Moving Projects from Basecamp 2 to 4

These items easily transfer when you move a project over:

  • People, including the company/org they belong to
  • Messages
  • To-dos
  • Files
  • Documents
  • Forwarded emails
  • Non-recurring events
  • And any comments posted to the above

But these items won't be moved over:

  • People’s superpowers (Admin, Billing liaison, etc.) won’t be moved over
  • Groups/departments for people won’t be moved over
  • If a document has revisions, the old versions won’t be moved over
  • Recurring events won’t be moved over
  • Tags for files won’t be moved over
  • Standalone calendars won't be moved over
  • Templates won't be moved over

Additionally, client projects won't be moved over, regardless of their contents. Wait a second...why not?

Because Basecamp 4’s approach to clients is different from Basecamp 2’s, we aren’t able to bring these projects over.

For a client project in-progress, we suggest finishing it up in Basecamp 2. For the new client projects coming up, start it in Basecamp 4.

If you'd rather switch that Basecamp 2 project over to Basecamp 4, you'll need to remove the clients and turn client access off. Here's how that works:

  1. Click Invite more people and then click The Client tab.
  2. Remove any clients shown there.
  3. Click Turn this option off.

Animated gif showing how to remove clients and turn client access off in Basecamp 2

The project will now show for importing inside your Basecamp 4 account.

To help make this transition easier, we've also created a special plan that'll let you keep running your existing Basecamp 2 projects (including client ones) running for free.  More on that later.

To move, or not to move

Many companies (like ours) have switched from Basecamp 2 to 4 by simply leaving all our projects in Basecamp 2, and treating it as a long-term archive. Because Basecamp 2 will continue to run till the end of the internet, and because we'll let you keep your Basecamp 2 account for free, you could follow this approach too. Just treat Basecamp 4 as a fresh start, and begin everything new over there.

Others want to take the opposite approach, and bring their entire history over to Basecamp 4. That way it'll all be in one place.

You might find it helpful to do a bit of both. Pick up the things you're currently working on and bring them over to Basecamp 4 — everything else can stay in Basecamp 2.

Whatever approach you decide to take, keep in mind that nothing will be deleted or removed from either Basecamp 2 or Basecamp 4 without you explicitly doing so. That means changing your mind is okay. So give it a shot, see what sticks, and change what doesn't.

Here's how to move a project over:

To move a project from Basecamp 2 to 4, you'll need to be the owner of the Basecamp 2 account, and either an admin or owner in Basecamp 4. Get started by heading to Adminland:

Screenshot of the Basecamp 4 Home page with an arrow pointing towards the Adminland link

Then click   Move projects from Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 4:

Screenshot of the Adminland page highlighting the 'Move projects from Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 4' link

Read through the explanatory text (it will walk you through all the details of what gets moved over) until you see the  Got it, I'm ready to get started button. Click that button!

You can migrate projects from any Basecamp 2 account you own. If you're on multiple Basecamp 2 accounts, you'll be asked which one you'd like to move projects from. Any users on the projects you migrate will come along with those projects:

Screenshot showing the 'Move projects from Basecamp 2' heading

After that you'll see a list of projects. You can move over active and archived projects. Any archived Basecamp 2 projects you move will stay archived in Basecamp 4. Projects that are in the trash can't be moved over.

Click the  Move over button to start moving a project over:

Screenshot showing which projects are available to move from Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 4

Be patient, especially if you're moving a project with lots of files. Those can take some time to move! You'll get an email once your project is in Basecamp 4.

Once everything has been moved over, your Basecamp 2 project will be archived, and you'll see your project in Basecamp 4!

Some FAQs around moving projects over to Basecamp 4:

Will people be notified about the project moving?

Nope. We don't do anything to tell people that you've moved a project from Basecamp 2 to 4. But once the move has finished, they'll have access to the new Basecamp 4 account, and they'll see it in their list of accounts on Launchpad.

Will everyone in my Basecamp 2 account be added to Basecamp 4?

Yep! Everyone in your Basecamp 2 account will automatically be invited to your Basecamp 4 account when you import your first project.

What if I change my mind, and want to go back to Basecamp 2 for my project?

No problem! You can simply unarchive your Basecamp 2 project, and pick up where you left off. That said, anything you added to the project in Basecamp 4 won't be reflected in Basecamp 2.

Will I have to keep paying for Basecamp 2?

It depends. If you want to keep creating new projects in Basecamp 2, you'll need to keep paying for it, otherwise you can keep it for free. The next page in this guide will give you a full rundown.

Can I move projects over from Basecamp Classic to Basecamp 4?

Kinda. There's no direct way to move your projects from Basecamp Classic straight over to Basecamp 4. If you'd like to though, you can move your Classic projects over to Basecamp 2, and then from Basecamp 2 over to 4.

If you do move projects from Classic to Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 4, you will need to wait until you've moved your Classic projects to Basecamp 2 before you put Basecamp 2 on a free, preserved plan.

Next up: How to keep Basecamp 2 for free →