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 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:

1. BASECAMP_GET_PEOPLE - List all people visible to the current user [Required]
2. BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS - Find the target project [Prerequisite]
3. BASECAMP_LIST_PROJECT_PEOPLE - List people on a specific project [Required]
4. BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS_PEOPLE - Alternative to list project members [Alternative]
5. 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:

1. BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS - Find the target project [Prerequisite]
2. BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS - Get the to-do list details [Prerequisite]
3. BASECAMP_GET_TODOLIST_GROUPS - List existing groups in a to-do list [Optional]
4. BASECAMP_GET_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS - Alternative group listing [Alternative]
5. BASECAMP_POST_BUCKETS_TODOLISTS_GROUPS - Create a new group in a to-do list [Required]
6. 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:

1. BASECAMP_GET_PROJECTS - List all active projects [Required]
2. BASECAMP_GET_PROJECT - Get comprehensive details for a specific project [Optional]
3. 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 \x3Cdiv> tags; use \x3Cstrong>, \x3Cem>, \x3Cul>, \x3Col>, \x3Cli>, \x3Ca> etc.
• Example: \x3Cdiv>\x3Cstrong>Important:\x3C/strong> Complete by Friday\x3C/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