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 or 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

tags; use , ,
,
,
, etc. Example:
Important: Complete by Friday
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 Powered by Composio

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