monday.com guide · 5 min read

By Arnav Ghatage, founder of Fortimus — we build Mirror Item Multiple Boards·Last updated 14 August 2026

Can you mirror subitems in monday.com? Partly. Here’s the whole picture.

monday.com can mirror a subitem’s column values — into the parent, or from a connected board — but not the subitem itself. If you want the same subitem on a second board, editable from both sides, the native answer is no. This guide covers what works, where each method breaks, and the fix.

Install Mirror Item free Skip to the fix

The same monday.com subitem, Copy review, shown on a Delivery board and a Client board side by side with status, owner and due date synced both ways

The short version: mirror columns show a subitem’s values on another board, without its updates, and most automations cannot trigger on them. To have the subitem itself live on two boards and sync both ways you need an app — that’s what Mirror Item Multiple Boards does, in any direction (subitem→subitem, subitem→item, item→subitem).

Watch: mirroring subitems as items on another board.

Start here

“Mirror subitems” means three different things

People searching this are usually asking one of three questions. Two have a native answer. The third — the one that fills the community forum — doesn’t.

01Native: yes

Roll subitem values up to the parent

Total hours, earliest date, a status battery — an aggregate of the subitems shown on the parent row.

Read-only, same board only.

02Native: yes

Show another board’s columns inside a subitem

A subitem tied to a client or asset record on another board, with that record’s fields visible next to it.

Connect Boards + Mirror column on the subitem board. Values only.

03Native: no

Make a subitem exist on a second board and sync both ways

The same subitem, live under a parent on Board A and Board B, editable from either side.

Mirror columns copy values, never the item.

What monday.com does natively

Three native methods, and where each one stops

Method 1 · Native

Mirror subitem values into the parent

When to use it: You just want a rolled-up view on the parent row.

How: On the subitem column, choose Show summary on parent item. The parent row displays an aggregate of that column across its subitems.

Where it stops

Read-only: you can’t edit the summary on the parent and push it down.
Stays on the same board; never gets a subitem onto a different board.
You see "3 Done, 2 Working", not each subitem as its own row elsewhere.

Method 2 · Native

Mirror another board’s columns into a subitem

When to use it: Your subitem represents a task tied to a record on another board.

How: On the subitem board add a Connect Boards column, link the subitem to the item on the other board, then add a Mirror column for the fields you want.

Where it stops

Mirror columns show values from the connected item; they do not bring its updates or subitems.
Can only be re-mirrored two levels deep; Updates and item names can’t be mirrored at all (monday.com docs).
Most automations can’t trigger off mirror-column changes.
Every subitem is linked by hand, and the link breaks if the source item moves.

Method 3 · Native, fragile

Duplicate the subitem with an automation

When to use it: You only need a one-time copy and don’t care if it drifts.

How: "When subitem is created → create item in board X", then map the columns.

Where it stops

It’s a copy, not a mirror. Edit one and the other doesn’t move.
Within a week there are two versions of the truth.
Creates a top-level item on the target, not a subitem under a parent there.

Sources: monday.com’s own docs on the Mirror Column and Subitems. Deeper dive on the automation limit: Are monday.com mirror columns read-only?

The fix

Mirror the subitem itself, in any direction

If your real need is case 03 above, the answer is an app that shares the item across boards rather than copying values. Mirror Item Multiple Boards supports three distinct subitem shapes — here is what each one looks like.

Use case 01

Mirror an item and bring its subitems along

Mirror a parent item to another board with Add Subitems switched on, and the whole task tree comes with it. Every subitem stays in sync on both boards — or leave subitems out per board if a team only needs the parent.

Whole tree mirrored in one action
Per-board choice to include or exclude subitems
Parent–child structure preserved

A monday.com item called Website redesign mirrored from a Delivery board to a Client board with its three subitems Wireframes, Copy review and QA pass included and synced — Mirror the parent with Add Subitems on — Wireframes, Copy review and QA pass all come along.

Use case 02

Mirror a subitem as a full item

Promote a single subitem to a top-level row on another board — useful for a master board where managers need the task as a row rather than buried under a parent. It works in reverse too: an item on one board can appear as a subitem on another.

