Buildwithclaude basecamp-automation

Automate Basecamp project management, to-dos, messages, people, and to-do list organization via Rube MCP (Composio). Always search tools first for current schemas.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/all-skills/skills/basecamp-automation" ~/.claude/skills/davepoon-buildwithclaude-basecamp-automation && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: plugins/all-skills/skills/basecamp-automation/SKILL.md

Basecamp Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Basecamp operations including project management, to-do list creation, task management, message board posting, people management, and to-do group organization through Composio's Basecamp toolkit.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/basecamp

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
Active Basecamp connection via
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
basecamp
```
Always call
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add

https://rube.app/mcp

as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
responds
Call
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
basecamp
```
If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Basecamp OAuth
Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Manage To-Do Lists and Tasks

When to use: User wants to create to-do lists, add tasks, or organize work within a Basecamp project

Tool sequence:

```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
- List projects to find the target bucket_id [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS
```
- Get the to-do set within a project [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS
```
- List existing to-do lists to avoid duplicates [Optional]
```
BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS
```
- Create a new to-do list in a to-do set [Required for list creation]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS
```
- Get details of a specific to-do list [Optional]
```
BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_TODOS
```
- Create a to-do item in a to-do list [Required for task creation]
```
BASECAMP_CREATE_TODO
```
- Alternative tool for creating individual to-dos [Alternative]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_TODOS
```
- List to-dos within a to-do list [Optional]

Key parameters for creating to-do lists:

```
bucket_id
```
: Integer project/bucket ID (from GET_PROJECTS)
```
todoset_id
```
: Integer to-do set ID (from GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS)
```
name
```
: Title of the to-do list (required)
```
description
```
: HTML-formatted description (supports Rich text)

Key parameters for creating to-dos:

```
bucket_id
```
: Integer project/bucket ID
```
todolist_id
```
: Integer to-do list ID
```
content
```
: What the to-do is for (required)
```
description
```
: HTML details about the to-do
```
assignee_ids
```
: Array of integer person IDs
```
due_on
```
: Due date in
```
YYYY-MM-DD
```
format
```
starts_on
```
: Start date in
```
YYYY-MM-DD
```
format
```
notify
```
: Boolean to notify assignees (defaults to false)
```
completion_subscriber_ids
```
: Person IDs notified upon completion

Pitfalls:

A project (bucket) can contain multiple to-do sets; selecting the wrong
```
todoset_id
```
creates lists in the wrong section
Always check existing to-do lists before creating to avoid near-duplicate names
Success payloads include user-facing URLs (
```
app_url
```
,
```
app_todos_url
```
); prefer returning these over raw IDs
All IDs (
```
bucket_id
```
,
```
todoset_id
```
,
```
todolist_id
```
) are integers, not strings
Descriptions support HTML formatting only, not Markdown

2. Post and Manage Messages

When to use: User wants to post messages to a project message board or update existing messages

Tool sequence:

```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
- Find the target project and bucket_id [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE_BOARD
```
- Get the message board ID for the project [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_CREATE_MESSAGE
```
- Create a new message on the board [Required]
```
BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_MESSAGE_BOARDS_MESSAGES
```
- Alternative message creation tool [Fallback]
```
BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE
```
- Read a specific message by ID [Optional]
```
BASECAMP_PUT_BUCKETS_MESSAGES
```
- Update an existing message [Optional]

Key parameters:

```
bucket_id
```
: Integer project/bucket ID
```
message_board_id
```
: Integer message board ID (from GET_MESSAGE_BOARD)
```
subject
```
: Message title (required)
```
content
```
: HTML body of the message
```
status
```
: Set to
```
"active"
```
to publish immediately
```
category_id
```
: Message type classification (optional)
```
subscriptions
```
: Array of person IDs to notify; omit to notify all project members

Pitfalls:

```
status="draft"
```
can produce HTTP 400; use
```
status="active"
```
as the reliable option
```
bucket_id
```
and
```
message_board_id
```
must belong to the same project; mismatches fail or misroute
Message content supports HTML tags only; not Markdown
Updates via
```
PUT_BUCKETS_MESSAGES
```
replace the entire body -- include the full corrected content, not just a diff
Prefer
```
app_url
```
from the response for user-facing confirmation links
Both
```
CREATE_MESSAGE
```
and
```
POST_BUCKETS_MESSAGE_BOARDS_MESSAGES
```
do the same thing; use CREATE_MESSAGE first and fall back to POST if it fails

3. Manage People and Access

When to use: User wants to list people, manage project access, or add new users

Tool sequence:

```
BASECAMP_GET_PEOPLE
```
- List all people visible to the current user [Required]
```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
- Find the target project [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_LIST_PROJECT_PEOPLE
```
- List people on a specific project [Required]
```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS_PEOPLE
```
- Alternative to list project members [Alternative]
```
BASECAMP_PUT_PROJECTS_PEOPLE_USERS
```
- Grant or revoke project access [Required for access changes]

Key parameters for PUT_PROJECTS_PEOPLE_USERS:

```
project_id
```
: Integer project ID
```
grant
```
: Array of integer person IDs to add to the project
```
revoke
```
: Array of integer person IDs to remove from the project
```
create
```
: Array of objects with
```
name
```
,
```
email_address
```
, and optional
```
company_name
```
,
```
title
```
for new users
At least one of
```
grant
```
,
```
revoke
```
, or
```
create
```
must be provided

Pitfalls:

Person IDs are integers; always resolve names to IDs via GET_PEOPLE first
```
project_id
```
for people management is the same as
```
bucket_id
```
for other operations
```
LIST_PROJECT_PEOPLE
```
and
```
GET_PROJECTS_PEOPLE
```
are near-identical; use either
Creating users via
```
create
```
also grants them project access in one step

