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Rules

In This Article

Available on Asana Starter, Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ tiers, as well as legacy tiers Premium, Business, and Legacy Enterprise.

Portfolio rules are available on Asana Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ tiers.

Visit our pricing page for more information.

Rules allow you to streamline routine tasks and establish workflows with ease. For a rule to work, you need a trigger that activates the rule and an action that is performed automatically. For example, a rule can be created to automatically assign a task (action) when a due date is set (trigger).

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Creating a rule

Rules are available in both projects and portfolios. You can set up rules within projects and portfolios, allowing you to automate key actions and ensure the smooth management of multiple projects.

When creating a rule, you can choose from pre-built rules in the rules gallery, or create a custom rule. Pre-built rules in the gallery have been designed to address common workflow scenarios. Custom rules allow you to create rules tailored to your unique processes.

To create a rule from the gallery:

  1. Navigate to Customize in the top-right corner of your project
  2. Click Rules
  3. Click +Add
  4. Select a rule from the gallery
  5. Fill out the specified parameter
  6. Click Publish rule
Note iconNote

Each rule in Asana has its own unique URL that can be accessed directly through the browser. These URLs are automatically generated when rules are created and remain consistent throughout the rule's lifetime.

Custom rule builder

The custom rule builder is available on Asana Starter, Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ tiers, as well as legacy tiers Business, and Legacy Enterprise. 

To create a custom rule:

  1. Navigate to Customize in the top-right corner of your project
  2. Under the Add section, click Rules
  3. Select Create custom rule
  4. From the drop-down select Runs on tasks or Runs on tasks and subtasks
  5. Choose a name for your rule
  6. Choose triggers, actions, and add conditions if needed
  7. Click Publish rule.
Note iconNote

Rules will only run on the first level of subtasks (i.e. rules will not run on sub-sub-tasks, sub-sub-sub tasks, etc.)

Editing a rule

Edit your rules any time by navigating back to the project and selecting the rule you want to update.

To edit a rule:

  1. Click the customize menu
  2. Under the Edit section, click Rules
  3. Click the three dot icon next to the rule you want to edit
  4. Click Edit
Note iconNote

Any edits you make to your rules will only apply on a go-forward basis. Edits will not apply retroactively.

Rules that involve external triggers or external actions such as sending emails or direct messages (e.g., via Outlook, Salesforce, or Slack) can only be edited by the rule's creator because the external triggers/actions are authenticated using the rule creator's account credentials.

Pausing a rule

You can pause a rule at any time by clicking into the rule on your sidebar and click Active. If you would like to make the rule active again, follow the same steps, but click Paused.

Deleting a rule

You can delete a rule at any time by clicking into the rule from your sidebar, and then clicking the Delete rule button.

Rule settings

To access rule settings, click the gear icon in the top-right of the rule builder.

Rule settings button

Rule settings contain 2 tabs: General settings and Permissions settings.

Settings 1

Under General settings, you can manage the name of the rule. You can also choose whether the rule can be triggered by other rules, and whether the rule should run on subtasks.

Settings 2

Under Permissions settings, you can view the rule owner and select the rule editor permissions.

Transfer ownership of a rule

If a rule's original owner loses access to the project or leaves the organization, team members with edit permissions can claim ownership of the rule. Asana will notify project editors when rules become orphaned, making it easy to identify which rules need attention.

To claim ownership of an orphaned rule, navigate to the rule in your project's rules list and within the Permissions menu click Become owner. Once you claim ownership, you'll be able to edit the rule and receive notifications about any issues.

Section-based rules

On paid plans, the lightning bolt icon in sections indicates that a rule is applied to that specific section. These are visible in list and board views.

Once the rule triggers, the icon will become animated. Clicking the lightning bolt will open a rules menu for that section, allowing you to add new rules or edit existing ones.

You can edit a rule by clicking the pencil icon that appears when you hover over it.

Rules in sections.png

Trigger combinations and multiple actions

You can also use trigger combinations and/or conditional logic and multiple actions to automate routine tasks.

You can use the act performed by one rule to trigger another.

The maximum number of rules per project is set at 50, regardless of plan size or tier.

Custom rules

Triggers

  • You can add up to 20 triggers per custom rule
  • You can select the trigger more than once
  • You cannot choose the Due date is approaching or Task is overdue triggers for subtasks. To use either of these triggers you must change the rule to Runs on tasks.

Multiple actions

  • When one or more triggers happen, you can select up to 20 actions to occur as a result
  • You can't add the same action more than once

Column or section based triggers

Column or section based triggers are for board view projects or projects with collapsible sections.

Custom field rules

Custom field rules are available on all projects with custom fields. People custom fields are also supported.

Note iconNote

To unlock these rules, you must first add a custom field to your project.

Rules in bundles

With bundles, you can apply multiple rules at once. This allows you to standardize processes at scale and make retroactive updates to projects that are already in flight.

Updates on misconfigured rules

If a rule becomes mis-configured (example: “Marked complete > Move to column “Done” and someone deletes your “Done” column), we will email the owner of the rule to let them know to fix it.

  • We will email you the first time a rule is triggered but cannot fire due to being misconfigured. We will not email you again until it has been corrected and successfully run at least once before misconfiguring again.

  • All users with read access to the rule in question can see the correct status of the rule.

  • Once you update the rule to a correct configuration and save the updates, those warnings will go away.

Pricing

Rules are available across every paid tier in Asana. The custom rule builder is available on Asana Starter, Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ tiers, as well as legacy tiers Business, and Legacy Enterprise.

A subset of rules are available to customers on the legacy tier Premium:

  • Move to column/section > Mark complete
  • Mark complete > Move to column/section
  • Custom field changed > Move to column/section
  • Move to column/section > Set custom field
  • Custom field changed > Mark complete
  • Mark complete > Set custom field

Frequently asked questions

How do rules work in Asana?

Rules automate routine tasks by combining a trigger (like setting a due date) with an action (like automatically assigning the task to someone), allowing you to streamline workflows without manual intervention.

Can I edit a rule after I create it?

Yes, you can edit any rule by clicking the customize menu, selecting the rule under the Edit section, and clicking Edit, though changes only apply to future tasks and not retroactively.

What happens when a rule becomes misconfigured?

Asana emails the rule owner the first time a misconfigured rule fails to fire (such as when a referenced column is deleted), and all users with read access can see the rule's status until it's corrected.

How many rules can I add to a single project?

You can add up to 50 rules per project regardless of your plan size or tier, and you can add up to 20 triggers and 20 actions per custom rule.

 

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How to use rules to automate tasks | Asana Help Center