# Block an Issue

This page shows how to block one [issue](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/issues) with another issue
in Google Issue Tracker.

When one issue blocks another, it means that the first issue should be resolved
before the second one is resolved. Blocking is intended for tracking purposes
only. Issue Tracker itself does not enforce blocking. An issue can be marked
**Fixed** even if it has open issues blocking it.

The blocking feature is reciprocal. If you set one issue to block a second
issue, the first appears as one of the **Blockers** list of the second, while
the second appears in the **Blocking** list of the first.

You must have **Edit issues** [permission](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/access-control) for the
components that contain both issues in order to set the blocking relationship.

## Blocked issues

When you block an issue, you indicate that the issue shouldn't be resolved until
another issue is resolved. The issue that needs to be resolved first is the
*blocking* issue, while the issue that will be resolved second is the *blocked*
issue. An issue can block or be blocked by multiple issues at the same time.

Blocking does not impose any actual restrictions on issues. That is, the blocked
issue can still be updated or closed even if no changes are made to the blocking
issue. For this reason, blocking should be thought of as a tracking or
notification system. Decisions regarding how to respond to a blocked issue are
left to the individuals and teams responsible for resolving the issue.

### UI Location

Blocking is tracked in the **Blocking** and **Dependencies** tabs. For example,
if you go to Issue A's page and set it to block Issue B, then the page for Issue
A lists Issue B in its **Blocking** tab, while the page for Issue B lists Issue
A in its **Dependencies** tab under the **Blockers** section.

The title of the **Blocking** and **Blocker** sections show how many issues are
in each. The number preceding the `/` is the number of open issues and the
number following `/` is the total number of issues. For example, if the
**Blocking** tab reads `2/5`, then there are 5 issues in total set that block
the current issue, but only 2 of those issues have yet to be resolved.

Clicking on either the **Dependencies** or **Blocking** tab displays a table of
relevant issues. Each issue entry has several parts, including **Status** ,
**Issue Title** , and **Issue ID**.

Click the row to navigate to that issue.

## Set an issue to be blocked by another

To set an issue as blocked by another issue:

1. Navigate to the issue that is to be blocked.

2. In the tabs near the top of the page, click **Dependencies**.

3. Near the section titled **Blockers** , click **Add blocker**.

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocker.png)
4. There are two options to enter the blocking issue.

   - Option 1: text search for the issue.

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocker-search.png)
   - Option 2: enter the issue id(s). Multiple IDs, separated by commas, can be added at a time.

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocker-ids.png)
5. Click **Confirm**.

   If successful, the blocking issue will be added to the **Blockers** list.

## Set an issue to block another

To set an issue as blocking another issue:

1. Navigate to the issue that will be blocking.

2. In the tabs near the top of the page, click **Blocking**.

3. Click **Add**

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocking.png)
4. There are two options to enter the blocked issue.

   - Option 1: text search for the issue.

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocking-search.png)
   - Option 2: enter the issue id(s). Multiple IDs, separated by commas, can be added at a time.

   ![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/block-issue-add-blocking-ids.png)
5. Click **Confirm**.

   If successful, the blocked issue will be added to the **Blocking** list.

## What's next

- [Mark an issue as a duplicate of another issue](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/duplicate-issue)