In Asana, open the project, click Customize, select Add Rule, and set up a trigger and action pair, either in the rule builder or from Asana's rules library. Triggers include task updates, date changes and form submissions; actions include reassigning, moving tasks, changing fields and sending messages.
A rule is a small piece of automation inside a project: when this happens, do that. The classic example is moving a task to an Urgent section when its due date is approaching. Set up a handful of good rules and the project starts running its own admin.
Every rule is a trigger and an action
| Part | Examples Asana lists |
|---|---|
| Trigger: what starts the rule | Task updates, date changes, form submissions |
| Action: what the rule does | Reassigning, moving tasks, changing fields, sending messages |
One trigger can run several actions. When a form submission arrives, for instance, a single rule can assign the task, set a priority field and post a message, all at once. Rules can also update custom fields automatically when conditions are met.
Creating a rule
- Open the project you want to automate.
- Click Customize in the top right.
- Select Add Rule.
- Choose a trigger, such as a task update, a date change or a form submission.
- Choose one or more actions, such as reassigning, moving a task, changing a field or sending a message, then save the rule.
If you don't want to start from a blank builder, the rules library suggests rules for your specific project, including ones that act across other tools.
Rules that reach other tools and projects
Asana lists integrations that work with rules, including Slack, MSFT Teams, Gmail, G Cal, Dropbox, Notion, Confluence, OneDrive, HubSpot, Jira Cloud, Zendesk, PagerDuty and Box. So a rule can post to a Slack channel when a task is done, or pull a file in when a task is created.
Some rule types support cross-project automation, triggering an action in a different project. That's how an approved request in an intake project can create the delivery task in the team's own project.
If you're designing a whole process around rules, this guide to building workflows in Asana shows how to link intake, review and delivery.
Rule bundles for repeatable setups
Rule bundles are reusable sets of automations you can apply to several projects. If every client project should move overdue tasks, notify the account lead and tag approvals the same way, build the rules once as a bundle and apply it to each new project. It keeps things consistent and saves rebuilding the same logic over and over.
Pausing and checking what a rule did
A rule can be disabled or paused without deleting it, then switched back on later. That's handy during a busy launch, when you don't want automatic reassignments shuffling work around.
Every time a rule acts, it shows in the task's activity feed, and there's a rule activity log at project or portfolio level. If a task moved and nobody knows why, the log will tell you which rule did it.
Rules depend on your plan
The Asana rules page lists Rules as included in the Starter, Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus plans, so on a lower plan you won't see Add Rule. The page also notes that these steps come from Asana's marketing FAQ, so if a label in your app looks slightly different, go with what's on screen.
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How Trello and Jira automate
Trello's automation makes things happen when a condition is met, using triggers, actions and variables. Asana's Jira Cloud page says Asana Rules can create an issue in Jira when a task is added to a designated project, or the other way round. For more options, see my list of Asana alternatives, and these automation tips for small businesses are a good source of first rules to build.
My advice for your first rules
Start with three: move tasks to an Urgent section as due dates approach, assign form submissions to the right person, and post to Slack when a task is marked complete. Name each rule after what it does, check the activity log after a week, and pause any rule that's causing more questions than it answers.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I add a rule in Asana?
Open the project, click Customize, select Add Rule, then set a trigger and an action.
Can one rule do several things?
Yes, several actions from one trigger.
Can I pause a rule?
Yes. You can disable it without deleting it.
How do I see when a rule ran?
In the task activity feed and the rule activity log.
Can rules work across projects?
Some rule types can trigger actions in another project.
