Basecamp CLI

Interact with Basecamp projects and card tables using the basecamp command.

Prerequisites

The CLI must be installed and authenticated:

bash

basecamp version  # Verify installation
basecamp projects  # Verify authentication

If not authenticated, the user needs to run basecamp auth.

Commands

List projects

bash

basecamp projects

Output:

code

Projects
============================================================
[*] 12345678  Website Redesign
    Project description here
[*] 23456789  Mobile App

[*] = active

List boards in a project

bash

basecamp boards <project_id>

Output:

code

Card Tables in: Website Redesign
============================================================
87654321  Development Tasks

Columns:
  - Backlog (12 cards)
  - In Progress (3 cards)
  - Done (45 cards)

List cards

bash

basecamp cards <project_id> <board_id>
basecamp cards <project_id> <board_id> --column "In Progress"

Output:

code

Cards: Development Tasks
======================================================================

In Progress (3)
----------------------------------------
  44444444  Implement dark mode
           by John Doe
  55555555  Refactor authentication
           by Jane Smith

View card details

bash

basecamp card <project_id> <card_id>
basecamp card <project_id> <card_id> --comments

Output:

code

Card: Implement dark mode
======================================================================

ID:       44444444
Creator:  John Doe
Created:  2025-01-15T09:30:00.000Z
Updated:  2025-01-20T14:22:00.000Z
URL:      https://3.basecamp.com/.../cards/44444444
Assigned: Jane Smith

Description:
----------------------------------------
Add dark mode support to the application.

Comments (2):
----------------------------------------

Jane Smith (2025-01-16T10:00:00.000Z):
Started on the color palette.

John Doe (2025-01-17T09:15:00.000Z):
Looks great!

Move a card

bash

basecamp move <project_id> <board_id> <card_id> --to "Done"

Output:

code

Card 44444444 moved to 'Done'

Workflow example

To check what's being worked on and move a completed card:

bash

# Find the project
basecamp projects

# Find the board
basecamp boards 12345678

# See cards in progress
basecamp cards 12345678 87654321 --column "Progress"

# View details of a specific card
basecamp card 12345678 44444444 --comments

# Move it to Done
basecamp move 12345678 87654321 44444444 --to "Done"

Error handling

If you see "Not authenticated", the user needs to run:

bash

basecamp auth

If you see "Token expired", same fix applies.