sudocode issue show

Syntax

sudocode issue show <issue-id>

Description

The issue show command displays comprehensive information about an issue. This includes:

Basic metadata (title, status, priority, assignee, timestamps)
Parent issue (if hierarchical)
Full content/description
Outgoing relationships (what this issue depends on or implements)
Incoming relationships (what depends on or blocks this issue)
Tags
Feedback provided to specs

This command is essential for understanding an issue’s context, including blockers, dependencies, and spec implementations.

Arguments

string

required

The ID of the issue to displayExample: ISSUE-001The issue ID must exist in your project.

Output Format

The command displays information in the following sections:

Header Section

Issue ID and Title - Displayed prominently
Status - Current workflow state (open, in_progress, blocked, needs_review, closed)
Priority - 0-4 priority level
Assignee - Who’s working on it (if assigned)
Parent - Parent issue ID (if hierarchical)
Created/Updated/Closed - Timestamps
Tags - Associated tags

Content Section

Full content/description of the issue

Outgoing Relationships

Relationships from this issue to other entities
Format: relationship_type → TARGET_ID (entity_type)
Shows what this issue implements, depends on, or references

Incoming Relationships

Relationships from other entities to this issue
Format: SOURCE_ID (entity_type) → relationship_type
Shows what blocks or references this issue

Feedback Provided

Feedback this issue has provided to specs
Shows feedback ID, target spec, type, status, and preview

Examples

Basic Usage

Display an issue:

sudocode issue show ISSUE-001

Expected output

ISSUE-001 Implement OAuth 2.0 token endpoint
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status: in_progress
Priority: 1
Assignee: agent-backend-dev
Created: 2025-10-29T10:00:00Z
Updated: 2025-10-29T15:30:00Z
Tags: auth, backend, api

Content:
Create REST endpoint for OAuth token exchange following RFC 6749.

## Description
Build the OAuth 2.0 token endpoint that handles authorization
code exchange and refresh token flows.

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Endpoint accepts valid authorization codes
- [ ] Returns valid JWT access tokens
- [ ] Handles refresh token flow
- [ ] Unit tests with >90% coverage

Outgoing Relationships:
  implements → SPEC-001 (spec)
  depends-on → ISSUE-002 (issue)

Incoming Relationships:
  ISSUE-003 (issue) → blocks

Feedback Provided:
  FB-001 → SPEC-001 [active] [valid]
    Type: request | Authentication Flow (line 42)
    Token expiration policy not specified. Need clarification...

Blocked Issue

View a blocked issue to see what’s blocking it:

sudocode issue show ISSUE-003

Expected output

ISSUE-003 Implement registration endpoint
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status: blocked
Priority: 1
Created: 2025-10-29T11:00:00Z
Updated: 2025-10-29T16:00:00Z

Content:
Create user registration endpoint with email validation.

Incoming Relationships:
  ISSUE-001 (issue) → blocks
  ISSUE-002 (issue) → blocks

Interpretation: ISSUE-003 is blocked by ISSUE-001 and ISSUE-002. Both must be completed before work can start on ISSUE-003.

Closed Issue

View a completed issue:

sudocode issue show ISSUE-005

Expected output

ISSUE-005 Database schema setup
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status: closed
Priority: 1
Assignee: alice
Created: 2025-10-29T09:00:00Z
Updated: 2025-10-29T17:00:00Z
Closed: 2025-10-29T17:00:00Z

Content:
Set up initial database schema for authentication system.

Outgoing Relationships:
  implements → SPEC-001 (spec)

Hierarchical Issue (Subtask)

View a subtask within an epic:

sudocode issue show ISSUE-012

Expected output

ISSUE-012 Implement login form UI
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status: open
Priority: 2
Parent: ISSUE-010
Created: 2025-10-29T12:00:00Z
Updated: 2025-10-29T12:00:00Z
Tags: frontend, ui

Content:
Build the login form component with validation.

