Connect Backlog to Unblockd
Link a Backlog project to an Unblockd project and its issues come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Backlog integration
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What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Backlog projects and the issues in the ones you link to an Unblockd project. You choose which issues to bring in; each becomes a task under a deliverable, with a link back to Backlog as its first proof. From then on its status follows Backlog.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes issues in Backlog.
An issue that’s blocked in Backlog opens a blocker your team sees first. Nothing reaches your sponsor until someone on your team chooses to share it.
The key is encrypted before it’s stored. How Unblockd handles your data.
Before you start
- In Unblockd, a workspace admin connects Backlog, 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 Backlog: A Backlog user in the space. The API key reads what that user can see.
Connect Backlog
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside BacklogFind Backlog under Most used, or press Show all 33 tools, or type its name in the search box. Then press Connect on its row. A short form opens under it.
- Paste the details from BacklogSpace address: The address of your Backlog space, without https://. API key: In Backlog, open Personal settings → API, and register a new key. The form’s Where to find it link opens Backlog’s own guide.
- Press Connect BacklogUnblockd checks the details with Backlog before saving anything (the button reads “Checking with Backlog”). If Backlog refuses them, the field says so and nothing is stored.
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 Backlog under Tool.
- Pick the Backlog projectUnder Backlog 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 Backlog 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 Backlog and the project, and leave “Bring in open items as tasks” on to start with its open issues. 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 Backlog project’s row. Unblockd lists the open issues 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 issuesTick the issues 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 issues 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 and on every sync.
How sync works
Each issue becomes the first status that matches:
- Resolved or Closed
- Becomes: Done
- A status named Blocked, On hold, Stuck, 保留, or 保留中
- Becomes: Blocked
- Open
- Becomes: To do
- In Progress
- Becomes: In progress
- A custom status named like Done, Completed, or Closed
- Becomes: Done
- A custom status named In progress, Doing, or In review
- Becomes: In progress
- Anything else
- Becomes: To do
| In Backlog | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Resolved or Closed | Done |
| A status named Blocked, On hold, Stuck, 保留, or 保留中 | Blocked |
| Open | To do |
| In Progress | In progress |
| A custom status named like Done, Completed, or Closed | Done |
| A custom status named In progress, Doing, or In review | In progress |
| Anything else | To do |
Unblockd checks Backlog again when someone opens the project’s Sources tab and the last check is more than 10 minutes old, when you choose Sync now from the source’s ⋯ menu, and once a day. The row shows when it last synced. A large source catches up over a few checks.
- Done in Backlog finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Backlog already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Backlog 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 issue moves on in Backlog, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Backlog 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 Backlog’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many projects it will unlink. Press Disconnect Backlog to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored key, and every Backlog project linked through it, across all your Unblockd projects.
- Kept: tasks already brought in stay as ordinary tasks with their history and proof links. They stop following Backlog. Connect again and relink the same Backlog project, and they follow it again.
- Unblockd deletes the API key it stored. To end access completely, delete or regenerate that API key in the tool as well.
To stop one project following Backlog without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Backlog project’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Backlog.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Backlog 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 pastes a fresh key; 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.” Backlog didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped.
- Rate limits
- What to do: Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Backlog’s limits. If Backlog still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source.
- A project is missing
- What to do: Only projects the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Backlog.
- 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.
- 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 | Backlog 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 pastes a fresh key; linked projects and their tasks carry on. |
| Retrying | The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Backlog didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped. |
| Rate limits | Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Backlog’s limits. If Backlog still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source. |
| A project is missing | Only projects the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Backlog. |
| 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. |
| Coming soon | A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet. |
Still stuck? Press Report a problem on Backlog’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Backlog 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 Backlog now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Backlog. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.