Asana

Use Asana as read-only context for Hamster, or enable two-way sync for briefs, tasks, and projects.

Overview

The Asana Connection has two modes:

Context Search lets Hamster read Asana tasks and projects when helping with Briefs and Plans. It does not write back to Asana.
Two-Way Sync is optional. It keeps mapped Hamster Briefs and Tasks synchronized with Asana projects and tasks.

Two-way sync is configured for one Asana workspace. During setup, Hamster reviews the board columns found across that workspace and maps them to Hamster task statuses.

How to Connect

Open Workspace Settings → Connections and select Asana.
Click Connect and complete the Asana authorization flow. Context Search is available after this connection succeeds.
To write changes back to Asana, enable Two-Way Sync.
Complete the additional Asana authorization and select the workspace to sync.
Review the proposed board-column mappings. Change any column whose Hamster status is incorrect.
Click Enable two-way sync.

If Hamster has not found any board columns yet, you can still enable sync. New columns are classified automatically as projects begin syncing.

What Two-Way Sync Covers

Hamster	Asana	Synced information
Brief	Project	Title and document body
Task	Task	Title, body, status, due date, assignee, parent task, and project membership
Task status	Board column and completion state	Section changes map to Hamster statuses; completed tasks map to Done

Asana has no equivalent for Hamster Initiatives, so initiatives are not synchronized through this connection.

Status Mapping

Asana represents workflow state through board columns, also called sections. Hamster classifies each section as one of:

To Do
In Progress
In Review
Done
Blocked

The review screen shows every detected column and Hamster's suggested status. Overrides apply by normalized column name across the selected workspace, so the same column name receives the same Hamster status in each project.

You can reopen the Asana connection later and choose Edit status mapping. Columns left on the suggested value continue to use automatic classification, including columns added after setup.

When a task is marked complete in Asana, the completion state takes precedence and maps to Done. When a Hamster status changes, sync moves the Asana task to the corresponding section when a mapping is available.

Bodies, Dates, and Assignees

Brief and task bodies are converted between Hamster's editor format and Asana notes.
Hamster preserves local formatting that Asana cannot represent while applying inbound text changes.
Due dates flow in both directions.
Assignees resolve through the users available to the connected Asana workspace. An unresolved user cannot be assigned automatically.
Parent-task relationships and project membership are preserved for mapped tasks.

Managing the Connection

Open the Asana card in Workspace Settings → Connections to:

Edit the status mapping.
Disable Two-Way Sync while keeping read-only Context Search connected.
Reconnect when Hamster reports that Asana authorization is required.
Remove the connection.

Disabling or removing sync stops future synchronization. It does not delete existing Hamster or Asana projects and tasks.

Synchronization is asynchronous. Provider rate limits, authorization failures, or temporary network errors can delay an update. If the connection shows Reconnect required, authorize it again before expecting queued changes to resume.