat Orchestrate when you want one central conversation to decide, create, run, and manage several tasks interactively.

What Users See

Concept	User Impact
Parent task	The task whose result controls the next step.
Child task	A dependent task created or unblocked by the parent.
Blocked status	A child can be visible but not runnable until the parent reaches the trigger.
Inherited category	If the child category is empty, it follows the parent category instead of defaulting somewhere unrelated.
Branch lineage	Repository-backed child tasks remember base branch and base commit context.
Lineage depth	Helps show that a task is part of a chain rather than a standalone item.

Chain Configuration

Field	Purpose
`enabled`	Whether chaining is active.
`trigger`	Trigger condition such as `on_completion` or `on_planning_complete`.
`child_agent_id`	Agent to use for the child task; empty means default behavior.
`child_model`	Model override for the child.
`child_category`	Category for the child; empty means inherit the parent category.
`child_title`	Explicit child title, otherwise derived from the parent.
`child_prompt_prefix`	Prefix added to parent output for the child prompt.
`child_chain_config`	Nested chain configuration for multi-level workflows.

When It Triggers

A chain trigger is evaluated from parent task progress. The most common pattern is on_completion: when the parent finishes, the child becomes eligible to run with the parent result available as part of the next prompt.

A child task can be pre-created for visibility and marked blocked until its trigger condition is satisfied. That makes the workflow visible on the board without pretending the child is ready to run.

Branch Lineage

For repository-backed work, lineage is not only a task relationship. OpenVibely also preserves branch context so dependent work knows what it is based on.

Lineage Detail	Why It Matters
Base branch	Shows the target branch the chain started from.
Base commit SHA	Preserves the exact starting point for the child.
Worktree branch	Gives each task isolated changes.
Non-terminal descendants	Prevent destructive cleanup of parent branches while children still depend on them.

Chaining Versus Orchestrate

Need	Better Fit
A known sequence where step two depends on step one	Task chaining
A planner task that should hand off implementation when complete	Task chaining
One chat window coordinating several independent tasks	Chat Orchestrate
Parallel task creation, steering, and inspection from a conversation	Chat Orchestrate
Manual review between every step	Task chaining with blocked children or Chat Orchestrate

What It Does Not Do

It does not make unrelated tasks share one worktree.
It does not run a child before its parent reaches the configured trigger.
It does not remove the need to review parent and child diffs separately.
It does not replace Chat Orchestrate for interactive multi-task coordination.

Page	Why It Matters
Chat	Best for centrally managing parallel or evolving work from one window.
Task Threads & Follow-Ups	Best when continuing the same task is enough.
Task Lifecycle	Explains blocked and terminal states.
Git Worktrees & Merge Safety	Explains isolated branches and safe review.
Tasks	Task chains are managed from task workflows.