Connect Productive to Unblockd
Link a Productive project to an Unblockd project and its tasks come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Productive integration
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What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Productive 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 Productive as its first proof. From then on its status follows Productive.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes tasks in Productive.
A task that’s blocked in Productive 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 Productive, 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 Productive: A Productive user who can generate a read-only API token under Settings → API integrations.
Connect Productive
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside ProductiveFind Productive 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 ProductiveOrganization ID: Shown next to your token under Settings → API integrations, and in your Productive web address. API token: In Productive, go to Settings → API integrations and generate a read-only token. The form’s Where to find it link opens Productive’s own guide.
- Press Connect ProductiveUnblockd checks the details with Productive before saving anything (the button reads “Checking with Productive”). If Productive 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 Productive under Tool.
- Pick the Productive projectUnder Productive 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 Productive 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 Productive 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 Productive 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:
- Closed, or a status in the closed category
- Becomes: Done
- A status named Blocked, On hold, or Stuck
- Becomes: Blocked
- A status in the started category
- Becomes: In progress
- A status in the not-started category, or anything else
- Becomes: To do
| In Productive | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Closed, or a status in the closed category | Done |
| A status named Blocked, On hold, or Stuck | Blocked |
| A status in the started category | In progress |
| A status in the not-started category, or anything else | To do |
Unblockd checks Productive 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 Productive finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Productive already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Productive 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 Productive, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Productive 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 Productive’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many projects it will unlink. Press Disconnect Productive to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored key, and every Productive 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 Productive. Connect again and relink the same Productive project, and they follow it again.
- Unblockd deletes the API token it stored. To end access completely, delete or regenerate that API token in the tool as well.
To stop one project following Productive without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Productive project’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Productive.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Productive 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.” Productive 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 Productive’s limits. If Productive 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 Productive.
- 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 | Productive 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.” Productive 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 Productive’s limits. If Productive 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 Productive. |
| 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 Productive’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Productive 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 Productive now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Productive. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.