Outgoing Relationships:
  implements → SPEC-001 (spec)

Interpretation: This is a subtask of ISSUE-010 (the epic/parent issue).

Issue with No Relationships

View a standalone issue:

sudocode issue show ISSUE-020

Expected output

ISSUE-020 Update dependency versions
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Status: open
Priority: 3
Assignee: bob
Created: 2025-10-29T14:00:00Z
Updated: 2025-10-29T14:00:00Z
Tags: maintenance, dependencies

Content:
Update npm dependencies to latest stable versions.

JSON Output

Get machine-readable output:

sudocode --json issue show ISSUE-001

JSON output

{
  "id": "ISSUE-001",
  "title": "Implement OAuth 2.0 token endpoint",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "priority": 1,
  "assignee": "agent-backend-dev",
  "content": "Create REST endpoint for OAuth token exchange...",
  "parent_id": null,
  "created_at": "2025-10-29T10:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-10-29T15:30:00Z",
  "closed_at": null,
  "archived": false,
  "relationships": {
    "outgoing": [
      {
        "from_id": "ISSUE-001",
        "from_type": "issue",
        "to_id": "SPEC-001",
        "to_type": "spec",
        "relationship_type": "implements",
        "created_at": "2025-10-29T10:30:00Z"
      }
    ],
    "incoming": [
      {
        "from_id": "ISSUE-003",
        "from_type": "issue",
        "to_id": "ISSUE-001",
        "to_type": "issue",
        "relationship_type": "blocks",
        "created_at": "2025-10-29T11:00:00Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "tags": ["auth", "backend", "api"],
  "feedback": [
    {
      "id": "FB-001",
      "issue_id": "ISSUE-001",
      "spec_id": "SPEC-001",
      "feedback_type": "request",
      "content": "Token expiration policy not specified...",
      "dismissed": false,
      "anchor": {
        "line_number": 42,
        "anchor_status": "valid"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Understanding Relationships

Outgoing Relationships

Shows what this issue connects to:

Outgoing Relationships:
  implements → SPEC-001 (spec)
  depends-on → ISSUE-002 (issue)
  references → SPEC-010 (spec)

Interpretation:

This issue implements requirements from SPEC-001
It has a soft dependency on ISSUE-002
It references SPEC-010 for additional context

Incoming Relationships

Shows what connects to this issue:

Incoming Relationships:
  ISSUE-003 (issue) → blocks
  ISSUE-005 (issue) → related

Interpretation:

ISSUE-003 is blocked by this issue (ISSUE-003 can’t proceed until this is done)
ISSUE-005 is related to this issue (same domain/context)

Blocked Status

If an issue status is blocked, check incoming relationships:

Status: blocked

Incoming Relationships:
  ISSUE-001 (issue) → blocks
  SPEC-005 (spec) → depends-on

This means: The issue is blocked BY ISSUE-001, not blocking it.

Understanding Feedback

Feedback shows what this issue has communicated to specs:

Feedback Provided:
  FB-001 → SPEC-001 [active] [valid]
    Type: request | Authentication Flow (line 42)
    Token expiration policy not specified...

Components:

FB-001 - Feedback ID
SPEC-001 - Target spec receiving feedback
[active] - Not dismissed
[valid] - Anchor is still valid
request - Feedback type (comment, suggestion, or request)
line 42 - Anchored location in spec
Preview of feedback content

Common Workflows

Checking if Work is Ready

View the issue

sudocode issue show ISSUE-003

Check status

Is it open or blocked?

Check blockers

Look at incoming blocks relationships

If blocked, check blocker status

sudocode issue show ISSUE-001  # The blocking issue

Understanding Issue Context

Find the issue

sudocode issue list --grep "oauth"

View details

sudocode issue show ISSUE-001

Read related spec

sudocode spec show SPEC-001  # From implements relationship

Check dependencies

sudocode issue show ISSUE-002  # From depends-on relationship

Claiming Work

Find ready work

sudocode ready

Review details

sudocode issue show ISSUE-001

Check dependencies and spec

Review relationships section

Claim the issue

sudocode issue update ISSUE-001 --status in_progress --assignee "your-name"

Common Questions

What does 'blocks' mean in incoming vs outgoing relationships?

