Asana Reader

Read Asana tasks and comments by URL, ID, or name search. This skill provides read-only access to Asana workspace data with support for multiple accounts.

Overview

Fetches Asana task details given a URL, GID, or search query, including:

• Task metadata (name, notes, assignee, projects, tags, dates)
• Task comments and activity
• Custom fields
• Subtasks and dependencies

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• asana package: npm install asana

Environment Variables

export ASANA_ACCOUNTS='{"personal": "0/abc123def456", "work": "0/xyz789uvw012"}'

The ASANA_ACCOUNTS variable is a JSON object mapping account names to Personal Access Tokens (PATs).

Multi-Account Configuration

Configure multiple Asana accounts for different workspaces:

{
  "personal": "0/1234567890abcdef",
  "work": "0/fedcba0987654321",
  "client_a": "0/aabbccdd11223344"
}

When multiple accounts are configured, use --account <name> to specify which one to use. If only one account is configured, it's used automatically.

Generating a Personal Access Token

1. Log into Asana
2. Go to Profile Settings → Apps → Developer Apps
3. Or navigate directly to app.asana.com/0/my-apps
4. Click Create new token
5. Give it a name and click Create token
6. Copy the token (starts with 0/)

⚠️ Tokens grant full access to your Asana account. Keep them secure and never commit them to version control.

Available Scripts

read-task.js

Read an Asana task by URL, ID, or name search.

node scripts/read-task.js [--url URL | --id GID | --name SEARCH] [options]

One of --url, --id, or --name is required.

Options:

Output:

JSON object containing:

• metadata: Fetch timestamp, account used
• task: Task details (name, notes, assignee, projects, tags, dates, etc.)
• comments: Array of comments on the task

list-projects.js

List Asana projects for a workspace.

node scripts/list-projects.js [options]

Options:

Output:

Without --workspace: Lists available workspaces with GIDs.

With --workspace: JSON object containing:

• metadata: Fetch timestamp, account used
• workspace: Workspace info
• projects: Array of projects (name, gid, owner, dates, etc.)

Asana URL Formats

Tasks can be identified by their URL:

https://app.asana.com/0/PROJECT_GID/TASK_GID
https://app.asana.com/0/PROJECT_GID/TASK_GID/f

Where:

• PROJECT_GID - Project or list ID
• TASK_GID - Task ID (this is what's used)
• /f - Optional "full pane" view suffix

Examples

Read task by URL

node scripts/read-task.js \
  --url "https://app.asana.com/0/1234567890123/9876543210987"

Read task by ID

node scripts/read-task.js --id 9876543210987

Read task by ID with specific account

node scripts/read-task.js --id 9876543210987 --account work

Search for task by name

First, find your workspace GID:

# This will list available workspaces if you don't specify one
node scripts/read-task.js --name "anything" --account personal

Then search:

node scripts/read-task.js \
  --name "Fix login bug" \
  --workspace 1234567890123 \
  --account work

Pipe output to jq for formatting

node scripts/read-task.js --id 9876543210987 | jq '.task.notes'

List available workspaces

node scripts/list-projects.js --account work

List projects in a workspace

node scripts/list-projects.js --workspace 1197100180628208 --account work

List all projects including archived

node scripts/list-projects.js --workspace 1197100180628208 --archived

Error Codes

Library Files

lib/client.js

Asana API client wrapper with methods for:

• createClient(asana, token) - Create authenticated client
• getTask(client, gid) - Fetch task details
• getTaskComments(client, gid) - Fetch task comments
• searchTasks(client, workspace, query) - Search tasks by name
• getWorkspaces(client) - List available workspaces

lib/accounts.js

Multi-account configuration handling:

• parseAccounts(json) - Parse ASANA_ACCOUNTS JSON
• resolveAccount(accounts, name) - Select account by name

lib/url-parser.js

Parse Asana URLs to extract project and task GIDs.

lib/normalizer.js

Format API responses into consistent output structure.

lib/errors.js

Structured error handling with codes and remediation guidance.

Official Documentation

• Asana API Documentation
• Personal Access Tokens
• Tasks
• Stories (Comments)
• Workspaces
• Search API
• Rate Limits