LEARN

GETTING STARTED WITH FEEDHAMMER

QUICK SETUP OVERVIEW

Feedhammer turns your scattered Basecamp calendars into one unified feed. Here are the main steps:

  1. Sign up with your Google account and choose a plan
  2. Find your Basecamp iCal URLs (we'll show you how below)
  3. Create a feed group and add your Basecamp URLs
  4. Copy the unified feed URL from your group
  5. Paste into Google Calendar (or Apple, Outlook, etc.)
Your calendar starts fetching events on its own sync schedule. That's it. No manual syncing needed.

FINDING YOUR BASECAMP FEEDS

1

Go to Your Project Schedule

In Basecamp, open the project you want to add. Click the Schedule tool. That's where events and assignments live.

Step 1: Navigate to the Schedule tool in your Basecamp project
2

Subscribe to the Calendar

Once inside the Schedule tool, click Subscribe to this calendar. You'll find it in the three-dot menu at the top right of the page.

Step 2: Click Subscribe to this calendar in Basecamp
3

Copy the iCal URL

Click Google Calendar, then click Copy link. Always select Google Calendar here, even if your actual calendar app is something else.

The URL you copied is your iCal URL. It ends in .ics. In the latest Basecamp 5 update, it ends with ?items=entries%2Cassignables. That's a query parameter. You don't need to worry about it. Feedhammer handles it automatically.

Paste this URL into Notepad or a text editor. You'll need it when setting up a feed group in Feedhammer.

Step 3: Copy the iCal URL from Basecamp
4

Repeat for Each Project

Repeat this for every Basecamp project you want in your unified calendar. You only need to do this once per project. You can mix projects from different clients or different Basecamp workspaces. Feedhammer works across all of them.

By the end, your Notepad will have all the iCal URLs you need to set up your Feedhammer groups.

CREATING FEED GROUPS

In Feedhammer, a feed group is a collection of Basecamp feeds merged into one calendar. You can create as many groups as you need as per your subscription plan. For example, if you have 10 Basecamp projects for one client, add all their iCal URLs to a single feed group. That gives you one unified URL to subscribe to or share.

1

Create a New Group

On your Feedhammer dashboard, click + Create New Feed Group. Give it a clear name like "Client X Projects" or "Internal Team".

Starter plan allows up to 10 feed groups. Pro plan has unlimited feed groups. Both plans allow any number of Basecamp feeds inside each group.
2

Add Your First Feed

In your new group, paste the Basecamp iCal URLs from your Notepad into the Add Feed field, one at a time. Feedhammer validates each URL and auto-detects the project name.

3

Add More Feeds (Optional)

Add as many Basecamp feeds as you want to this group. There is no limit on feeds per group. The dashboard shows the first 5 feeds by default. Click + X MORE to see all of them.

4

Configure Filters

Use the checkboxes in your feed group card to control what shows up in your calendar:

  • Meetings — Scheduled meetings
  • Todos — Todo items that have due dates
  • Cards — Card table items that have dates
  • Emojis — Use emoji prefixes instead of text labels in the calendar app
Changes save automatically and take effect on your calendar's next sync.

SUBSCRIBING IN YOUR CALENDAR APP

At the top of each feed group card, you'll find a unique Feed URL. Anyone can subscribe to it using a calendar app. Here's how for the most common platforms:

1

Google Calendar

  1. In Google Calendar web version, click the + next to "Other calendars"
  2. Select From URL
  3. Paste your unique Feedhammer feed group URL
  4. Click Add calendar button
  5. Done! You will see the "Feedhammer" calendar name in "Other calendars"
Google Calendar fetches data from Feedhammer right after you add it. After that, it refreshes automatically every 5 to 8 hours.
2

Apple Calendar (Mac)

  1. Go to the Calendar app on your Mac
  2. Choose File → New Calendar Subscription
  3. Paste your Feedhammer feed group URL and click Subscribe
  4. Follow the remaining steps as prompted
  5. Set auto-refresh to your preferred interval
  6. Click OK and you're set!
3

Microsoft Outlook

  1. Go to Calendar → Add Calendar → Subscribe from web
  2. Paste your Feedhammer feed group URL
  3. Click "Import"
  4. Done!
4

Thunderbird

  1. Go to Calendar → Add Calendar → On the Network
  2. Leave "Username" blank. Paste the Feedhammer feed group URL into the "Location" field
  3. Check "This location doesn't require credentials" and click "Find Calendars"
  4. Click "Subscribe" when it shows the Feedhammer URL token as a calendar
  5. The calendar appears in your list with a random token name. Thunderbird does not rename it automatically. To fix this, right-click the calendar name, choose Properties, and rename it
5

Hey Calendar

  1. Open HEY Calendar
  2. Click the HEY logo at the top and select "Subscribe to an outside calendar"
  3. Paste the Feedhammer feed group URL to the "Calendar URL" field and click "Add subscription"

UNDERSTANDING YOUR DASHBOARD

1

Feed vs. Feed Group

A feed is one Basecamp iCal URL copied from its Basecamp project's Schedule tool. A feed group is a collection of such feeds merged into one feed group in Feedhammer. All feeds in a single feed group are aggregated and made available through a single Feed Group URL. You add this unique URL to a calendar app, not individual Basecamp feeds. A feed group can contain any number of Basecamp feed URLs.

2

Status Dots

Each feed and feed group show a colored status dot:

  • Green — Feed synced successfully recently
  • Red — Feed failed (check the Basecamp URL)
  • Gray — Feed hasn't been synced yet (add to calendar first)
Hover over any status dot in your Feedhammer dashboard to see more details.
3

Last Synced Time

This shows when your calendar app last requested an update from Feedhammer. Feedhammer does not continuously poll Basecamp. It fetches fresh data only when your calendar asks for it.

"5M AGO" means your calendar checked 5 minutes ago. "2H AGO" means it has been 2 hours since the last check.
4

Sharing Feed URLs

Anyone with your feed group URL can see the unified calendar. Share it with clients, teammates, or stakeholders. There's no per-person limit. Each person subscribes independently in their own calendar app.

Treat feed URLs like passwords. Anyone with the URL can see the calendar events it provides. If you share it with the wrong person by accident, regenerate the URL from your dashboard. The old URL will be invalidated right away.