Basecamp CLI

basecamp is the official command-line interface for Basecamp. Manage projects, todos, messages, and more from your terminal or through AI agents.

• Works standalone or with any AI agent (Claude, Codex, Copilot, Gemini)
• JSON output with breadcrumbs for easy navigation
• OAuth authentication with automatic token refresh
• Includes agent skill and Claude plugin

Quick Start

macOS / Linux / WSL2

curl -fsSL https://basecamp.com/install-cli | bash

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/basecamp/basecamp-cli/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

That's it. You now have full access to Basecamp from your terminal.

Other installation methods

Brew / macOS

brew install --cask basecamp/tap/basecamp-cli

Arch Linux / Omarchy (AUR):

yay -S basecamp-cli

Linux (deb/rpm/apk):

# Download from https://github.com/basecamp/basecamp-cli/releases/latest
sudo apt install ./basecamp-cli_*_linux_amd64.deb            # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install ./basecamp-cli_*_linux_amd64.rpm            # Fedora/RHEL
sudo apk add --allow-untrusted ./basecamp-cli_*_linux_amd64.apk  # Alpine

Arm64: substitute arm64 for amd64 in the filename. Verify the SHA-256 checksum from checksums.txt before installing unsigned Alpine packages.

Scoop (Windows):

scoop bucket add basecamp https://github.com/basecamp/homebrew-tap
scoop install basecamp-cli

Shell script (macOS / Linux / WSL2 / Git Bash):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/basecamp/basecamp-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Nix:

nix profile install github:basecamp/basecamp-cli

Go install:

go install github.com/basecamp/basecamp-cli/cmd/basecamp@latest

GitHub Release: download from Releases.

Usage

basecamp projects list                # List projects
basecamp todos list --in 12345        # Todos in a project
basecamp todo "Fix bug" --in 12345    # Create todo
basecamp done 67890                   # Complete todo
basecamp search "authentication"      # Search across projects
basecamp files list --in 12345        # List docs & files
basecamp cards list --in 12345        # List cards (Kanban)
basecamp chat post "Hello" --in 12345      # Post to chat
basecamp comment 67890 "@Jane.Smith, done!"    # Comment with @mention

Output Formats

basecamp projects              # Styled output in terminal, JSON when piped
basecamp projects --json       # JSON with envelope and breadcrumbs
basecamp projects --quiet      # Raw JSON data only

JSON Envelope

Every command supports --json for structured output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": [...],
  "summary": "5 projects",
  "breadcrumbs": [{"action": "show", "cmd": "basecamp projects show <id>"}]
}

Breadcrumbs suggest next commands, making it easy for humans and agents to navigate.

Authentication

OAuth 2.1 with automatic token refresh. First login opens your browser:

basecamp auth login              # Authenticate with Basecamp
basecamp auth login --scope read # Read-only access (BC3 OAuth only, default)
basecamp auth login --scope full # Full read+write access (BC3 OAuth only)
basecamp auth token              # Print token for scripts

Multiple Identities

Use named profiles when the same machine or agent gateway needs more than one Basecamp identity. Each profile has its own stored OAuth credentials and can be selected per command:

basecamp profile create design-agent
basecamp profile create ops-agent
basecamp --profile design-agent todo "Fix bug" --in 12345 --list 67890

Set a default with basecamp profile set-default <name>, or set BASECAMP_PROFILE=<name> for a process. Actions are posted as the authenticated user for the selected profile.

Custom OAuth Credentials

To use your own OAuth app (e.g., a custom Launchpad integration):

Variable	Purpose
BASECAMP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID	OAuth client ID
BASECAMP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET	OAuth client secret
BASECAMP_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI	Redirect URI (must be http:// loopback with explicit port)

Both BASECAMP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID and BASECAMP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET must be set together.

AI Agent Integration

basecamp works with any AI agent that can run shell commands.

Claude Code: basecamp setup claude — installs the plugin with skills, hooks, and agent workflow support.

Other agents: Point your agent at skills/basecamp/SKILL.md for Basecamp workflow coverage.

Agent discovery: Every command supports --help --agent for structured JSON output (flags, gotchas, subcommands). Use basecamp commands --json for the full catalog.

See install.md for step-by-step setup instructions.

Configuration

~/.config/basecamp/           # Your Basecamp identity
├── credentials.json          #   OAuth tokens (fallback when keyring unavailable)
├── client.json               #   DCR client registration
└── config.json               #   Global preferences

~/.config/basecamp/theme/     # Tool display (optional)
└── colors.toml               #   TUI color scheme

~/.cache/basecamp/            # Ephemeral tool data
├── completion.json           #   Tab completion cache
└── resilience/               #   Circuit breaker state

.basecamp/                    # Per-repo (committed to git)
└── config.json               #   Project, account defaults

Troubleshooting

basecamp doctor              # Check CLI health and diagnose issues
basecamp doctor --verbose    # Verbose output with details

Development

make build            # Build binary
make test             # Run Go tests
make test-e2e         # Run e2e tests
make lint             # Run linter
make check            # All checks (fmt-check, vet, lint, test, test-e2e)

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup.

License

MIT