apple-calendar

Apple Calendar

Overview

Use this skill to work with the local macOS Calendar app through the bundled helper at ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py. The helper now uses an EventKit/Swift backend for data operations. Prefer the quick commands today, tomorrow, agenda, free, and add over lower-level calls unless you need raw JSON or direct lifecycle operations like update-event, delete-event, reminder changes, or .ics export/import.

Workflow

1. Confirm the task is meant for Apple Calendar on macOS, not Google Calendar or Outlook.
2. Never run Calendar helper commands in parallel. The helper now serializes access to Calendar.app, and parallel calls only add latency.
3. For daily summaries, start with today or tomorrow. These default to the configured personal calendars in ../../config.json instead of scanning every subscribed calendar.
4. Use agenda or list-events only when you need a specific date window or raw JSON payload.
5. Normalize relative dates into exact local timestamps before reasoning about conflicts or creating an event.
6. Prefer add --if-free for new events so overlapping slots are blocked unless the user explicitly wants a conflict.
7. For changing an existing event, use find-events first when you do not already have the event uid.

Commands

List calendars and configured aliases:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py list-calendars

Today's agenda across the configured personal calendars:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py today

Tomorrow's agenda:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py tomorrow

List one day's events from a named calendar or alias:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py list-events \
  --calendar "prace" \
  --date today

Human-readable agenda for a specific day:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py agenda \
  --date 2026-03-27

Find free windows:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py free \
  --date today \
  --slot-minutes 30

Quick-add a new event with conflict protection:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py add \
  --calendar "doma" \
  --title "Design Review" \
  --date tomorrow \
  --start-time 15:00 \
  --duration-minutes 30 \
  --location "Zoom" \
  --notes "Bring the launch checklist." \
  --if-free

Find an event by title and day:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py find-events \
  --calendar doma \
  --title "Stolní Tenis" \
  --date today

Update an event:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py update-event \
  --calendar doma \
  --title "Stolní Tenis" \
  --date today \
  --set-location "Velká nad Veličkou 276"

Replace reminders:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py set-reminder \
  --calendar doma \
  --title "Stolní Tenis" \
  --date today \
  --minutes-before 30

Clear reminders:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py clear-reminders \
  --calendar doma \
  --title "Stolní Tenis" \
  --date today

Export to .ics:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py export-ics \
  --calendar doma \
  --date tomorrow \
  --days 1 \
  --output /tmp/my-events.ics

Import from .ics:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py import-ics \
  --calendar doma \
  --input /tmp/my-events.ics \
  --if-free

Delete an event:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_calendar.py delete-event \
  --calendar doma \
  --title "Stolní Tenis" \
  --date today

Safety

• Treat add and create-event as write operations.
• Do not invent calendar names. Use the exact name or alias returned by list-calendars.
• The helper serializes Calendar.app access with a lock and timeout; avoid parallel tool calls into the helper.
• Use --if-free by default for new events. Use --allow-conflict only when the user explicitly wants an overlapping event.
• Duplicate detection defaults to title+start+end. Set --dedupe-by none only when a true duplicate is intended.
• macOS may prompt for Calendar automation access the first time the helper runs.

Output Conventions

• Use exact dates and local times in the response.
• Summaries should explain why a window is free or blocked instead of dumping raw JSON.
• When creating an event, echo the final title, calendar, start, end, and any location or notes that were applied.
• When today, tomorrow, agenda, or free is sufficient, prefer those outputs over raw JSON.