# Stages

Phases that group tasks, with order, dependencies, board column and average progress.

Source: https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/etapas/

- Category: Projects and companies
- Status: Available
- Requirements: A project you have access to; To create or edit: enough level in the Stages section
- MCP tools (Read only): `listar_etapas`, `ver_etapa`
- MCP tools (Write or modify): `crear_etapa`, `editar_etapa`, `eliminar_etapa`, `editar_etapas_en_lote`

## What can you do with it?

A stage groups tasks in a project: a phase, a deliverable or a sprint. It has a name, description, order, dependencies and its own board column.

- Create, rename, reorder and delete stages.
- Mark which other stages it depends on.
- Move it between board columns.
- Give it its own `slug`, unique in the project across stages, tasks and attachments.

## When should you use it?

- To split a project into phases with trackable progress.
- To tie a payment to a deliverable from [financial management](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/gestion-economica).

## How does it work in ArduMaker?

- A stage's progress is the simple average of its tasks' progress.
- If nobody set dependencies by hand, the board infers them from tasks: if a task in this stage depends on one in another stage, this stage waits for that one.
- A dependency that would create a cycle is rejected.
- Deleting a stage takes its tasks, checklists and comments to the trash as a single entry.

## What actually changes?

- Creating or editing a stage writes a line in the project history.
- Deleting it is reversible for 30 days from the trash.

## Expected result

The stage appears on the board with its progress, its column and the `puede_completarse` flag, which is true when all its dependencies are at 100%.

## Errors and troubleshooting

| Message | Cause |
| --- | --- |
| `Adding '<etapa>' as a dependency would create a cycle` | The dependency would close a loop between stages. |

If a stage was deleted by mistake, restore it from the trash; its tasks come back with it.

## MCP access

- Read: `listar_etapas` (paged, filters by column) and `ver_etapa` (includes its tasks and the `permisos` block).
- Write: `crear_etapa`, `editar_etapa` and `editar_etapas_en_lote` (up to 100 elements per call, each with its own result).
- `eliminar_etapa` is reversible: it returns an `operacion_id` for `restaurar_papelera`.

More at [/mcp/proyectos](https://ardumaker.com/en/mcp/proyectos) and [/mcp/docs](https://ardumaker.com/en/mcp/docs).

## Related features

- [Projects and kanban board](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/proyectos-kanban/)
- [Tasks](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/tareas/)
- [Dependencies](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/dependencias/)
- [Checklists](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/checklists/)
- [Trash](https://ardumaker.com/en/docs/papelera/)