Basecamp MCP Integration

This project provides a MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration for Basecamp 3, allowing Cursor to interact with Basecamp directly through the MCP protocol.

Quick Setup for Cursor

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7+
• A Basecamp 3 account
• A Basecamp OAuth application (create one at https://launchpad.37signals.com/integrations)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Clone and setup the project:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd basecamp-mcp
   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install --upgrade pip
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

2. Create your .env file with your Basecamp OAuth credentials:

   BASECAMP_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
   BASECAMP_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here
   BASECAMP_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:8000/auth/callback
   BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID=your_account_id_here
   USER_AGENT="Your App Name (your@email.com)"
   FLASK_SECRET_KEY=any_random_string_here
   MCP_API_KEY=any_random_string_here
   

3. Authenticate with Basecamp:

   python oauth_app.py
   

   Visit http://localhost:8000 and complete the OAuth flow.

4. Generate and install Cursor configuration:

   python generate_cursor_config.py
   

   This script will:

   • Generate the correct MCP configuration with full paths
   • Automatically detect your virtual environment
   • Include the BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID environment variable
   • Update your Cursor configuration file automatically

5. Restart Cursor completely (quit and reopen, not just reload)

6. Verify in Cursor:

   • Go to Cursor Settings → MCP
   • You should see "basecamp" with a green checkmark
   • Available tools: "get_projects", "search_basecamp", "get_project", etc.

Test Your Setup

# Quick test the MCP server
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{}}' | python mcp_server_cli.py

# Run automated tests
python -m pytest tests/ -v

Available MCP Tools

Once configured, you can use these tools in Cursor:

• get_projects - Get all Basecamp projects
• get_project - Get details for a specific project
• get_todolists - Get todo lists for a project
• get_todos - Get todos from a todo list
• search_basecamp - Search across projects, todos, and messages
• get_comments - Get comments for a Basecamp item
• get_campfire_lines - Get recent messages from a Basecamp campfire
• get_daily_check_ins - Get project's daily check-in questions
• get_question_answers - Get answers to daily check-in questions

Card Table Tools

• get_card_table - Get the card table details for a project
• get_columns - Get all columns in a card table
• get_column - Get details for a specific column
• create_column - Create a new column in a card table
• update_column - Update a column title
• move_column - Move a column to a new position
• update_column_color - Update a column color
• put_column_on_hold - Put a column on hold (freeze work)
• remove_column_hold - Remove hold from a column (unfreeze work)
• watch_column - Subscribe to notifications for changes in a column
• unwatch_column - Unsubscribe from notifications for a column
• get_cards - Get all cards in a column
• get_card - Get details for a specific card
• create_card - Create a new card in a column
• update_card - Update a card
• move_card - Move a card to a new column
• complete_card - Mark a card as complete
• uncomplete_card - Mark a card as incomplete
• get_card_steps - Get all steps (sub-tasks) for a card
• create_card_step - Create a new step (sub-task) for a card
• get_card_step - Get details for a specific card step
• update_card_step - Update a card step
• delete_card_step - Delete a card step
• complete_card_step - Mark a card step as complete
• uncomplete_card_step - Mark a card step as incomplete

Example Cursor Usage

Ask Cursor things like:

• "Show me all my Basecamp projects"
• "What todos are in project X?"
• "Search for messages containing 'deadline'"
• "Get details for the Technology project"
• "Show me the card table for project X"
• "Create a new card in the 'In Progress' column"
• "Move this card to the 'Done' column"
• "Update the color of the 'Urgent' column to red"
• "Mark card as complete"
• "Show me all steps for this card"
• "Create a sub-task for this card"
• "Mark this card step as complete"

Architecture

The project consists of:

1. OAuth App (oauth_app.py) - Handles OAuth 2.0 flow with Basecamp
2. MCP Server (mcp_server_cli.py) - Implements MCP protocol for Cursor
3. Token Storage (token_storage.py) - Securely stores OAuth tokens
4. Basecamp Client (basecamp_client.py) - Basecamp API client library
5. Search Utilities (search_utils.py) - Search across Basecamp resources

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Yellow indicator (not green): Check that paths in Cursor config are correct
• "No tools available": Make sure you completed OAuth authentication first
• "Tool not found" errors: Restart Cursor completely and check mcp_cli_server.log
• Missing BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID: The config generator automatically includes this from your .env file

Configuration Issues

If automatic configuration doesn't work, manually edit your Cursor MCP configuration:

On macOS/Linux: ~/.cursor/mcp.json On Windows: %APPDATA%\Cursor\mcp.json

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "basecamp": {
            "command": "/full/path/to/your/project/venv/bin/python",
            "args": ["/full/path/to/your/project/mcp_server_cli.py"],
            "cwd": "/full/path/to/your/project",
            "env": {
                "PYTHONPATH": "/full/path/to/your/project",
                "VIRTUAL_ENV": "/full/path/to/your/project/venv",
                "BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID": "your_account_id"
            }
        }
    }
}

Key Requirements

Based on Cursor community forums, the following are essential:

1. Full executable paths (not just "python")
2. Proper environment variables (PYTHONPATH, VIRTUAL_ENV, BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID)
3. Correct working directory (cwd)
4. MCP protocol compliance (our server handles this correctly)

Finding Your Account ID

If you don't know your Basecamp account ID:

1. Log into Basecamp in your browser
2. Look at the URL - it will be like https://3.basecamp.com/4389629/projects
3. The number (4389629 in this example) is your account ID

Security Notes

• Keep your .env file secure and never commit it to version control
• The OAuth tokens are stored locally in oauth_tokens.json
• This setup is designed for local development use

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.