Mark as Blocked
Mark an item as blocked with a clear reason so other agents know why and who can help.
Required Arguments
- •
FEAT-XXX(orBUG-XXX, etc.) - The item ID to block - •
reason- Why it's blocked (quote if multiple words)
Optional Arguments
- •
--unblock-by agent-name- Which agent can unblock this
Steps
1. Move to Blocked Status
bash
yurtle-kanban move FEAT-XXX blocked
2. Update Item File
Add a blocked section to the item file:
Find the item file and add after the frontmatter:
markdown
> **BLOCKED**: [reason] > **Since:** YYYY-MM-DD > **Can unblock:** [agent-name or "anyone"]
Also add a Change Log entry:
markdown
### YYYY-MM-DD: BLOCKED **Reason:** [reason] **Can unblock:** [who] **Context:** [any additional context]
3. Commit and Push
bash
git add kanban-work/features/FEAT-XXX*.md git commit -m "blocked(feat-XXX): [short reason] Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>" git push origin HEAD
4. Confirm Block
Show:
- •Current blocked items count
- •Who can unblock
- •Suggest notifying the unblocking agent
Common Block Reasons
| Reason | Who Can Unblock |
|---|---|
| "Waiting for external API" | whoever manages the dependency |
| "Needs architecture decision" | tech lead |
| "Waiting for PR review" | any agent |
| "Blocked by FEAT-XXX" | whoever finishes that feature |
| "Needs stakeholder input" | project owner |
| "External dependency" | depends |
Unblocking
When you unblock an item:
- •Remove the
> **BLOCKED**section from the file - •Add Change Log entry: "Unblocked: [what changed]"
- •Move status:
yurtle-kanban move FEAT-XXX in_progress