Bot Task Creation

Automatically create Asana tasks for dependency update PRs.

Use Case

Dependency bots like Dependabot and Renovate create PRs without Asana tasks. Automatically create and track these PRs in Asana by:

1. Detecting bot-authored PRs
2. Creating Asana tasks with cleaned titles
3. Placing them in a specific section

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
                  action: opened
                  has_asana_tasks: false  # No Asana URL in PR description
                  author: [dependabot[bot], renovate[bot]]  # Bot authors only
                then:
                  create_task:
                    project: '1234567890'    # Your project GID
                    workspace: '0987654321'  # Your workspace GID
                    section: '1111111111'    # "Dependencies" section GID
                    title: '{{clean_title pr.title}}'  # Remove "chore(deps):" prefix
                    html_notes: |
                      <strong>Dependency Update</strong>
                      <br><br>
                      PR: <a href="{{pr.url}}">{{pr.title}}</a>
                      <br>
                      Author: {{pr.author}}

How It Works

1. Bot Opens PR - Dependabot creates PR without Asana URL
2. Conditions Match - has_asana_tasks: false + bot author
3. Task Created - New Asana task created with cleaned title
4. PR Updated - Asana task URL automatically added to PR description

Key Conditions

has_asana_tasks: false

Required for create_task. Only creates tasks when PR has no Asana URL:

# ✅ Correct - explicit check
has_asana_tasks: false

# ❌ Wrong - will fail validation
# (default is true, conflicts with create_task)

author Filter

Bot usernames must include [bot]:

author: [dependabot[bot], renovate[bot]]  # ✅ Correct

Not:

author: [dependabot, renovate]  # ❌ Wrong - missing [bot]

The clean_title Helper

Removes conventional commit prefixes:

PR Title	Task Title
chore(deps): bump lodash from 4.17.19 to 4.17.21	bump lodash from 4.17.19 to 4.17.21
fix(deps): update dependency react to v18	update dependency react to v18
deps: Update typescript	Update typescript

Expected Behavior

When Dependabot Opens PR:

• PR Description: (empty - no Asana URL)
• New Asana Task Created:
  • Title: bump lodash from 4.17.19 to 4.17.21
  • Section: "Dependencies"
  • Notes: Links to PR
• PR Description Updated: Asana task URL appended

When Human Opens PR (with Asana URL):

• No task created (has_asana_tasks is true)

Variations

All Bots

Support any bot account:

author:
  - dependabot[bot]
  - renovate[bot]
  - github-actions[bot]
  - snyk-bot

With Initial Fields

Set Status field on creation:

create_task:
  project: '1234567890'
  workspace: '0987654321'
  title: '{{clean_title pr.title}}'
  initial_fields:
    '2222222222': '3333333333'  # Status → "To Do"

Plain Text Notes

Use notes instead of html_notes:

create_task:
  project: '1234567890'
  workspace: '0987654321'
  title: '{{clean_title pr.title}}'
  notes: |
    Dependency update from {{pr.author}}

    PR: {{pr.url}}

Include PR Body

Add sanitized PR description:

html_notes: |
  <strong>{{pr.title}}</strong>
  <br><br>
  {{sanitize_markdown pr.body}}
  <br><br>
  <a href="{{pr.url}}">View PR</a>

Finding Section GIDs

Use the Asana API to get section GIDs:

curl "https://app.asana.com/api/1.0/projects/YOUR_PROJECT_GID/sections" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ASANA_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "gid": "1111111111",
      "name": "Dependencies"
    }
  ]
}

Common Issues

Tasks Created for Human PRs

Problem: Missing has_asana_tasks: false condition

Solution: Always include:

when:
  has_asana_tasks: false  # ← Required
  author: [dependabot[bot]]

Validation Error: "create_task requires has_asana_tasks: false"

Problem: Condition missing or set to true

Solution:

# ❌ Wrong
when:
  event: pull_request
  # Missing has_asana_tasks!

# ✅ Correct
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: false

Bot Not Triggering

Problem: Bot username incorrect

Solution: Check exact GitHub username (including [bot]):

# Find in PR:
# Author: dependabot[bot]

author: ['dependabot[bot]']  # ✅ Exact match

Task Created But Not in Section

Problem: Section GID is wrong or optional

Solution: Verify section GID with Asana API. Section is optional but recommended for organization.

Combining with Updates

Handle both bot PRs (create) and human PRs (update):

rules:
  # Create tasks for bots
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
      author: [dependabot[bot]]
    then:
      create_task:
        project: '1234567890'
        workspace: '0987654321'
        title: '{{clean_title pr.title}}'

  # Update tasks for humans
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: true  # Explicitly check (or omit, as it's default)
    then:
      update_fields:
        '1234567890': '0987654321'  # Status → "In Review"

Next Steps

• User-Assigned Tasks - Add automatic assignment
• has_asana_tasks - Complete reference
• create_task - All options
• clean_title - Helper reference