Subtask Rules — Documentation
A Jira project setting that controls which subtask types are allowed under
each parent work item type — enforced at creation by a Jira workflow
validator, not just hidden in a picker.
What it does
Jira’s issue type schemes control which types exist in a project, but not
which subtask types make sense under which parent: any subtask type can go
under any parent work item. Subtask Rules closes that gap with a per-project
rules matrix:
- Per-parent-type allow-list — for each parent type (Task, Story, Bug,
…), choose exactly which subtask types are allowed underneath it. Parent
types you don’t touch stay fully unrestricted.
- Blocked at the source — enforcement lives in a Jira workflow validator
on the Create transition, so it is not a client-side filter that Automation
rules or the REST API can bypass: they hit the same block.
- Clear deny message — “Subtask type X is not allowed under Y (Subtask
Rules)”, shown wherever the create attempt happens (issue view form, REST
API error response).
- Instant on/off — an Enabled switch disables enforcement without losing
your saved matrix.
Getting started
- Install the app from the Atlassian Marketplace.
- Open a company-managed Jira project → Project settings → Subtask
Rules.
- In the matrix, tick the subtask types allowed under each parent type.
Rows you leave untouched stay unrestricted.
- Turn Enabled on and Save. Enabling attaches the validator to the
project’s workflow automatically — this step requires a Jira
administrator (project admin alone is not enough); non-admins will see a
message asking a Jira admin to enable it.
Good to know
- Company-managed projects only (v1). Team-managed projects are detected
automatically and shown a clear “not supported yet” message instead of a
broken settings page.
- Enforcement covers creation only (v1). Changing an existing work item’s
type (type field edit, Move, convert to/from subtask) is not yet covered —
on the roadmap. Bulk-editing subtasks is intentionally out of scope: Jira
does this natively.
- Disabling keeps the validator attached but inert. The Enabled toggle
off preserves your matrix and leaves the validator on the workflow in an
inactive state; to remove it from the workflow entirely, delete it in the
workflow editor’s Validators section.
- Shared workflows. If several projects share a workflow, the validator
appears in each of their workflow editors. Projects that never configured
Subtask Rules are unaffected — with no rules saved, everything is allowed.
Permissions
The app reads the project’s issue types and workflow configuration, and
stores your rules matrix as a project property inside your Jira site.
Enabling/disabling enforcement updates the project’s workflow (classic
manage:jira-configuration scope). The app runs entirely on Atlassian Forge
with no egress: your data never leaves Atlassian’s infrastructure.
Support
Questions or problems: see Support — portal and email,
response within one business day.