Connect Asana to Unblockd
Link a Asana project to an Unblockd project and its tasks come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Asana integration
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What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Asana projects and the tasks in the ones you link to an Unblockd project. You choose which tasks to bring in; each becomes a task under a deliverable, with a link back to Asana as its first proof. From then on its status follows Asana.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes tasks in Asana. The one thing it adds in Asana is a webhook that tells it when something changes.
A task that’s blocked in Asana opens a blocker your team sees first. Nothing reaches your sponsor until someone on your team chooses to share it.
The access token is encrypted before it’s stored. How Unblockd handles your data.
Before you start
- In Unblockd, a workspace admin connects Asana, once for the whole workspace. Members see it in Settings but can’t connect or disconnect it. Anyone on the team can then link it to a project.
- In Asana: An Asana account that can see the projects you want to link. Unblockd reads what that person can see.
Connect Asana
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside AsanaFind Asana under Most used, or press Show all 33 tools, or type its name in the search box. Then press Connect on its row.
- Approve access in AsanaAsana shows the Unblockd app and the permissions it requests, then asks you to allow access. Unblockd requests projects:read (read projects), tasks:read (read tasks), workspaces:read (read the workspaces you belong to), and webhooks:write (add the webhook that tells Unblockd when something changes).
- Back in UnblockdYou come back to Connected tools, which says “Asana is connected. Next, link it to a project from the project’s Sources tab.” Its row shows the account and Connected.
webhooks:write lets Unblockd add the webhook that tells it when a task in a linked project changes. It's removed when you unlink the project or disconnect.
Link it to a project
- Open the project’s Sources tabOpen the project from Projects, then its Sources tab.
- Press Link a sourceIt’s under the list of linked sources. If more than one tool is connected, choose Asana under Tool.
- Pick the Asana projectUnder Asana project, pick the one this Unblockd project runs on. Only projects the connection can see are listed, and ones already linked here are left out.
- Choose where items landUnder New items land in, choose a deliverable, or leave Choose each time. It’s the first choice when you bring items in, and where new items go if automatic import is on.
- Press LinkThe Asana project appears in the Sources list, ready to bring items in.
Starting a new project? On New project, open “Bring work in from a tool”, choose Asana and the project, and leave “Bring in open items as tasks” on to start with its open tasks. It’s linked as the project is created.
Bring in items
- Press Bring in itemsOn the project’s Sources tab, press Bring in items on the Asana project’s row. Unblockd lists the open tasks that aren’t in this project yet.
- Choose the deliverableUnder Add them under, choose the deliverable they belong to. Each item comes in as a task under it.
- Choose the tasksTick the tasks you want, search by key or title, or press Choose all. Then press Bring in. Up to 50 come in at a time; run it again for more.
New tasks can also come in on their own. An admin turns on Bring in new items from linked sources in Settings, then Automations, and each source can opt out or pick its deliverable from its ⋯ menu, under New items. Up to 25 come in per sync, checked every hour.
How sync works
Asana tasks have no status field, so the section a task sits in decides its status. Each task becomes the first status that matches:
- Marked complete
- Becomes: Done
- In a section with Blocked, On hold, or Waiting in its name
- Becomes: Blocked
- In a section with In progress, Doing, Underway, or Working in its name
- Becomes: In progress
- Anything else
- Becomes: To do
| In Asana | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Marked complete | Done |
| In a section with Blocked, On hold, or Waiting in its name | Blocked |
| In a section with In progress, Doing, Underway, or Working in its name | In progress |
| Anything else | To do |
When something changes, Asana tells Unblockd. Unblockd then reads that task again through Asana’s API before changing anything, so a forged or replayed call can change nothing on its own. There’s nothing to sync by hand.
- Done in Asana finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Asana already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Asana marks the task Blocked and opens a blocker for your team only, and posts to your team’s chat channels if you’ve connected any. Someone on your team confirms it and can turn it into an ask for your sponsor. If the task moves on in Asana, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Asana changes in Unblockd too. A tool never puts a task In review: that needs a reviewer chosen in Unblockd.
- Tasks from a tool stay with your team. Your sponsor sees each deliverable’s progress, not the tasks under it.
Disconnect and revoke access
- Press DisconnectIn Settings, then Connected tools, press Disconnect on Asana’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many projects it will unlink. Press Disconnect Asana to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored access, and every Asana project linked through it, across all your Unblockd projects, along with the webhooks Unblockd added in Asana.
- Kept: tasks already brought in stay as ordinary tasks with their history and proof links. They stop following Asana. Connect again and relink the same Asana project, and they follow it again.
- Unblockd also asks Asana to revoke its access, unless another Unblockd workspace is connected to the same Asana account. If Asana doesn’t answer, the disconnect still stands; you can remove Unblockd on the Asana side too.
To stop one project following Asana without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Asana project’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Asana.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Asana turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked projects and their tasks carry on.
- Retrying
- What to do: The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Asana didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped.
- A project is missing
- What to do: Only projects the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Asana, or reconnect with an account that can see it.
- Only an admin can connect
- What to do: “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members.
- The connection link expired
- What to do: “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes.
- A different account
- What to do: “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Asana account. Disconnect the old one first.
- Coming soon
- What to do: A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Needs reconnecting | Asana turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked projects and their tasks carry on. |
| Retrying | The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Asana didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped. |
| A project is missing | Only projects the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Asana, or reconnect with an account that can see it. |
| Only an admin can connect | “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members. |
| The connection link expired | “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes. |
| A different account | “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Asana account. Disconnect the old one first. |
| Coming soon | A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet. |
Still stuck? Press Report a problem on Asana’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Asana from a linked project’s ⋯ menu. One tap sends the tool and what the row shows about the connection (never a key or token) to the Unblockd team, and someone replies by email. You can send 5 reports every hour, or write to hello@unblockd.ai any time.
Connect Asana now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Asana. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.