has_asana_tasks

Filter by whether the PR description contains Asana task links.

Type

boolean

Default

true (if omitted)

Description

The has_asana_tasks condition determines whether the PR description contains any Asana task URLs. This is a critical condition that controls whether you're creating new tasks or updating existing ones.

This condition fundamentally changes what actions are allowed:

has_asana_tasks: false - PR has no Asana links → Can create tasks
has_asana_tasks: true (default) - PR has Asana links → Can update tasks

Syntax

yaml

# Update existing tasks (default behavior)
when:
  event: pull_request
  # has_asana_tasks: true (implicit)

# Create new tasks
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: false

Task URLs Detected

The action looks for Asana URLs in PR descriptions:

URL Format	Detected?
`https://app.asana.com/0/1234567890/9876543210`	✅ Yes
`https://app.asana.com/0/0/9876543210`	✅ Yes
`https://app.asana.com/0/1234567890/9876543210/f`	✅ Yes
`asana.com/0/1234567890/9876543210`	❌ No (must include https://)
Task mentioned in comments	❌ No (only PR description)

Critical: Mutual Exclusivity

The value of has_asana_tasks determines which actions are allowed:

When `has_asana_tasks: false` (no tasks found)

Allowed:

✅ create_task - Create new tasks
✅ post_pr_comment - Post comments

Not Allowed:

❌ update_fields - No tasks to update!
❌ mark_complete - No tasks to complete!

When `has_asana_tasks: true` (tasks found)

Allowed:

✅ update_fields - Update existing tasks
✅ mark_complete - Mark existing tasks complete
✅ post_pr_comment - Post comments

Not Allowed:

❌ create_task - Tasks already exist!

Examples

Create Tasks for Bot PRs

Dependabot PRs don't have Asana links - create them automatically:

yaml

rules:
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false   # No Asana URL in description
      author: dependabot[bot]
    then:
      create_task:
        project: '1234567890'
        workspace: '0987654321'
        title: '{{clean_title pr.title}}'
        html_notes: '<a href="{{pr.url}}">{{pr.title}}</a>'

Update Existing Tasks

Default behavior - update tasks linked in PR:

yaml

rules:
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      # has_asana_tasks: true (implicit default)
    then:
      update_fields:
        '1234567890': 'In Review'

Prompt for Asana URL

Ask users to add Asana link if missing:

yaml

rules:
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
    then:
      post_pr_comment: |
        ⚠️ No Asana task found in PR description.

        Please add the Asana task URL to track this work:
        ```
        https://app.asana.com/0/PROJECT/TASK
        ```

Separate Workflows

Handle both scenarios with different rules:

yaml

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

  # Update tasks when present
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: true
    then:
      update_fields:
        '1234567890': 'In Review'

Default Behavior

If you omit has_asana_tasks, it defaults to true:

yaml

# These are equivalent:
when:
  event: pull_request

when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: true

TIP

Be explicit! Even though true is the default, writing has_asana_tasks: true makes your intent clearer.

Common Patterns

Bot Task Creation

Create tasks only for bot PRs:

yaml

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

Require Asana Links

Enforce that all PRs have Asana tasks:

yaml

rules:
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
    then:
      post_pr_comment: |
        ❌ Asana task required!

        Please add the Asana task URL to your PR description.

Mixed Strategy

Some PRs have tasks, some don't:

yaml

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

  # Humans: Update existing tasks
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: true
    then:
      update_fields:
        '1234567890': 'In Review'

  # Humans without tasks: Prompt
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
      author: [dependabot[bot], renovate[bot]]  # NOT bots
    then:
      post_pr_comment: |
        Please add Asana task URL

Wait, that last rule has a bug. Let me fix that:

yaml

rules:
  # Update existing tasks (most PRs)
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: true
    then:
      update_fields:
        '1234567890': 'In Review'

  # Create tasks for bot PRs without links
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
      author: [dependabot[bot], renovate[bot]]
    then:
      create_task:
        project: '1234567890'
        workspace: '0987654321'
        title: '{{pr.title}}'

  # Prompt humans to add Asana link
  # (This catches human PRs without tasks)
  - when:
      event: pull_request
      action: opened
      has_asana_tasks: false
    then:
      post_pr_comment: |
        ⚠️ Please add Asana task URL to PR description

Validation Rules

Optional: Defaults to true if omitted
Type: Must be boolean (true or false)
Actions: Determines which actions are allowed (see Mutual Exclusivity section)

Common Errors

Creating tasks when tasks exist

yaml

# ❌ Wrong - can't create if tasks already exist
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: true
then:
  create_task:
    # Error: has_asana_tasks: true cannot have create_task

# ✅ Correct - create only when no tasks
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: false
then:
  create_task:
    # ...

Updating non-existent tasks

yaml

# ❌ Wrong - can't update tasks that don't exist
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: false
then:
  update_fields:
    # Error: has_asana_tasks: false cannot have update_fields

# ✅ Correct - update only when tasks exist
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: true
then:
  update_fields:
    # ...

String instead of boolean

yaml

# ❌ Wrong - must be boolean
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: "false"

# ✅ Correct - use true/false (no quotes)
when:
  event: pull_request
  has_asana_tasks: false

has_asana_tasks ​

Type ​

Default ​

Description ​

Syntax ​

Task URLs Detected ​

Critical: Mutual Exclusivity ​

When has_asana_tasks: false (no tasks found) ​

When has_asana_tasks: true (tasks found) ​

Examples ​

Create Tasks for Bot PRs ​

Update Existing Tasks ​

Prompt for Asana URL ​

Separate Workflows ​

Default Behavior ​

Common Patterns ​

Bot Task Creation ​

Require Asana Links ​

Mixed Strategy ​

Validation Rules ​

Common Errors ​

Creating tasks when tasks exist ​

Updating non-existent tasks ​

String instead of boolean ​

See Also ​

has_asana_tasks

Type

Default

Description

Syntax

Task URLs Detected

Critical: Mutual Exclusivity

When `has_asana_tasks: false` (no tasks found)

When `has_asana_tasks: true` (tasks found)

Examples

Create Tasks for Bot PRs

Update Existing Tasks

Prompt for Asana URL

Separate Workflows

Default Behavior

Common Patterns

Bot Task Creation

Require Asana Links

Mixed Strategy

Validation Rules

Common Errors

Creating tasks when tasks exist

Updating non-existent tasks

String instead of boolean

See Also