Basecamp MCP Integration

This project provides a FastMCP-powered integration for Basecamp 3, allowing Cursor to interact with Basecamp directly through the MCP protocol.

✅ Migration Complete: Successfully migrated to official Anthropic FastMCP framework with 100% feature parity (all 46 tools)
🚀 Ready for Production: Full protocol compliance with MCP 2025-06-18

Quick Setup

This server works with both Cursor and Claude Desktop. Choose your preferred client:

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ (required for MCP SDK)
• A Basecamp 3 account
• A Basecamp OAuth application (create one at https://launchpad.37signals.com/integrations)

For Cursor Users

One-Command Setup

1. Clone and run setup script:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd basecamp-mcp
   python setup.py
   

   The setup script automatically:

   • ✅ Creates virtual environment
   • ✅ Installs all dependencies (FastMCP SDK, etc.)
   • ✅ Creates .env template file
   • ✅ Tests MCP server functionality

2. Configure OAuth credentials: Edit the generated .env file:

   BASECAMP_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
   BASECAMP_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here
   BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID=your_account_id_here
   USER_AGENT="Your App Name (your@email.com)"
   

3. Authenticate with Basecamp:

   python oauth_app.py
   

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

4. Generate Cursor configuration:

   python generate_cursor_config.py
   

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: 46 tools for complete Basecamp control

Test Your Setup

# Quick test the FastMCP server (works with both clients)
echo '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-06-18","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"test","version":"1.0"}}}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/initialized","params":{}}
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}' | python basecamp_fastmcp.py

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

For Claude Desktop Users

Based on the official MCP quickstart guide, Claude Desktop integration follows these steps:

Setup Steps

1. Complete the basic setup (steps 1-3 from Cursor setup above):

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd basecamp-mcp
   python setup.py
   # Configure .env file with OAuth credentials
   python oauth_app.py
   

2. Generate Claude Desktop configuration:

   python generate_claude_desktop_config.py
   

3. Restart Claude Desktop completely (quit and reopen the application)

4. Verify in Claude Desktop:

   • Look for the "Search and tools" icon (🔍) in the chat interface
   • You should see "basecamp" listed with all 46 tools available
   • Toggle the tools on to enable Basecamp integration

Claude Desktop Configuration

The configuration is automatically created at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: ~/AppData/Roaming/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/claude-desktop/claude_desktop_config.json

Example configuration generated:

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

Usage in Claude Desktop

Ask Claude things like:

• "What are my current Basecamp projects?"
• "Show me the latest campfire messages from the Technology project"
• "Create a new card in the Development column with title 'Fix login bug'"
• "Get all todo items from the Marketing project"
• "Search for messages containing 'deadline'"

Troubleshooting Claude Desktop

Check Claude Desktop logs (following official debugging guide):

# macOS/Linux - Monitor logs in real-time
tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

# Check for specific errors
ls ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-basecamp.log

Common issues:

• Tools not appearing: Verify configuration file syntax and restart Claude Desktop
• Connection failures: Check that Python path and script path are absolute paths
• Authentication errors: Ensure OAuth flow completed successfully (oauth_tokens.json exists)

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 (returns all pages; handles Basecamp pagination transparently)
• search_basecamp - Search across projects, todos, and messages
• get_comments - Get comments for a Basecamp item
• create_comment - Create a comment on 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
• create_attachment - Upload a file as an attachment
• get_events - Get events for a recording
• get_webhooks - List webhooks for a project
• create_webhook - Create a webhook
• delete_webhook - Delete a webhook
• get_documents - List documents in a vault
• get_document - Get a single document
• create_document - Create a document
• update_document - Update a document
• trash_document - Move a document to trash

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 uses the official Anthropic FastMCP framework for maximum reliability and compatibility:

1. FastMCP Server (basecamp_fastmcp.py) - Official MCP SDK with 46 tools, compatible with both Cursor and Claude Desktop
2. OAuth App (oauth_app.py) - Handles OAuth 2.0 flow with Basecamp
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
6. Setup Automation (setup.py) - One-command installation
7. Configuration Generators:
   • generate_cursor_config.py - For Cursor IDE integration
   • generate_claude_desktop_config.py - For Claude Desktop integration

Troubleshooting

Common Issues (Both Clients)

• 🔴 Red/Yellow indicator: Run python setup.py to create proper virtual environment
• 🔴 "0 tools available": Virtual environment missing MCP packages - run setup script
• 🔴 "Tool not found" errors: Restart your client (Cursor/Claude Desktop) completely
• ⚠️ Missing BASECAMP_ACCOUNT_ID: Add to .env file, then re-run the config generator

Quick Fixes

Problem: Server won't start

# Test if FastMCP server works:
./venv/bin/python -c "import mcp; print('✅ MCP available')"
# If this fails, run: python setup.py

Problem: Wrong Python version

python --version  # Must be 3.8+
# If too old, install newer Python and re-run setup

Problem: Authentication fails

# Check OAuth flow:
python oauth_app.py
# Visit http://localhost:8000 and complete login

Manual Configuration (Last Resort)

Cursor config location: ~/.cursor/mcp.json (macOS/Linux) or %APPDATA%\Cursor\mcp.json (Windows)
Claude Desktop config location: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "basecamp": {
            "command": "/full/path/to/your/project/venv/bin/python",
            "args": ["/full/path/to/your/project/basecamp_fastmcp.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"
            }
        }
    }
}

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.