How to back up Basecamp (and restore deleted data)
A step-by-step guide to backing up Basecamp with ProBackup, what Basecamp's 25-day Trash covers, what the Basecamp API does not expose, and how to restore deleted to-dos, messages and files.
In short: To back up Basecamp, connect ProBackup to your Basecamp account via OAuth, choose the accounts to protect, and the first snapshot runs within 24 hours. To-dos, messages, documents, uploads, events, comments and people are then copied daily to independent AWS storage. Deleted to-dos, messages, documents, uploads, table cards and whole projects can be restored back into Basecamp from any snapshot.
ProBackup is a SaaS backup service that takes automated daily snapshots of your cloud app data and lets you restore individual records, files or whole projects back to the original account. For Basecamp, that means a dated copy of every project that does not expire when the Trash does.
Why Basecamp's Trash is not a backup
Basecamp's Trash is well designed for the "oops, undo" case. It is not designed for anything else (checked 2026-09-16):
| What was lost | Native recovery path | Window | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|---|
| A to-do, message, document, file or comment | Trash on the project (account owners see everything trashed across all projects) | 25 days, or until someone empties the Trash, whichever comes first | Nothing after 25 days; nothing if an admin emptied the Trash |
| A whole project | Trash (same mechanism) | Same 25 days | Same limits; accounts with Admin Pro Pack may restrict who can restore |
| A previous version of a document or message | None: Trash only holds trashed items | — | An edit that wiped a document's content is not a deletion, so Trash never sees it |
| The whole account | Account export (Adminland): an HTML copy of selected projects or the whole account, for account owners only | Manual | A one-off download with no restore path |
Twenty-five days is short. It is shorter than most quarterly reviews, shorter than a typical notice period, and shorter than the time it takes many teams to notice that a customer's project has gone quiet because someone trashed it. "Until you empty the Trash" is shorter still: one tidy-up by a well-meaning admin and the window is zero.
And Trash only catches deletions. A to-do list overwritten by a bulk edit, a message body replaced, a schedule wiped by an integration or an AI agent acting at machine speed: none of that lands in Trash, because nothing was deleted.
How to back up Basecamp with ProBackup (step by step)
Setup takes about three minutes.
- Create your ProBackup account. Go to app.probackup.io/onboarding. The 7-day trial needs no credit card. Choose the AWS region for your snapshots; nine regions are available and you pick at signup (changing it after the first backup requires support assistance).
- Connect Basecamp via OAuth. Select Basecamp from the platform list and authorise ProBackup in Basecamp. ProBackup never sees your password; tokens are stored encrypted with AES-256.
- Choose the scope. Select the Basecamp accounts to include. Every project and team in a selected account is backed up.
- Wait for the first snapshot. It starts automatically and finishes within 24 hours, then repeats every 24 hours with nothing to schedule.
- Browse the vault. Open any snapshot to see each project's lists, to-dos, messages, documents, uploads and events as of that date.
Snapshots sit in AWS S3 with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS in transit. ProBackup has been SOC 2 Type II certified since May 2025 and is GDPR compliant.
What is (and is not) backed up for Basecamp
ProBackup backs up all data the Basecamp API exposes within its scope:
- Projects and Teams
- Lists and To-dos
- Messages
- Documents
- Uploads (files)
- Table cards
- Events (schedule entries)
- Automatic check-ins
- Comments
- People
Not backed up today:
- Campfire (chat)
- Pings (direct messages)
- Templates
- Chatbots
- Client approvals, correspondences and replies
These are not available through Basecamp's API; ProBackup will add them as soon as they become available. If your team relies on Campfire for decisions, the safest habit is to summarise outcomes into a message or document, which is backed up.
Version history depends on your plan: Plus keeps 6 months of snapshots, Pro keeps 2 years and Premium keeps an unlimited history.
How to restore deleted Basecamp to-dos, messages and files
From any daily snapshot, ProBackup restores six item types straight back into Basecamp:
- A to-do. A duplicate is created in the related list, with its comments.
- A message. A duplicate is created in the related project, with its comments.
- A document. A duplicate is created in the related Docs & Files folder, with its comments.
- An upload. The file is added back to the related project.
- A table card. A duplicate is created in the related project, with its comments.
- A whole project. A new project is created, with its to-do lists, to-dos, messages, documents, uploads, card tables and schedule entries.
Restores for Basecamp create new copies; existing data is never overwritten. That makes a restore safe to run first and review afterwards: if the original turns up in Trash after all, delete the copy.
To run a restore: open the backup, pick the snapshot date from before the deletion, locate the to-do, message, document, upload, table card or project, and click Restore. The item appears in the same list or project it came from.
For a whole project that was trashed and then permanently deleted, restore the project itself from the snapshot. ProBackup creates it as a new project and rebuilds its to-do lists, to-dos, messages, documents, uploads, card tables and schedule entries inside it.
FAQ
How long does Basecamp keep deleted items in the Trash?
Twenty-five days, or until someone empties the Trash, whichever comes first (Basecamp help, checked 2026-09-16). After that, items and whole projects are permanently deleted and Basecamp has nothing to restore. Account owners can view and restore trashed items across every project during that window.
Does ProBackup back up Basecamp Campfire chats?
No. Campfire, pings, templates, chatbots and client approvals, correspondences and replies are not exposed by Basecamp's API and are outside the backup scope. Projects, teams, lists, to-dos, messages, documents, uploads, table cards, events, automatic check-ins, comments and people are all included.
Will restoring a to-do overwrite the current one?
No. Basecamp restores always create a duplicate in the related list or project; live data is left untouched. Plans start at $25 per month, billed yearly, with 6 months of version history on Plus, 2 years on Pro and unlimited on Premium.
Start backing up Basecamp today
Connect Basecamp in three minutes and get your first snapshot within 24 hours. No credit card, no manual export, and a restore button that still works on day 26.
