How to Send Basecamp Updates to Slack with Power Automate

My flows > + New flow > Automated cloud flow

Create automated flow in Power Automate

Navigate to make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your Microsoft account. Click 'My flows' in the left sidebar, then the blue '+ New flow' button in the top toolbar. Select 'Automated cloud flow' from the dropdown menu since we want real-time triggers from Basecamp.

1. 1Click 'My flows' in the left navigation panel
2. 2Click the blue '+ New flow' button at the top
3. 3Select 'Automated cloud flow' from the options
4. 4Name your flow 'Basecamp to Slack Notifications'

Flow builder > Choose trigger > Basecamp 3

Search and select Basecamp trigger

In the trigger search box, type 'Basecamp' and select the Basecamp 3 connector from the results. Choose 'When a recording is created' as your trigger since this catches project updates, task completions, and milestone events. This trigger fires immediately when content changes in your Basecamp account.

1. 1Type 'Basecamp' in the search trigger box
2. 2Click 'Basecamp 3' from the connector list
3. 3Select 'When a recording is created' trigger
4. 4Click 'Create' to proceed to authentication

Basecamp trigger > Sign in > Authorization

Connect your Basecamp account

Click 'Sign in' to authenticate with Basecamp. You'll be redirected to Basecamp's authorization page where you enter your Basecamp credentials. Grant Power Automate permission to access your projects and receive webhooks. The connection appears in your Connections list for reuse across flows.

1. 1Click the blue 'Sign in' button in the trigger
2. 2Enter your Basecamp email and password
3. 3Click 'Yes, I'll allow access' on the permission screen
4. 4Wait for the redirect back to Power Automate

Basecamp trigger > Project selection > Recording filters

Configure project and recording filters

Select which Basecamp project to monitor from the 'Project' dropdown - this populates with all projects you have access to. Leave 'Recording Type' blank to catch all updates (todos, milestones, documents, messages) or select specific types. Setting filters here prevents noise from irrelevant project activity.

1. 1Click the 'Project' dropdown and select your target project
2. 2Leave 'Recording Type' empty for all updates
3. 3Optionally set 'Person' to filter by specific team members
4. 4Click outside the dropdown to confirm selection

Flow builder > + New step > Slack > Post message

Add Slack action step

Click '+ New step' below the Basecamp trigger to add an action. Search for 'Slack' in the connector search and select it from the results. Choose 'Post message' as the action since we're sending notifications to a channel. This creates a new Slack message each time the trigger fires.

1. 1Click the '+ New step' button below the trigger
2. 2Type 'Slack' in the search connectors box
3. 3Click 'Slack' from the connector list
4. 4Select 'Post message' from the available actions

Slack action > Sign in > Workspace selection

Authenticate with your Slack workspace

Click 'Sign in' in the Slack action to connect your workspace. Select your Slack workspace from the authorization screen if you belong to multiple workspaces. Grant Power Automate permission to post messages and read channel information. This connection lets you access all public channels and private channels you belong to.

1. 1Click 'Sign in' in the Slack Post message action
2. 2Choose your target Slack workspace
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant posting permissions
4. 4Confirm the connection shows your workspace name

Slack action > Channel dropdown > Channel selection

Select target Slack channel

Click the 'Channel' dropdown to see all channels you can post to. Select your target channel like #project-updates or #general. The list includes public channels and private channels you're a member of. Channel selection determines where notifications appear for your team to see.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' dropdown field
2. 2Scroll through the channel list or type to search
3. 3Select your target channel (e.g., #project-updates)
4. 4Verify the channel name appears in the field

Slack action > Message field > Dynamic content

Build the notification message content

Click in the 'Message' text box to compose your notification. Use the dynamic content panel on the right to insert Basecamp data like Title, Creator Name, and Content. Create a format like 'New update in [Project Name]: [Title] by [Creator Name]' for consistency. The dynamic content pulls live data from each Basecamp event.

1. 1Click in the large 'Message' text box
2. 2Type 'New update in ' followed by a space
3. 3Click 'Title' from the dynamic content panel
4. 4Add ' by ' and then click 'Creator Name'
5. 5Optionally add 'Content' for the full update text

Top toolbar > Save > Test > Manual trigger

Test the flow with sample data

Click 'Save' in the top toolbar to save your flow, then click 'Test' to run a live test. Select 'Manually' and click 'Save & Test' to start monitoring. Go to your Basecamp project and create a test todo or post a message. Return to Power Automate to see if the trigger fired and the Slack message posted successfully.

1. 1Click 'Save' in the top right toolbar
2. 2Click 'Test' next to the Save button
3. 3Select 'Manually' and click 'Save & Test'
4. 4Create a test update in your Basecamp project
5. 5Return to check the test results

Flow header > Turn on > Run history monitoring

Enable the flow for production

After successful testing, click 'Turn on' in the flow header to activate automatic triggering. The flow now runs whenever matching events occur in your Basecamp project. Monitor the run history in the first few days to catch any authentication issues or message formatting problems that need adjustment.

1. 1Click 'Turn on' in the flow status toggle
2. 2Confirm the flow shows 'On' status in green
3. 3Check 'Run history' to see live executions
4. 4Monitor notifications in your Slack channel

Add this expression in a Compose action before the Slack step to clean HTML formatting from Basecamp content and create better-looking notifications.

{
  "cleanContent": "@{replace(replace(replace(triggerBody()?['content'], '<br>', '\n'), '<[^>]*>', ''), '&nbsp;', ' ')}",
  "shortTitle": "@{if(greater(length(triggerBody()?['title']), 50), concat(substring(triggerBody()?['title'], 0, 47), '...'), triggerBody()?['title'])}",

{
  "cleanContent": "@{replace(replace(replace(triggerBody()?['content'], '<br>', '\n'), '<[^>]*>', ''), '&nbsp;', ' ')}",
  "shortTitle": "@{if(greater(length(triggerBody()?['title']), 50), concat(substring(triggerBody()?['title'], 0, 47), '...'), triggerBody()?['title'])}",
  "urgentFlag": "@{if(contains(toLower(triggerBody()?['title']), 'urgent'), '🚨 ', '')}"
}