Configure parent-child relationships

What are parent-child relationships? 

Parent-child relationships allow you to create dependencies between records, where a parent record serves as the source for related child records. This is useful when you have hierarchical data or when one record naturally contains or references other records.

Example: IT change request with related tasks

Imagine you're tracking an IT change request that involves multiple implementation tasks. You could structure this as:

  • Parent record: Change request (contains request ID, priority, status, assigned engineer)

  • Child records: Individual tasks (each task references the parent change request)

Now, when you link the parent record to a case, all related request records are automatically included, giving your team complete context.

Why parent-child relationships matter 

  • Data organization: Group related records together logically.

  • Case integration: When a parent record is added to a case, all child records are added as well.

  • Hierarchical queries: Query parent records and automatically include their children.

  • Table visibility: Parent records display directly in the records table as a clickable link in the parent column, giving you context at a glance.

How to configure parent-child relationships 

Parent-child relationships are configured in the child record's capture tool within a story.

  1. Add a Capture Record tool to your story for the child record type.

  2. In the properties panel, enable Parent record.

  3. Use a formula to reference the parent record from an upstream action.

❗️Important

✋ Try this: Configure a parent-child relationship 

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