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Use automations to set checklist due date notification

Cam_s2s9pc

I want to be notified when a checklist due date arrives. I want to do this using automations. Ideally, the notification would be a Slack message, but email also works.

Currently, I can't see a way to set the checklist due date arriving as a trigger in automations. I can see when selecting the checklist notification is an option to "Set due date reminder". I'm guessing this is just the email notification that is sent, which is fine.

By default, checklist due dates that are created using automations default to "None" for the "Set due date reminder" property. Is it possible to automatically set this to "At time of due date" using automations? Or is there another way we can use the arrival of checklist due dates as a trigger?

Accepted answers

All comments

Hariharan Iyer_f6fx5m

Hi @Cam ,

You will not be able to set a trigger on a value as triggers are set on events like values being changed. What you can do is:

1. Create a schedule trigger to run everyday

2. Get the relevant tickets using JQL as in the example below, which gets all tickets with due date in the next 2 days (change you field name accordingly)

Screenshot 2024-02-20 at 7.49.53 AM.png

3. Finally perform the action - email or slack.

Hope that helps!

Hariharan Iyer_f6fx5m

Apologies, I just noticed your query was regarding Trello and not Jira. Let me see if there's a way to do something similar for Trello as well.

Mary from Planyway

Hi @Cam

It's Mary from Planyway power-up for Trello

Trello's native automation capabilities, powered by Butler, are quite flexible, but they do have certain limitations, especially when it comes to very specific triggers like checklist due date arrivals. As of my last update, Trello automations primarily focus on card-level actions, and while checklists and checklist items can be manipulated through automation (e.g., creating checklist items, marking them complete), the granularity of automation for checklist item due dates, particularly setting reminders for them, is not as developed.

However, there are a couple of approaches you can explore to achieve your goal:

1. Utilize Trello's Email Notifications with Email-to-Slack Functionality

If you're okay with email notifications, you can take advantage of Trello's default notification system which sends out emails for due dates. To bridge this with Slack, you can use Slack's Email app or create an email address that automatically forwards to a Slack channel. This way, when Trello sends an email notification for a checklist due date, it can be automatically posted to a Slack channel.

2. Third-Party Integration Tools

Consider using third-party integration tools like Zapier. These platforms offer more advanced triggers and actions, allowing you to create more customized automations between Trello and Slack (or email). For instance, you could set up a Zapier automation that watches for checklist due dates in Trello and then sends a message to a Slack channel or directly to you as those dates approach.

Here’s a general outline on how you might set this up with a third-party tool:

Trigger: The trigger would be the approaching due date of a checklist item in Trello. This might require a custom setup since most integrations focus on card-level due dates.
Action: Upon triggering, the automation sends a notification. This could be configured to send an email or post a message to a Slack channel, depending on the capabilities of the integration tool and your preferences.

3. Custom Scripting with Trello API

For a more tailored solution, you could use the Trello API to write a custom script. This script could monitor checklist items for due dates and then use the Slack API (or an email service) to send notifications. This approach requires programming knowledge and maintenance but offers the most flexibility.

Directly Setting "Set due date reminder" via Automation

As for automatically setting the "Set due date reminder" to "At time of due date" through Trello's native automations, this specific functionality is not directly supported through Trello's GUI or Butler automation scripts as of the last information available. The automation actions available for due dates in Trello do not include modifying the reminder settings for checklist item due dates.

Cam_s2s9pc

Hi @Mary from Planyway

Thanks for your detailed response.

For option 1 (Email-to-Slack Functionality) will I still receive email notifications if the 'Set due date reminder' property is none?

Cam_s2s9pc

Hi Maria - I've just looked at the Zapier events that are available for Trello to use as a trigger. It's pretty limited and doesn't have anything to do with Checklist due date arriving? Only similar option is Card Due or New Checklist

Cam_s2s9pc

Thanks Hariharan - if you can think of anything that would work for Trello that would be great!

Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting

Hi @Cam

Please disregard the other nonsense on here, almost certainly some of it is AI generated...

When it comes to Trello advanced checklist due dates, there is very little that can be done with them... (a half-baked implementation unforutnately)

You are correct that Zapier is too basic but you could do something in make.com, however it is would end up being quite involved and advanced.

I would recommend the approach of keeping it inside of Trello but setting up your boards so that you convert your checklist items into linked cards, what I call a parent<>child relationship.

This opens up the possibility to then use the Trello due date automations to achieve what you are looking to. It isn't ideal but it does work...

I created an article about this a while back, please have a read through and come back if you have any questions or concerns about it:

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Trello-articles/Mikes-Trello-Tips-Parent-Child-Card-Linking/ba-p/2418149

milynnus

@Cam

This is a known limitation. @Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting ‘s suggestion is something to consider. If you really want a checklist item notification on the due date (aka no time) you can built one using webhook to register all new due dates, all changes, etc and have a cron run through your registry. I built one some time back but had not deployed it.

Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting

@milynnus You are spot on.

For those without dev experience, the easiest way to implement this with webhooks for me would be to use something like Make.com, Zapier should also be capable of doing this but I find Make to be far more powerful...

Tymek Zapała

I agree with this answer, using native Trello features as long as possible makes a lot of sense, avoiding overcomplicating things and problems with incompatibility.