Outgoing blocks: This issue blocks another issue (others depend on this being done)
Incoming blocks: Another issue blocks this issue (this can’t proceed until blocker is done)

Example:

ISSUE-001 show:
Outgoing: blocks → ISSUE-002

ISSUE-002 show:
Incoming: ISSUE-001 → blocks

Interpretation: ISSUE-001 blocks ISSUE-002. ISSUE-002 can’t start until ISSUE-001 is done.

How do I see the spec this issue implements?

Check the “Outgoing Relationships” section for implements relationships:

Outgoing Relationships:
  implements → SPEC-001 (spec)

Then view the spec:

sudocode spec show SPEC-001

What's the difference between parent_id and blocked relationships?

Parent: Hierarchical organization (epic/subtask structure), doesn’t affect execution
Blocked by: Hard dependency, prevents issue from being worked on

An issue can have a parent AND be blocked:

Parent: ISSUE-010 (epic)
Incoming: ISSUE-001 → blocks

Can I hide certain sections?

Use --json and parse specific fields with jq:

# Get only relationships
sudocode --json issue show ISSUE-001 | jq '.relationships'

# Get only status and assignee
sudocode --json issue show ISSUE-001 | jq '{status, assignee}'

How do I see all issues this issue blocks?

Check “Outgoing Relationships” for blocks type:

Outgoing Relationships:
  blocks → ISSUE-002 (issue)
  blocks → ISSUE-003 (issue)

Troubleshooting

Error: Issue not found

Cause: The issue ID doesn’t existSolution: Verify the ID:

sudocode issue list

Or search:

sudocode issue list --grep "oauth"

Content section is empty

Cause: The issue has no description/contentSolution: This is normal for newly created issues. Add content with:

sudocode issue update ISSUE-001 --description "Your content here"

No relationships shown

Cause: The issue has no relationships created yetSolution: This is normal. Create relationships with:

sudocode link ISSUE-001 SPEC-001 --type implements

Feedback section appears but I haven't added any

Cause: Feedback is only shown if the issue has provided feedback to specsSolution: This is normal. The section only appears when feedback exists.

issue list

List all issues

issue update

Update issue properties

issue create

Create new issue

spec show

View spec details

link

Create relationships

ready

Find ready work

Next Steps

View an issue

sudocode issue show ISSUE-001

Check blockers and dependencies

Review relationships section

Read related specs

Follow implements relationships

Start working

sudocode issue update ISSUE-001 --status in_progress --assignee "you"

Issues Concept Guide

Learn more about issues and their lifecycle

​Syntax

​Description

​Arguments

​Output Format

​Header Section

​Content Section

​Outgoing Relationships

​Incoming Relationships

​Feedback Provided

​Examples

​Basic Usage

​Blocked Issue

​Closed Issue

​Hierarchical Issue (Subtask)

​Issue with No Relationships

​JSON Output

​Understanding Relationships

​Outgoing Relationships

​Incoming Relationships

​Blocked Status

​Understanding Feedback

​Common Workflows

​Checking if Work is Ready

​Understanding Issue Context

​Claiming Work

​Common Questions

​Troubleshooting

​Related Commands

issue list

issue update

issue create

spec show

link

ready

​Next Steps

Issues Concept Guide

Syntax

Description

Arguments

Output Format

Header Section

Content Section

Outgoing Relationships

Incoming Relationships

Feedback Provided

Examples

Basic Usage

Blocked Issue

Closed Issue

Hierarchical Issue (Subtask)

Issue with No Relationships

JSON Output

Understanding Relationships

Outgoing Relationships

Incoming Relationships

Blocked Status

Understanding Feedback

Common Workflows

Checking if Work is Ready

Understanding Issue Context

Claiming Work

Common Questions

Troubleshooting

Related Commands

Next Steps