Custom fields for Basecamp

Give Basecamp the fields it never had.

Priority, status, category, client, effort, launch date. Basecamp to-dos can't hold any of it. Assistant adds real custom fields to your to-dos, cards, and messages, shown as colored badges everyone can read at a glance.

Assistant's custom field manager inside Basecamp, with Tags, Status, Priority, Category, and Version fields and colored options

Five field types. Colored badges everywhere.

Build the fields your workflow needs and apply them to any to-do, card, or message. Values render as colored badges on the item itself, so priority and status are readable from the list without clicking in.

Single select

One value from a colored list. Priority, T-shirt size, environment.

Multi select

Several values at once. Departments involved, platforms affected.

Text

Free-form context: client name, ticket reference, one-line notes.

Number

Effort points, budget, hours estimated. Anything you'd want to compare.

Date

Launch dates, review deadlines, renewal dates, beyond the one due date Basecamp gives you.

Tags & Status, built in

Two ready-made fields so you can start labeling and tracking workflow states immediately.

Basecamp's project settings page with Assistant's Custom fields row: a toggle and per-field checkboxes to choose which custom fields the project uses

Per-project control

Every project gets exactly the fields it needs.

Admins choose which fields each project uses, straight from Basecamp's project settings. A client-facing project stays clean while your dev board runs Priority, Category, and Version.

  • One toggle in the project's own Rename & settings page
  • Uncheck individual fields; values are kept and restored on re-enable
  • Fields you create later stay visible everywhere by default

Fields aren't labels. They're leverage.

Once your items carry real data, every other view gets sharper.

Group the Kanban by any field

Swimlanes by Priority, Category, or Status on the Kanban board, with lanes in your option order and colors.

Filter to what matters

"High-priority items assigned to Sara" is two clicks, on the board and in the Docs & Files grid.

Automate on field changes

Rules that react when a field changes: set a status, add a tag, assign someone, post a comment.

Step-by-step guides: add custom fields · add tags · add statuses · filter and group

Custom fields questions, answered.

Does Basecamp have custom fields? +

No. A Basecamp to-do is a name, an assignee, and a due date. There's no priority, status, category, or any other field, and nothing to filter or report on. Assistant adds all of that on top of your existing to-dos, cards, and messages.

What field types can I create? +

Single select, multi select, text, number, and date. Select fields get colored options, and values render as colored badges right on the item, in lists, on the Kanban board, and in the Docs & Files grid.

Can different projects use different fields? +

Yes. Admins choose which fields each project uses from Basecamp's own project settings page. Turn custom fields off for a project entirely, or uncheck individual fields. Values are kept and come back if you re-enable a field.

What's the difference between tags, statuses, and custom fields? +

Tags and Status are built-in fields that come ready to use: tags for flexible labels, status for workflow states. Custom fields are the general tool when you need something specific, like Priority, Client, Effort, or a launch date.

Where is the field data stored? +

Field definitions and values are stored by Assistant and layered onto Basecamp in your browser. Your project content, the messages, to-dos, and files themselves, stays in Basecamp. We never store it.

What does it cost? +

$29/month or $290/year for your whole Basecamp account, unlimited users. Custom fields are included, along with the Kanban board, tags, statuses, and automations. 7-day free trial, no credit card.

Fields your Basecamp has been missing.

Install the free extension and add your first custom field in minutes. 7-day trial, no credit card.