Connect Bonsai to Unblockd
Link a Bonsai project to an Unblockd project and its tasks come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Bonsai integration
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What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Bonsai 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 Bonsai as its first proof. From then on its status follows Bonsai.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes tasks in Bonsai.
A task that’s blocked in Bonsai 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 Bonsai, 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 Bonsai: A Bonsai member who can create an API key. The key reaches what that member can see.
Connect Bonsai
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside BonsaiFind Bonsai 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 BonsaiAPI key: In Bonsai, open your settings and create an API key. It starts with bonsai_at_. The form’s Where to find it link opens Bonsai’s own guide.
- Press Connect BonsaiUnblockd checks the details with Bonsai before saving anything (the button reads “Checking with Bonsai”). If Bonsai 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 Bonsai under Tool.
- Pick the Bonsai projectUnder Bonsai 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 Bonsai 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 Bonsai 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 Bonsai 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 and on every sync.
How sync works
Each task becomes the first status that matches:
- Completed, or in a column Bonsai counts as complete
- Becomes: Done
- In a column with Blocked, On hold, or Stuck in its name
- Becomes: Blocked
- In a column with In progress, Doing, or Working on it in its name
- Becomes: In progress
- Anything else
- Becomes: To do
| In Bonsai | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Completed, or in a column Bonsai counts as complete | Done |
| In a column with Blocked, On hold, or Stuck in its name | Blocked |
| In a column with In progress, Doing, or Working on it in its name | In progress |
| Anything else | To do |
Unblockd checks Bonsai 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 Bonsai finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Bonsai already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Bonsai 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 Bonsai, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Bonsai 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 Bonsai’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many projects it will unlink. Press Disconnect Bonsai to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored key, and every Bonsai 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 Bonsai. Connect again and relink the same Bonsai 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 Bonsai without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Bonsai project’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Bonsai.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Bonsai 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.” Bonsai 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 Bonsai’s limits. If Bonsai 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 Bonsai.
- 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 | Bonsai 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.” Bonsai 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 Bonsai’s limits. If Bonsai 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 Bonsai. |
| 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 Bonsai’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Bonsai 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 Bonsai now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Bonsai. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.