4. Organize To-Dos with Groups

When to use: User wants to organize to-dos within a list into color-coded groups

Tool sequence:

```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
- Find the target project [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS
```
- Get the to-do list details [Prerequisite]
```
BASECAMP_GET_TODOLIST_GROUPS
```
- List existing groups in a to-do list [Optional]
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS
```
- Alternative group listing [Alternative]
```
BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS
```
- Create a new group in a to-do list [Required]
```
BASECAMP_CREATE_TODOLIST_GROUP
```
- Alternative group creation tool [Alternative]

Key parameters:

```
bucket_id
```
: Integer project/bucket ID
```
todolist_id
```
: Integer to-do list ID
```
name
```
: Group title (required)

color

: Visual color identifier -- one of:

white

red

orange

yellow

green

blue

aqua

purple

gray

pink

brown

```
status
```
: Filter for listing --
```
"archived"
```
or
```
"trashed"
```
(omit for active groups)

Pitfalls:

POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS

and

CREATE_TODOLIST_GROUP

are near-identical; use either

Color values must be from the fixed palette; arbitrary hex/rgb values are not supported
Groups are sub-sections within a to-do list, not standalone entities

5. Browse and Inspect Projects

When to use: User wants to list projects, get project details, or explore project structure

Tool sequence:

```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
- List all active projects [Required]
```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECT
```
- Get comprehensive details for a specific project [Optional]
```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS_BY_PROJECT_ID
```
- Alternative project detail retrieval [Alternative]

Key parameters:

```
status
```
: Filter by
```
"archived"
```
or
```
"trashed"
```
; omit for active projects
```
project_id
```
: Integer project ID for detailed retrieval

Pitfalls:

Projects are sorted by most recently created first
The response includes a
```
dock
```
array with tools (todoset, message_board, etc.) and their IDs
Use the dock tool IDs to find
```
todoset_id
```
,
```
message_board_id
```
, etc. for downstream operations

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Basecamp uses a hierarchical ID structure. Always resolve top-down:

Project (bucket_id):
```
BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS
```
-- find by name, capture the
```
id
```
To-do set (todoset_id): Found in project dock or via
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS
```
Message board (message_board_id): Found in project dock or via
```
BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE_BOARD
```
To-do list (todolist_id):
```
BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS
```

People (person_id):

BASECAMP_GET_PEOPLE

BASECAMP_LIST_PROJECT_PEOPLE

Note:
```
bucket_id
```
and
```
project_id
```
refer to the same entity in different contexts

Pagination

Basecamp uses page-based pagination on list endpoints:

Response headers or body may indicate more pages available
```
GET_PROJECTS
```
,
```
GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS
```
, and list endpoints return paginated results
Continue fetching until no more results are returned

Content Formatting

All rich text fields use HTML, not Markdown
Wrap content in
```
<div>
```
tags; use
```
<strong>
```
,
```
<em>
```
,
```
<ul>
```
,
```
<ol>
```
,
```
<li>
```
,
```
<a>
```
etc.

Example:

<div><strong>Important:</strong> Complete by Friday</div>

Known Pitfalls

ID Formats

All Basecamp IDs are integers, not strings or UUIDs
```
bucket_id
```
=
```
project_id
```
(same entity, different parameter names across tools)
To-do set IDs, to-do list IDs, and message board IDs are found in the project's
```
dock
```
array
Person IDs are integers; resolve names via
```
GET_PEOPLE
```
before operations

Status Field

```
status="draft"
```
for messages can cause HTTP 400; always use
```
status="active"
```
Project/to-do list status filters:
```
"archived"
```
,
```
"trashed"
```
, or omit for active

Content Format

HTML only, never Markdown
Updates replace the entire body, not a partial diff
Invalid HTML tags may be silently stripped

Rate Limits

Basecamp API has rate limits; space out rapid sequential requests
Large projects with many to-dos should be paginated carefully

URL Handling

Prefer
```
app_url
```
from API responses for user-facing links
Do not reconstruct Basecamp URLs manually from IDs

Quick Reference

Task	Tool Slug	Key Params
List projects	`BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS`	`status`
Get project	`BASECAMP_GET_PROJECT`	`project_id`
Get project detail	`BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS_BY_PROJECT_ID`	`project_id`
Get to-do set	`BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS`	`bucket_id` , `todoset_id`
List to-do lists	`BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS`	`bucket_id` , `todoset_id`
Get to-do list	`BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id`
Create to-do list	`BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS`	`bucket_id` , `todoset_id` , `name`
Create to-do	`BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_TODOS`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id` , `content`
Create to-do (alt)	`BASECAMP_CREATE_TODO`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id` , `content`
List to-dos	`BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_TODOS`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id`
List to-do groups	`BASECAMP_GET_TODOLIST_GROUPS`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id`
Create to-do group	`BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id` , `name` , `color`
Create to-do group (alt)	`BASECAMP_CREATE_TODOLIST_GROUP`	`bucket_id` , `todolist_id` , `name`
Get message board	`BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE_BOARD`	`bucket_id` , `message_board_id`
Create message	`BASECAMP_CREATE_MESSAGE`	`bucket_id` , `message_board_id` , `subject` , `status`
Create message (alt)	`BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_MESSAGE_BOARDS_MESSAGES`	`bucket_id` , `message_board_id` , `subject`
Get message	`BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE`	`bucket_id` , `message_id`
Update message	`BASECAMP_PUT_BUCKETS_MESSAGES`	`bucket_id` , `message_id`
List all people	`BASECAMP_GET_PEOPLE`	(none)
List project people	`BASECAMP_LIST_PROJECT_PEOPLE`	`project_id`
Manage access	`BASECAMP_PUT_PROJECTS_PEOPLE_USERS`	`project_id` , `grant` , `revoke` , `create`