AGENTS/skills/basecamp-project/SKILL.md

name, description, compatibility

name	description	compatibility
basecamp-project	Use when: (1) User wants to create a Basecamp project from an existing plan document, (2) User wants to generate a project draft before confirming creation. Triggers: "create basecamp project from plan", "setup project in basecamp", "basecamp draft", "plan to basecamp", "launch project", "initialize project in basecamp"	opencode

Overview

Creates a Basecamp project from a markdown plan document via a human-in-the-loop workflow: draft first, review, then create. Extracts project structure from the plan, prompts for missing information, generates a proposal, and creates the full project on confirmation.

Prerequisites

• Basecamp CLI configured (basecamp doctor passes)
• Plans stored as markdown files in docs/plans/
• Basecamp skill available for API calls

Core Workflow

Step 1: List Plans

List all markdown files in docs/plans/:

ls -1 docs/plans/*.md

Present as numbered list for easy selection.

Step 2: User Selects Plan

User picks a plan by number or filename. Validate the file exists before proceeding.

Step 3: Parse Plan

Read the selected file and extract available fields:

Field	Source	Required
Project name	First heading (# Title) or frontmatter title:	Yes
Description	Frontmatter description: or second paragraph	Yes
Start date	Frontmatter start:, starts:, or natural mention	Yes
End date	Frontmatter end:, due:, deadline:, or natural mention	Yes
Milestones	Sections with dates (e.g., "## Phase 1: Discovery")	Yes
Tasks	Bulleted lists under milestones	Yes
Assignees	Task modifiers (@person, --assignee) or frontmatter team:	No
Documents	Links ([ref](url)) or frontmatter attachments:	No

If frontmatter uses a non-standard structure, parse body content and use natural language cues.

Step 4: Prompt for Missing Information

Prompt one field at a time, in this order:

1. Project name — if not found
2. Start date — if not found (use "When should this project begin?")
3. End date — if not found (use "When should this project be completed?")
4. Team members — if not found:
   • First, fetch Basecamp people: basecamp people list --json
   • Present as picker with names
   • Fall back to free text if not found
5. Assignees — map tasks to team members (one prompt per unassigned task group)
6. Milestone dates — if milestones lack dates, prompt for each

For date fields, accept natural language ("next Monday", "May 15", "2025-06-01").

Step 5: Generate Draft

Compose a structured proposal as markdown:

# Project Proposal: {name}

## Overview
{description}

## Timeline
- **Start:** {start_date}
- **End:** {end_date}
- **Duration:** {X weeks/days}

## Milestones

### {Milestone 1}
- Date: {date}
- Tasks:
  - [ ] {task 1}
  - [ ] {task 2}
  - Assigned: @{assignee}

### {Milestone 2}
...

## Team
{list of members}

## Basecamp Structure
| Tool | Content |
|------|---------|
| Message Board | Kickoff message + decision posts |
| To-Dos | Tasks grouped by milestone |
| Documents | Project spec and references |
| Schedule | Milestone dates |

Step 6: Present Draft

Show the draft and offer three options:

1. Save to markdown — write to docs/drafts/{slug}-{timestamp}.md
2. Confirm and create — proceed to project creation
3. Cancel — discard and exit

Use inline confirmation: "Save draft | Create project | Cancel"

Step 7: Create Project (on confirm)

Use basecamp skill primitives. Execute in order:

7.1 Create Project

basecamp projects create "{name}" --json

Extract project_id from response.

7.2 Add Team Members

# Look up person IDs first
basecamp people list --jq '.data[] | select(.name == "Name") | .id'

# Add to project
basecamp people add {person_id} --project {project_id}

7.3 Create Kickoff Message

basecamp message "Kickoff" "{description}" --in {project_id} --json

7.4 Create To-Do Lists by Milestone

For each milestone:

# Create todolist for milestone
basecamp todolists create "{Milestone Name}" --in {project_id} --json

# Extract todolist_id, then add tasks
basecamp todo "{task}" --in {project_id} --list {todolist_id} --due {date} --json

# Assign if known
basecamp assign {todo_id} --to {person_id} --in {project_id}

7.5 Create Schedule Entries for Milestones

basecamp schedule create "{Milestone Name}" \
  --starts-at "{date}T09:00:00Z" \
  --all-day \
  --in {project_id} --json

7.6 Create Documents (if referenced)

basecamp files doc create "{doc title}" "{content}" --in {project_id} --json

7.7 Pin Kickoff Message

basecamp messages pin {message_id} --in {project_id}

Step 8: Report Success

Show summary with links:

✅ Project created: {name}
🔗 https://3.basecamp.com/{account_id}/buckets/{project_id}

Structure:
  • Message Board: 1 message (kickoff)
  • To-Dos: {N} todolists, {M} tasks
  • Schedule: {X} milestones
  • Documents: {Y} docs

Integration with Basecamp Skill

This skill delegates all Basecamp API calls to the basecamp skill. The basecamp skill provides:

• basecamp projects create — create project
• basecamp people list/add — team management
• basecamp message — message board posts
• basecamp todolists create — milestone grouping
• basecamp todo — individual tasks
• basecamp schedule create — milestone scheduling
• basecamp files doc create — documents

Always use --json flag for structured output and --jq for filtering.

Project Structure Mapping

Plan Element	Basecamp Tool	Notes
Overview/description	Message Board	First message pinned as kickoff
Milestones/phases	To-Do Lists	One todolist per milestone
Tasks	To-Dos	Under appropriate todolist
Task assignees	Todo assignment	Map from plan or prompt
Task due dates	Todo due date	Relative to milestone or absolute
Milestone dates	Schedule	All-day entries
References/docs	Documents	Links or inline content
Team	Project members	Add via people add

Error Handling

Scenario	Action
Plan file not found	Show error, re-list plans for selection
Basecamp auth failure	Prompt to run basecamp auth login
Project creation fails	Show error, suggest checking Basecamp limits
Person not found	Offer free text entry for name
Rate limit (429)	Wait and retry with backoff
Invalid date input	Reprompt with format hint

Handoff to Other Skills

Output	Next Skill	Trigger
Draft saved	—	User chose save option
Project created	—	User confirmed
Plan not found	brainstorming	"I need to plan this first"
Task tracking	basecamp	"Add a todo to this project"
Team changes	basecamp	"Add someone to the project"