Apple Calendar

Apple Calendar

Use this skill for macOS Calendar.app and .ics workflows.

Scope

• draft or import .ics files
• review or manage Apple Calendar events on the host Mac
• coordinate one-off calendar actions through the Calendar app or an existing local CLI

Default Strategy

1. Confirm title, date, timezone, and attendees before creating anything.
2. If the task is mostly event creation, prefer a generated .ics file that the user can import into Calendar.
3. If the user already has a local calendar CLI such as icalBuddy, use it for read-heavy workflows.
4. For writes in Calendar.app itself, prepare the exact event details first and only then trigger the host-side action.

.ics Workflow

Use .ics when the user wants a portable calendar event or invite draft. Generate a fresh UID and timestamp for each event so repeated imports do not collide and the file does not go stale.

Minimal event template:

EVENT_UID="$(uuidgen)@hybridclaw"
EVENT_STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
EVENT_START_UTC="YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ"
EVENT_END_UTC="YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ"
cat > event.ics <<EOF
BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//HybridClaw//Apple Calendar//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:${EVENT_UID}
DTSTAMP:${EVENT_STAMP}
DTSTART:${EVENT_START_UTC}
DTEND:${EVENT_END_UTC}
SUMMARY:Project Review
DESCRIPTION:Review the release checklist.
LOCATION:Berlin Office
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
EOF

Replace EVENT_START_UTC and EVENT_END_UTC with the actual event times in UTC before writing the file.

After writing the file, import it with:

open event.ics

Optional Local CLI

If icalBuddy is already installed, it is useful for schedule reads:

icalBuddy eventsToday
icalBuddy eventsFrom:today to:tomorrow
icalBuddy eventsFrom:today to:7days

If no calendar CLI exists, fall back to .ics generation or direct Calendar app interaction on the host.

Working Rules

• Always state the timezone explicitly when the user gives relative times.
• Never send invites or create events with attendees without explicit confirmation.
• If recurrence matters, describe it in plain language before encoding it into calendar fields.
• Prefer read-before-write when the user is modifying an existing event.
• If the user says "iCal", treat it as Apple Calendar unless they clearly mean a raw .ics file format workflow.

Pitfalls

• Do not assume the Mac's timezone matches the event timezone.
• Do not create all-day events when the user gave a specific time.
• Do not turn reminders or todos into calendar events unless the user wants scheduling.