Subtasks sit one level below a standard work item such as a story or task. To see them under their parent: on a company-managed board, set swimlanes to Stories (Board settings > Layout > Swimlanes); on a team-managed board, choose Group by > Subtask; in the list view, children stay nested under their parent; and in search, parent = SHOP-101 lists a work item’s children. The timeline does not show subtasks, so to see epics, stories and subtasks together, use a tree view such as Cascade.
What a Jira subtask is, and how to create one
A subtask breaks a standard work item, such as a story, task or bug, into smaller pieces. It is the lowest level of Jira’s hierarchy (level -1) and can’t have child work items of its own. The Jira hierarchy guide explains how the levels fit together.
- Company-managed spaces: open the parent work item, select Add or create related work, then Create subtask. This works once an administrator has enabled subtasks in the space’s work type scheme.
- Team-managed spaces: open the parent work item, select Add, then Add a child work item. Here, subtasks can’t sit directly under an epic.
A new subtask takes its space, security level and sprint from its parent. Before a sprint can be completed, all of its subtasks must be Done; a parent that is not Done moves to a future sprint. See Atlassian’s guides to creating subtasks and completing a sprint.
Show subtasks under their parent on a Jira board
Company-managed boards: Stories swimlanes
Open the board, select ••• next to its name, then Board settings > Layout > Swimlanes, and choose the Stories method. Each swimlane then holds one parent work item and all of its subtasks. You need to be a space admin or board admin to change board settings. See configuring swimlanes.
Individual viewers can also switch swimlanes from the Group by menu in the board’s view settings, which apply per user, so trying a grouping does not change the board for your team. Atlassian is rolling out a new board view to company-managed spaces, so the exact menus can differ. See customizing your board and backlog view.
On the active sprints board, subtasks appear slightly indented, with their parent’s key shown above them. See using active sprints.
Team-managed boards: Group by Subtask
On the board, next to Group by, select Subtask. Subtasks then appear as cards under swimlane headers for their parent work items. Atlassian’s instructions mark parts of this as space admins only. See managing subtasks in team-managed spaces.
Subtasks in the backlog
In a company-managed kanban backlog, expand a parent work item to see its subtasks. A subtask can move to Selected for Development on its own, and depending on your column constraints it may or may not count toward the work item count. See using your kanban backlog.
Scrum backlogs are organized around standard work items. If you need every subtask in view while planning, the list view or a tree view is the more reliable place to look.
Timeline, list view and search
Timeline: no subtasks
The timeline shows epic-level and story-level work items, and Atlassian documents that it does not show the subtask level. Scheduling story-level work on the timeline is off by default; turn it on in Board settings > Timeline. In company-managed spaces, an administrator first adds the Start date and Due date fields to the work item view. See child work item planning on the timeline.
List view: children stay with their parent
The list view has a Parent column, and when you sort, child work items stay nested below their parent. It shows up to 500 children under a parent, and children whose parent is in a different space don’t display. See filtering and sorting the list.
Search: JQL for subtasks
parent = SHOP-101 lists the children of SHOP-101 in both team-managed and company-managed spaces. To find every subtask, use workType in subtaskWorkTypes() or hierarchyLevel = -1. See Atlassian’s JQL fields and JQL functions.
Inside a single parent, the work item view shows a table of its child work items, with columns you can configure.
See epics, stories and subtasks in one view
Each native view covers part of the picture: boards group one level at a time, and the timeline stops at stories. A tree view shows the whole chain at once.
Cascade is a Chrome extension that opens inside your Jira Cloud tab. Choose a set of epics, or your assigned work, and the tree expands each epic to its stories and their subtasks. Use search and filters to focus on the work you need, and open any work item’s details beside the tree. No Jira administrator has to install it, though your employer’s browser policies may restrict extensions.
The tree is free today. To take the structure into a spreadsheet, see how to export Jira to Excel with the hierarchy intact.
Pick an epic your team is working on and see every story and subtask under it in one list.
Jira subtasks FAQ
How do I show subtasks on a Jira board?
On a company-managed board, set swimlanes to Stories in Board settings > Layout > Swimlanes; each swimlane then holds one parent work item and its subtasks. On a team-managed board, choose Subtask in the Group by menu.
Why don’t subtasks appear on the Jira timeline?
The timeline shows epic-level and story-level work items only. Atlassian documents that it does not show work items at the subtask level (level -1).
How do I find all subtasks of a work item with JQL?
Use parent = SHOP-101 to list the children of SHOP-101. To find every subtask in a search, use workType in subtaskWorkTypes() or hierarchyLevel = -1.
Can a subtask have its own subtasks?
No. Atlassian’s documentation says a subtask can’t have child work items.
Do subtasks follow their parent’s sprint?
A subtask takes its sprint from its parent when it is created. Before a sprint can be completed, all of its subtasks must be Done; a parent that is not Done moves to a future sprint.
How do I see epics, stories and subtasks together?
The timeline stops at the story level, and boards group one level at a time. A tree view such as Cascade shows an epic, its stories and their subtasks in one list, and it is free today.