Weekly client status email from Basecamp, sent via Gmail

Build an agent workflow that drafts and sends a weekly client status email from a Basecamp project. The trigger is a cron schedule: every Friday at 3pm in the project manager's local time zone.

Inputs the agent should accept at setup time: the Basecamp project ID (or an active project name to look up), the client's email address (To), and the project manager's email address (CC). Optional: a tone or template snippet the project manager wants the agent to follow.

What the agent should do each Friday at 3pm:

1. Resolve the project. Use Basecamp's Get a Project operation to load the project and read its dock so we can find the todoset ID and message_board ID. If only a project name was given, look up the active project by name first.

2. Gather the work. Call List To-Do Lists on the project's todoset, then for each list call List To-Dos. Use this to identify (a) to-dos completed in the last seven days, (b) to-dos that are open and currently in progress, and (c) to-dos due in the coming week.

3. Gather decisions. Call List Messages on the project's message board, sorted by created date, and pull anything posted in the last seven days that is relevant to the client (decisions, scope changes, milestone announcements). Ignore purely internal chatter.

4. Write the email. Draft a friendly, client-facing update in plain language with no internal jargon. Use three clear sections: "What we shipped this week", "What's in flight", and "What's next". Write in second person, address the client directly, and reference specific deliverables by name rather than generic phrases like "made progress". Keep the tone warm and confident. Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

5. Send it. Use Gmail's Send a Message operation to send the email from the project manager's Gmail. Put the client in To, the project manager in CC, and use a subject line like "<Project name> weekly update, <Friday's date>".

Guardrails: if the agent finds zero completed work and zero new messages for the week, it should still send a short honest note covering what is in flight and what is next, not skip the email. If the project lookup fails or returns multiple matches, the agent should email the project manager (not the client) with the problem and stop.

Services used: Basecamp (Get a Project, List To-Do Lists, List To-Dos, List Messages) and Gmail (Send a Message).

Additional information

What does this prompt do?

Pulls this week's completed to-dos, in-flight work, and recent message board updates from a Basecamp project.
Writes a friendly, plain-language update covering what shipped this week, what is in flight, and what is coming next.
Sends the email to the client through Gmail with the project manager on CC, every Friday at 3pm.
Saves project managers the hour they used to spend writing status emails by hand.

What do I need to use this?

A Basecamp account with access to the client's project.
A Gmail account for the project manager who will send the email.
The client's email address, and the project manager's email for the CC line.
Either the Basecamp project ID or the project name to look it up.

How can I customize it?

Change the day and time the email goes out, for example Thursday at 5pm instead of Friday at 3pm.
Update the recipient, swap the CC list, or send to multiple stakeholders.
Tweak the tone, swap the section headings, or add a section for blockers and risks.
Point it at a different Basecamp project, or let it look up an active project by name.

Frequently asked questions

Does this send the email automatically, or just draft it?

By default it sends the email through Gmail every Friday at 3pm. If you want a review step first, you can ask Geni to save it as a Gmail draft instead so you can read it before clicking send.

Can I run this for more than one client at a time?

Yes. You can duplicate the workflow per client, or extend it to loop through a list of Basecamp project IDs and send a separate email for each one.

What does the update actually cover?

It covers what your team completed this week, what is currently in progress, and what is coming up next, plus any client-relevant decisions surfaced on the Basecamp message board. It is written in friendly second person and references specific deliverables, not generic phrases.

What if we already have a status update template we use?

Paste your template into the prompt when you set it up. Geni will follow your structure, your tone, and your section headings instead of using a default layout.

Do we need a paid Basecamp plan?

Any Basecamp 3 plan that includes API access works. You just need a user account that can see the project, its to-do lists, and its message board.