ClickUp Automation Issues — Task Duplication & Visibility

Overview

ClickUp automations at Asymmetric have been producing duplicate tasks and hiding comments when items are moved between sprints and client folders. This causes delays and missed work — in one documented case, a comment from Sebastian posted on Friday wasn't visible until Wednesday, surfacing only because the task became overdue.

This article captures the known cause, a working workaround, and the resolution path.

Problem

When tasks are moved between sprint lists and client/account management folders, ClickUp's automations copy the task rather than simply relocating it. This results in:

• Duplicate tasks appearing across multiple lists (sprints, client folders, account management)
• Hidden or delayed comments — comments attached to one copy of a task may not appear on the duplicate, causing team members to miss updates
• Board clutter — boards that should be clean accumulate large numbers of spurious tasks (e.g., ~20 unexpected tasks appearing on a board overnight)

The duplication behavior appears to vary depending on where a task is originally created (sprint list vs. client folder vs. account management list), making the issue inconsistent and hard to predict.

Root Cause

The automations configured by Pepper are triggering a copy action instead of a move + link action when tasks transition between sprint folders and client folders. The intended behavior is for a single task to appear in multiple lists simultaneously (as a shared reference), not to create independent copies.

Workaround

Until the automations are fixed, use the following approach:

1. Create the task in one canonical location (preference: the Projects list, as Account Management is considered more of a management view).
2. After creation, manually add the task to any other relevant lists (e.g., Projects, Account Management, the relevant sprint) using the "Add to list" feature visible in the task detail panel (shown as a +1 indicator when a task belongs to multiple lists).
3. Do not create tasks in multiple places independently — this is what triggers duplication.

Note: The Account Management list and the Projects list serve different views of the same work. Tasks should live in one place and be referenced in others, not duplicated.

Resolution Path

• Melissa Cusumano is following up with Pepper to fix the broken automations so that moving tasks between sprints and client folders links rather than copies them.
• A consultant-provided updated guide on ClickUp workflow structure was expected the same week as this meeting and may clarify the intended list hierarchy.

Related Context

This issue surfaced during the ^[1] and was discussed alongside broader campaign and website work. The ClickUp setup is managed in coordination with an external consultant (Pepper).

See Also

• ^[2]
• ^[3]