> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.no-tickets.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Epics

> How features and fixes are grouped into a body of work with a shared goal.

An **epic** is a body of work with a single goal. It contains zero or more
features and zero or more fixes. Epics are the top-level grouping on the
board — every feature and fix belongs to exactly one epic.

If you've used Jira, this maps to a Jira epic. If you've used Linear, it
maps to a Linear project.

## Where epics live

Epics live in the `.tiny-brain/` directory of your repo:

```
.tiny-brain/
├── auth-flow/                      ← epic directory (slug = epic id)
│   ├── epic.md                     ← epic definition
│   ├── google-oauth.md             ← feature
│   ├── token-refresh.md            ← feature
│   └── logout-redirect-bug.md      ← fix
└── billing-portal/
    ├── epic.md
    └── ...
```

The directory name is the epic ID. The `epic.md` file inside it carries the
title, description, and goals. Features and fixes are siblings of `epic.md`,
linked back via their `epic:` frontmatter field.

## Cross-project epics

By default an epic lives in one repository. For work that spans multiple
repos (e.g. a feature change that touches both `no-tickets-service` and
`no-tickets`), epics can span projects.

A **cross-project epic** is declared by its `id` appearing in multiple
projects' `.tiny-brain/` directories with the same `id` and `type: epic`. The
dashboard fuses them: one epic card on the board, features and fixes from
both projects listed underneath.

The fuse is by `id`, not by title — keep epic IDs unique within a team if you
don't want this behaviour.

## Epic vs feature

|                   | Epic                                      | Feature                           |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| **Granularity**   | A multi-week body of work                 | A shippable unit (days to a week) |
| **Has phase?**    | No (rolls up from children)               | Yes                               |
| **Has tasks?**    | No                                        | Yes                               |
| **Has assignee?** | No (features have assignees; epics don't) | Yes                               |

If you're tempted to put tasks directly under an epic, split it into
features instead.

## Phase rollup

An epic's "phase" on the board is computed, not declared. The dashboard shows
a small distribution bar: how many features/fixes are in each phase. An epic
is rendered as "done" only when every child is `phase: done`.

The rollup is in the dashboard only — there is no `phase` field on an epic's
markdown file. Adding one is ignored.

## See also

* [Phases](/concepts/phases) — what gets rolled up
* [Markdown format → epics](/markdown-format/epics) — the epic file format
* [Cross-project epics — PRD](https://github.com/magic-ingredients/no-tickets-service/blob/main/docs/prd/no-tickets-team-dashboard/features/epics-cross-project.md)