Skip to main content
Question

How can I automate adding tasks to generated lists in ClickUp after creating a folder?

  • 12 June 2024
  • 8 replies
  • 134 views

Hello,

I have been having trouble trying to create a zap that is supposed to automate a workflow inside of ClickUp. The goal is:

When a checkbox in a task is checked off, create a folder in the selected space using a template (This template has 15 lists it generates), add the task that triggered this automation to one of the lists the template generated.

The issue I am currently facing is after the folder is created using that template, there doesn’t seem to be a way to retrieve the list ID’s so I can add the original task to a specific list. I could do this as 2nd Zap but I am unsure if by doing so, I won’t be able to find the lists that were created every single time the first automation gets triggered.

Hope that was enough information, if needed, I can be more specific on details.

Thank you.

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

8 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hi @ggoyetteSVG 

For us to have more context, post screenshots with how your Zap steps are outlined and configured in EDIT mode.

 

Perhaps there is a way to use native ClickUp Automations to do some of this?

https://help.clickup.com/hc/en-us/articles/6312102752791-Intro-to-Automations

Hi @Troy Tessalone, thank you for your response.

  1. When a task inside of the list, New Job Checklist, has the custom field, Job Folder Creation, checked off, trigger automation.
  1. This is the search step that finds the task that triggered its automation and grabs its ID.
  1. Create a folder in Jobs space using the template, Job Template 1.5 DEV. (This template contains 15 lists, all different statuses, and some placeholders) Name the newly created folder as:
    [Job Number] - [Task Name]” using the values found from step #2

The next two steps I am stuck on as I mentioned earlier, I am not able to get a list ID from the newly created folder. There is a list inside of the Job Template 1.5 DEV that is going to contain the task that triggered this automation, by adding that task to the targeted list, so they live in both lists and maintain updated values. 

The issue with using ClickUp automations is that for one, you are not able to create a Folder, only tasks, subtasks, or lists. And second, if I let Zapier choose to create the folder, I don’t believe ClickUp is capable of finding that newly created folder using variables such as “[Job Number] - [Task Name]”.

Let me know if that helps break it down at all.

Thank you!

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@ggoyetteSVG 

It may involve using the ClickUp API: https://clickup.com/api/clickupreference/operation/GetFolder/

 

 

@Troy Tessalone So I ended up using a custom action that was able to grab all the list ID’s from the recently created folder. Now the issue still resides in the ability to add a task to a list through Zapier. I have gone through countless forums with users achieving this by means of API requests. Going through the entire day full of rabbit holes, I have yet to be able to achieve this as I am not familiar with the languages used by these requests. The one custom action that is supposed to do this, which was setup by AI through Zapier(Add Task to List), was not setup correctly and ClickUp refused to accept it.

I am sure this isn’t as hard as I am making it sound but it’s incredibly frustrating to try and figure this out when almost all resources I have looked into are foreign to me. 

Hope someone can help me achieve my desired result.

Thank you.

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@ggoyetteSVG 

Using app APIs in Zaps is an advanced approach, and while the Custom Action with the help of AI is very useful it is not foolproof.

 

If you are looking to hire help, check out the directory of Certified Zapier Experts: https://zapier.com/experts

 

For us to have more context, you would need to post screenshots with how your Zap step is configured in EDIT mode as well as how your Custom Action is configured, along with the encountered error.

 

@Troy Tessalone, If I wanted to hire help, I would have done so without creating this post. I would appreciate some possible solutions or suggestions to resolve my issue rather than making broad statements like a bot.

If API requests are that advanced to where you to need to hire help, why did you not mention that in your second reply about API requests? Is there a place I can learn about this so that I can work with these requests and understand how to format them instead of having to hire someone?

 

For anyone who is willing to help, I am currently running into a ClickUp error code while trying to run this API request: OAUTH_027 - Team not Authorized

Which from ClickUp’s forums say:

This error is thrown when a team (Workspace) was not authorized by the user for a particular access token.

 

This request says “Authentication headers are included automatically”, which I thought would be fine to not include an API Token but from the error code, it appears it’s missing some authentication, but I guess I am unsure of how to format it other than a copy and paste.

URLhttps://api.clickup.com/api/v2/list/{list_id}/task/{task_id}

Method: POST

Parameters: list_id (Which is pulled from formatter step) & task_id (Which is pulled from the trigger)

Body: { }

I have a feeling the body is not setup correctly which may be the reason why I am getting that error code, but that’s what was from ClickUp’s API Developer Docs → Add Task to List

I would appreciate any help or suggestions! Thank you!

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@ggoyetteSVG 

If API requests are that advanced to where you to need to hire help, why did you not mention that in your second reply about API requests?

When that comment was made your technical proficiency level with APIs was unknown.

 

Is there a place I can learn about this so that I can work with these requests and understand how to format them instead of having to hire someone?

 

 

TIP: Best to provide screenshots with how Zap steps or Custom Actions are configured to give true context.

Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Hi there, @ggoyetteSVG 👋

So I ended up using a custom action that was able to grab all the list ID’s from the recently created folder. Now the issue still resides in the ability to add a task to a list through Zapier. 

I’m not sure an API Request action is necessary to create a task and add it to a specific list. With the existing Create Task action for ClickUp if you select a Workspace, Space and Folder then a List field will appear. In that List field you could click on the Custom value option which would then allow you to select the field containing the ID for the list that’s output by the API Request action:
209420af86f9091452ab6da8289108ed.png

And with an existing task that need to be added to a specific list you can use the Update Task (ClickUp) action which similarly will display a List field when a Workspace, Space and Folder are selected.

Can you give that a try and let me know if that works as hoped?