dependency-graph

Dependency graph of open + closed cards

Show how the work connects: what must finish before what, what's already done, and where the chain is broken (cycles, references to cards that don't exist). Decision aid, not decoration.

Language / Idioma

Work and report in the user's language (EN/ES).

Dependency convention

A card declares its blockers with a single line in its description:

depends-on: Auth API; Login UI

Comma- or semicolon-separated, matched to card names (case-insensitive). triage writes these; you can also add them by hand. A card in a done list (Done/Shipped/Closed by default) renders as closed.

Steps

1. Sync first. python board.py status; if online, python board.py pull (remote wins) so the graph reflects the live board, not a stale mirror.
2. Render. Run the helper against the board file:
   • All cards (open + recently closed): python scripts/dep_graph.py --file board.json
   • Open only (hide finished work): python scripts/dep_graph.py --file board.json --open-only
   • Custom done lists: add --done-list Done --done-list "Live 1.0" (repeatable).
3. Read it back to the user. Paste the Mermaid block (renders in any Markdown/Mermaid viewer or a GitHub PR) and the ASCII tree. Then interpret, don't just dump:
   • Roots = unblocked, start-here work. Deep leaves = most-blocked.
   • [x] = closed, [ ] = open.
4. Act on the diagnostics — these are the point:
   • ⚠ Cycles → a dependency loop that can never resolve. Flag for triage/breakdown to break it (usually one edge is wrong or two cards should merge).
   • ⚠ Dangling → depends-on names a card that isn't on the board (typo, or it was pruned). Fix the name or drop the dependency.
5. Optional: save it. Offer to write the Mermaid to a .md so it can be committed / attached to a PR (pairs with reporting/ and quality/prove-it-validation).

Rules

• ⚠ The graph is only as good as the depends-on: lines. If cards clearly depend on each other but say nothing, note it and hand off to triage (its dependency-detection pass) rather than guessing silently.
• ⚠ Don't "fix" a cycle by deleting a card here — surface it; breaking it is a triage/breakdown decision.
• ✅ Closed cards stay in the graph by default so you can see what a now-open card was waiting on. Use --open-only when the user just wants the live frontier.