Relationship types are the catalog of directional links you can create between two projects, or between two tasks. You create the links themselves on the project or task detail pages — see Entity relationships — but the catalog of available types is configured here.
Relationship types share the same configuration system as custom statuses and task types — the same editor, ordering, enable/disable, and delete-with-reassign behavior apply.
Where to configure them
The catalog is scoped by kind of record:
- Project relationships — Project relationships. These apply to project-to-project links.
- Task relationships — Task relationships. These apply to task-to-task links.
Both pages use the same editor, locked to their scope.
Fields
Each type has:
- Type ID — a short identifier (e.g.
blocks,relates-to,duplicates) used in exports and imports. - Name — display label.
- Description — optional helper text.
- Color — optional color for the badge shown in the relationship list on a detail page.
- Order — position in the type picker.
- Enabled — when off, the type is hidden from new pickers but kept on existing relationships.
- Affects target — when on, the source holds up the target: while the source is unfinished, the target is flagged on the task kanban. Off by default.
- Affected by target — when on, the source is held up by the target: while the target is unfinished, the source is flagged on the task kanban. Off by default.
- Scope — project or task, locked by which page you're on.
The two dependency toggles are what drive the kanban warning described in Entity relationships and Task kanban. Leave both off for a plain, non-blocking label.
Defaults
Ceum starts you with a small set you can edit or remove (both scopes share the same dependency set; tasks add Duplicates):
- Relates to — a plain link, no dependency behavior.
- Blocks (red) — affects target.
- Blocked by (red) — affected by target.
- Depends on (yellow) — affected by target.
- Is dependency of (yellow) — affects target.
- Duplicates (task scope only) — a plain link.
How types are used
When you add a relationship on a project or task, the type picker offers every enabled type in that scope. Each relationship records the record you started from, the linked record, and the type you picked. You can't have two identical links (same source, target, and type), and a record can't be linked to itself.
Relationships are strictly directional. Ceum doesn't auto-create the reverse link — if you want to express the inverse, add a second relationship from the other side.
Workflows
Add a new type
Open the relevant page, add a row, set a name and color, and save. The new type appears in pickers right away.
Rename a type
Edit the name. Existing relationships refer to the type by its ID, so the rename is purely cosmetic — they re-render with the new label.
Disable a type
Turn Enabled off. Existing relationships of that type stay visible but can't be created on new records.
Delete a type
If no links use the type, deleting it removes it after a confirmation. If links still use it, Ceum first sends you to a short reassign step — pick a replacement type for each existing link and Migrate all to move them over — before the type is deleted. The links themselves are preserved, just retyped. Disable instead if you simply want to stop offering the type on new links.
Tips and edge cases
- Renames are safe. Only the display label changes; existing links keep working.
- "Relates to" still needs both directions. Even for a symmetric-sounding type, create a link from each side if you want both ends to show it.
- No client-to-client relationships. The closest model is grouping projects under a client.
- Deleting a type in use reassigns its links. You pick a replacement type for them first; the links are kept, not dropped. Disabling is still simpler when you only want to retire a type.
On mobile
Not available on the mobile app — manage from the web app.