---
url: /concepts/hierarchy.md
description: >-
  Why Hule lets folders nest without limit (subfolders), and how to shape the
  tree around the way you already think about your work.
---

# Folders inside folders

In Hule, folders nest inside folders (subfolders) as deep as you need, so the
[sidebar](/guides/organize-folders-and-lists) can copy
the way you already organize your work instead of forcing it into a fixed number of levels.

> **The tree is yours: Hule fixes only the top (the workspace) and the bottom (a task in a list).**

Everything between the [workspace](/concepts/hule-model) and the [list](/guides/set-up-a-list) is
up to you, from no folders at all to a folder for every client with a folder per project inside.

## Tree shape: what can hold what

```mermaid
flowchart TB
  WS["Workspace"]
  F["Folder"]
  L["List"]
  V["View"]
  T["Task"]
  ST["Subtask"]

  WS -- "contains" --> F
  WS -- "contains" --> L
  WS -- "contains" --> V
  F -- "contains" --> F
  F -- "contains" --> L
  F -- "contains" --> V
  L -- "has its own" --> V
  L -- "holds" --> T
  T -- "breaks into" --> ST
  ST -- "breaks into" --> ST
```

A [view](/concepts/views) shows tasks without owning them. A task belongs to exactly one list,
and its [subtasks](/guides/break-down-with-subtasks) stay in that list, nested as deep as the work
needs.

## Workspace and list: the fixed ends

Only two places in the tree are fixed, and both for a reason:

* **The workspace on top** is the boundary of sharing: its members and everything shared
  between them. See [Sharing along the hierarchy](/concepts/sharing).
* **The list at the bottom** decides how its tasks look: their statuses, which features are on,
  and how the task card lays out its fields. See [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses)
  and [Set up a list](/guides/set-up-a-list).

In between, a folder is only a grouping, so Hule has no reason to limit it. A small team may
need one level; an agency with clients, projects and phases may need three.

## Agency tree example

```text
🏢 Studio North                     workspace
├── 📁 Clients                      folder
│   ├── 📁 Bakery Co                folder inside a folder
│   │   ├── 📋 Website              list
│   │   └── 📋 Monthly retainer     list
│   └── 📁 City Museum              folder inside a folder
│       └── 📋 Exhibition app       list
├── 📁 Internal                     folder
│   ├── 📋 Hiring                   list
│   └── 📊 Team workload            view on the whole folder
└── 📋 Studio requests              list at the top
```

Each client gets a folder, so a contractor you
[invite](/guides/invite-members-and-grant-permissions) can be given one client's work in one
step (see [Give a contractor one branch](/recipes/give-a-contractor-one-branch)), and a folder view such as **Team workload** can show every list inside **Internal** that the
viewer has access to.

## Folder levels worth adding

A new level is worth it when the branch will be treated as one unit. Three things act on a
whole folder:

| What | How it covers the folder | More |
|---|---|---|
| **Sharing** | the member gets every folder, list and view inside it, including ones added later, except branches marked **Private** | [Sharing along the hierarchy](/concepts/sharing) |
| **Views** | a view draws tasks from the whole folder, sub-folders included, so one Kanban covers every list in it that the viewer can open | [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views) |
| **Automations** | an automation applies to the folder and every list inside it | [Automations](/concepts/automations) |

If a group will never be shared, viewed or automated as one, a [tag](/guides/tag-tasks) on the
tasks may serve better than another folder. Tags cut across the tree without adding a level.

## Moving folders, lists and tasks

A folder or a list can move anywhere in its workspace, and everything inside travels with it. A
task can move to another list in the same workspace, and its subtasks come with it
([Move a task](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks#move-a-task)). Nothing moves to another workspace.
To move folders and lists, see
[Organize folders and lists](/guides/organize-folders-and-lists#reorder-and-move).

## Access after a move

Moving a branch swaps what it inherits ([Sharing along the hierarchy](/concepts/sharing)):

* People with access to the new parent folder get the branch.
* At the top of the workspace, the branch inherits from nobody.
* A branch with **Inherit access** off (a lock icon titled **Private**) keeps its own audience.
* Anyone granted access to the branch directly keeps it.

::: warning A move can take access away
People who had the branch only through the old folder lose it at once. Share it with them
directly first if they still need it.
:::

## Personal folders under User Views

Your own views follow a smaller version of the same idea: under **User Views**, personal
folders hold your personal views and other personal folders, never lists or tasks. See
[Personal and work tasks in one place](/concepts/personal-and-work).

## Tree links to the rest of the model

Each part of [The Hule model](/concepts/hule-model) attaches to a place in the tree:

| Feature | Attaches to | More |
|---|---|---|
| Views | a workspace, a folder or a list | [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views) |
| Sharing | a folder, a list or a view, flowing down | [Sharing along the hierarchy](/concepts/sharing) |
| Statuses | a list, through its status template | [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses) |
| Relations | tasks, across lists | [Task relations and the relations graph](/concepts/relations) |
| Automations | a workspace, a folder or a list | [Automations](/concepts/automations) |

## Folder guides and recipes

* [Organize folders and lists](/guides/organize-folders-and-lists): build and reshape your tree.
* [Split a team's work into folders](/recipes/split-a-team-into-folders): one branch per team.
* [Give a contractor one branch](/recipes/give-a-contractor-one-branch): open one client's work.