Link Mode

Link Mode keeps your schedule in sync across linked work. When it is on and you reschedule an item on the Gantt timeline, the start and due dates of every item that depends on it move with it, cascading down the dependency chain so your plan stays consistent without manual rework.

Link Mode has two levels of control: an organization-wide default set by Admins in Settings, and a Linked / Unlinked mode toggle in the Gantt control ribbon that you can flip while planning (press Shift + M).

Make a dependency's dates update automatically

If you need a dependent item's dates to update on their own when an earlier item's schedule shifts, Link Mode is the feature that does it.

Two things are worth knowing up front:

• DevStride doesn't ask you to choose a dependency type (such as Finish-to-Start). You simply record that one item depends on another — set up in the Relationships dialog as Dependencies and Dependents — and Link Mode takes care of the dates. See Manage and Edit Dependencies.
• Link Mode moves the later work by the same amount the earlier work moved. It doesn't re-anchor the later item to begin the day the earlier one ends — it preserves the spacing you set.

To set it up, using Work Item 1 (the earlier item) and Work Item 2 (which depends on it):

1. Record the dependency — in the Relationships dialog, add Work Item 1 as a Dependency of Work Item 2 (equivalently, add Work Item 2 as a Dependent of Work Item 1).
2. Position Work Item 2 once — give it the start and due dates you want relative to Work Item 1, for example starting right after Work Item 1's due date.
3. Make sure Link Mode is in effect — either the Gantt's Linked toggle or the organization-wide Enable Link Mode setting (both covered below).
4. From then on, when Work Item 1's due date changes, Work Item 2's dates move with it — by the same number of calendar days — and the shift carries on to anything that depends on Work Item 2.

What Link Mode does

When Link Mode is on and you change an item's due date on the Gantt timeline — by dragging a bar, resizing it, or editing its dates in the Plan view — DevStride calculates how many days the due date moved and applies that same shift to both the start date and the due date of every item that depends on the changed item. The shift then cascades recursively: each of those downstream items passes the same offset on to whatever depends on it, and so on through the entire chain.

A few specifics worth knowing:

• Only the due date triggers the cascade. Changing an item's due date is what starts the propagation. Editing only the start date does not start a cascade, even though items that are shifted have both their start and due dates moved.
• Where date changes cascade depends on where you make them. On the Gantt timeline, the Linked / Unlinked toggle controls it. Editing an item's dates directly in the item workspace, the Items Table, or on a board changes only that one item — its dependents don't move. Changes made through the API or the DevStride MCP server follow the organization-wide Enable Link Mode setting (below) — so with that setting on, moving a due date through the MCP cascades to dependents just like a Gantt reschedule.
• Only dependency links propagate. The cascade follows Dependency / Dependent links (where one item must come before another). Items joined only by a Related link are not moved.
• The shift is a calendar-day offset. Dates move by the exact number of calendar days the due date changed. The shift does not skip weekends or account for working days.
• It works for items, folders, workstreams, and milestones. Anything downstream in the dependency chain is shifted. Items, folders, and workstreams have both their start and due dates moved; milestones, which have only a due date, have their due date shifted.
• Dependent dates update automatically. When you change an item's due date, the items that depend on it are adjusted and reflected for you — no manual rework needed.

The change you make to one item flows automatically to everything it blocks, so a slipped due date moves the dependent work along with it instead of leaving the schedule out of date.

What happens when Link Mode is off

When Link Mode is off, DevStride does not automatically move related dates. Instead, if a date change would conflict with related items, DevStride shows a Relationships Date Warning dialog asking you to Confirm or Cancel the change. You stay in control of each edit, but you also have to adjust downstream dates yourself.

Turning Link Mode on suppresses that warning dialog and lets the dates auto-adjust instead.

The Linked / Unlinked toggle on the Gantt toolbar

While you are planning, the Gantt control ribbon includes a mode toggle (a link / unlink icon) so you can switch propagation on or off without leaving the chart:

• Linked mode — the tooltip reads "Linked mode — Item actions will propagate down the dependency chain."
• Unlinked mode — the tooltip reads "Unlinked mode — Item actions will not propagate to its dependency chain."

Press Shift + M to flip between them. Your choice persists for you on that chart; the organization setting below controls the default. See the Gantt control ribbon for the rest of the toolbar.

Setting the organization default

To find and change the setting:

1. Open Settings.
2. In the sidebar, select Org Configuration.
3. Scroll to the Workflow Automation section.
4. Check or uncheck Enable Link Mode.

The Enable Link Mode checkbox includes a tooltip that reads: "Allow item actions to propagate down the dependency chain."

Related

• Manage and Edit Dependencies — set up the blocking relationships that Link Mode follows.
• Dependency Graph — visualize an item's full blocking chain before you reschedule it.
• The Gantt control ribbon — where the Linked / Unlinked toggle lives.
• Doing Real Work with the DevStride MCP Server — manage dependencies and dates by asking an AI assistant.