Basic Status Update

Update an Asana field when a PR opens.

Use Case

Automatically update a task's Status field to "In Review" when a PR is opened. This is the simplest possible rule - one condition, one action.

Complete Workflow

name: Asana Sync
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened]

jobs:
  sync:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: planningcenter/asana-github-sync@main
        with:
          asana_token: ${{ secrets.ASANA_TOKEN }}
          github_token: ${{ github.token }}
          rules: |
            rules:
              - when:
                  event: pull_request      # Triggered by PR events
                  action: opened           # Specifically when opened
                then:
                  update_fields:
                    '1234567890': 'In Review'  # Status field → "In Review"

How It Works

1. PR Opens - Developer creates a new PR with Asana task URL in description
2. Workflow Triggers - GitHub runs the workflow on pull_request event
3. Action Finds Tasks - Extracts Asana task URLs from PR description
4. Field Updates - Sets Status field (GID 1234567890) to "In Review"

Finding Your Field GID

No Need for Option GIDs!

You only need to find the field GID - not the option GIDs. Just use the option name (e.g., 'In Review') as the value.

Using the Asana API

Get your project's custom fields:

curl "https://app.asana.com/api/1.0/projects/YOUR_PROJECT_GID?opt_fields=custom_field_settings.custom_field" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ASANA_TOKEN"

Look for your Status field in the response:

{
  "custom_field_settings": [
    {
      "custom_field": {
        "gid": "1234567890",  // ← This is your field GID (use as key)
        "name": "Status",
        "enum_options": [
          {
            "name": "In Review"  // ← Use this name as the value
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Use the field GID (1234567890) as the key and the option name (In Review) as the value.

Expected Behavior

Before:

• PR Description: Fixes https://app.asana.com/0/1111/2222
• Asana Task Status: "To Do"

After PR Opens:

• Asana Task Status: "In Review"

Variations

Update Multiple Fields

update_fields:
  '1234567890': 'In Review'  # Status → "In Review"
  '1111111111': 'High'        # Priority → "High"

Include Reopened PRs

when:
  event: pull_request
  action: [opened, reopened]  # Trigger on both

Match Draft PRs Only

when:
  event: pull_request
  action: opened
  draft: true  # Only match draft PRs

TIP

By default (when draft is omitted), rules match non-draft PRs only. Use draft: true to explicitly match draft PRs.

Common Issues

Field Not Updating

Problem: Field GID is wrong or option name doesn't match

Solution: Verify the field GID using the API and ensure the option name matches exactly (case-sensitive).

# ❌ Wrong - using field GID as value
update_fields:
  '1234567890': '1234567890'

# ✅ Correct - using option name as value
update_fields:
  '1234567890': 'In Review'

# ✅ Also correct - using option GID if you prefer
update_fields:
  '1234567890': '0987654321'

No Asana Task Found

Problem: PR description doesn't contain Asana URL

Solution: Ensure PR description includes an Asana task link:

https://app.asana.com/0/PROJECT_GID/TASK_GID

Workflow Not Triggering

Problem: Workflow types doesn't include opened

Solution: Check your workflow's on: section:

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened]  # ← Must include 'opened'

Next Steps

• Mark Complete on Merge - Add completion when PR merges
• Bot Task Creation - Auto-create tasks for dependency PRs
• Conditions Reference - All available conditions
• Actions Reference - All available actions