Basecamp Automation

# 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.

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.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming `RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS` responds

2. Call `RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS` with toolkit `basecamp`

3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Basecamp OAuth

4. 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**:

1. `BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS` - List projects to find the target bucket_id [Prerequisite]

2. `BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS` - Get the to-do set within a project [Prerequisite]

3. `BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS` - List existing to-do lists to avoid duplicates [Optional]

4. `BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOSETS_TODOLISTS` - Create a new to-do list in a to-do set [Required for list creation]

5. `BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS` - Get details of a specific to-do list [Optional]

6. `BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_TODOS` - Create a to-do item in a to-do list [Required for task creation]

7. `BASECAMP_CREATE_TODO` - Alternative tool for creating individual to-dos [Alternative]

8. `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**:

1. `BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS` - Find the target project and bucket_id [Prerequisite]

2. `BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE_BOARD` - Get the message board ID for the project [Prerequisite]

3. `BASECAMP_CREATE_MESSAGE` - Create a new message on the board [Required]

4. `BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_MESSAGE_BOARDS_MESSAGES` - Alternative message creation tool [Fallback]

5. `BASECAMP_GET_MESSAGE` - Read a specific message by ID [Optional]

6. `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 imme