Subitem → item, and item → subitem
Great for master and leadership boards
Status, people, dates and updates sync both ways

The monday.com subitem Copy review mirrored from under a parent on the Delivery board to a top-level item on the Client board, with matching Done status and owner — The subitem Copy review becomes a top-level item on the Client board, still synced.

Use case 03

Put one subitem under two different parents

The same subitem can sit under a parent on Board A and under a completely different parent on Board B — the shared piece of work that two projects, clients or departments both track. There is no native equivalent for this at all.

One subitem, two parent items
Edit from either board
Counts once against your Mirror Item plan

One monday.com subitem, Copy review, shown under the parent Website redesign on a Delivery board and simultaneously under both Acme Corp and Beta Co on a Client board — One subitem living under two different parents, in sync everywhere.

Updates sync on subitems

Comments and replies sync too, and each one shows which board it came from.

Permissions respected

Mirrored subitems follow board and column permissions — people only see what they already can.

Counted once

A subitem mirrored to five boards costs one item against your Mirror Item plan. Some apps count it five times.

Mirror Item Multiple Boards tab inside a monday.com item: choose Target Board and Target Group, with Add Updates and Add Subitems toggles switched on — Pick the target board and group. Turn on Add Subitems so subitems mirror with the parent.

monday.com automation center showing Mirror Item Multiple Boards recipes such as when an item is created, mirror same item to Target Board Target Group — Or automate it from the Automation Center: search “mirror item” and pick a recipe.

Where it doesn’t fit: if you only need a summary roll-up on the parent (Method 1), you don’t need an app. If your whole team lives on one board, native subitems are fine. Mirror Item earns its place when different teams on different boards need to work the same subitem.

Step by step

Mirror a subitem to another board

Install Mirror Item Multiple Boards

From the monday.com marketplace. There is a free plan.

Open the subitem

Click the Mirror Item Multiple Boards tab, next to Updates, Files and Activity Log.

Pick the target board, group and shape

A subitem under a parent there, or a top-level item. Toggle Add Updates and Add Subitems as needed.

Click Add

It now exists on both boards. Shared columns, updates and files sync both ways. Or automate it: "When a subitem is created → mirror it to Target Board · Target Group."

Two-way by default. Switch any board to one-way if you only want changes to flow one direction.

Try it on your own subitems

Free plan · Editor’s Choice · 5.0 ★ on the monday.com marketplace. Mirror one subitem to a second board and edit it from there — it takes about a minute.

Install Mirror Item free Read the docs

FAQ

Subitem mirroring questions

Didn’t find yours? See all Mirror Item FAQs.

Can you mirror subitems in monday.com?+

You can mirror subitem column values — into the parent item as a summary, or from a connected board into a subitem — but not the subitem itself. To make the same subitem exist on two boards and sync both ways, you need an app such as Mirror Item Multiple Boards.

Can subitems have mirror columns?+

Yes. The subitem board supports Connect Boards and Mirror columns, so a subitem can display columns from an item on another board. The mirror column shows the connected item's values; it does not bring that item's updates or subitems, and most automations cannot trigger on it.

Can I mirror a subitem to another board?+

Not natively — mirror columns copy values, not items, and monday automations can only create a copy on another board, which does not stay in sync. Mirror Item Multiple Boards shares the actual subitem across boards, in any direction: subitem to subitem, subitem to item, or item to subitem.

Can a subitem live under two parent items?+

Not natively. With Mirror Item, one subitem can sit under a parent on Board A and a different parent on Board B and stay in sync.

Do updates and comments sync on mirrored subitems?+

Native mirror columns cannot mirror the Updates section at all. Mirror Item syncs updates and replies on subitems, and labels each one with the board it came from.

Does mirroring subitems use more of my item quota?+

It depends on the app. Some apps count a subitem shared across three boards as three items. Mirror Item counts it once, so a subitem mirrored to five boards costs one item against your plan.

Will mirrored subitems respect board permissions?+

Yes. Mirrored subitems follow monday.com board and column permissions — people only see what they already have access to.

About the author

Arnav Ghatage · Founder, Fortimus

I build monday.com apps full time. Mirror Item Multiple Boards is Editor’s Choice on the marketplace with 1,100+ installs, and subitem syncing is the feature customers ask us about most — everything on this page comes from building it and from the support conversations around it. Support is founder-led, so if something here doesn’t match what you see on your boards, you can tell me directly.

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