Apple Reminders

Apple Reminders

Overview

Use this skill to work with the local macOS Reminders app through the bundled helper at ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py. The helper uses a Swift/EventKit backend for core operations and AppleScript only for flag/unflag. Prefer the quick commands today, overdue, due, alarms-today, add, and done over raw JSON unless you need exact reminder fields.

Workflow

1. Confirm the task is meant for Apple Reminders on macOS, not calendar events or another task app.
2. Never run multiple Reminders helper commands in parallel. The helper serializes access to Reminders.app with a lock and timeout.
3. For triage, start with today or overdue. These default to the configured lists in ../../config.json.
4. Use list-lists to ground list names and aliases before writing if the target list is not obvious.
5. Prefer add for new reminders and done for completion. Use list only when you need a fuller list or raw JSON output.
6. Use update, move-to-list, flag, unflag, reopen, and delete for lifecycle changes to an existing reminder.
7. If there are multiple similarly named reminders, identify the right one explicitly before mutating it.

Commands

List reminder lists and aliases:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py list-lists

Show reminders due today:

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

Show overdue reminders:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py overdue

Show reminders whose alarm fires today:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py alarms-today

List reminders from one list alias:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py list \
  --list todo

Add a new reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py add \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi" \
  --date tomorrow \
  --time 09:00 \
  --remind-minutes-before 30

Add a recurring reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py add \
  --list todo \
  --title "Týdenní report" \
  --date tomorrow \
  --time 09:00 \
  --repeat weekly \
  --repeat-weekdays MO,WE,FR

Mark a reminder complete:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py done \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi"

Update a reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py update \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi" \
  --set-body "Po obědě" \
  --priority 5

Move a reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py move-to-list \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi" \
  --to-list dovolena

Flag a reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py flag \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi"

Delete a reminder:

/usr/bin/python3 ../../scripts/apple_reminders.py delete \
  --list todo \
  --title "Zavolat Petrovi"

Safety

• Treat add and done as write operations.
• Do not invent list names. Use the exact list or alias returned by list-lists.
• Duplicate detection defaults to title+list+dueDate. Set --dedupe-by none only when a true duplicate is intended.
• done requires a unique target. If several reminders match, refine by list or use the reminder id.
• flag and unflag are implemented through AppleScript because EventKit does not expose the flagged property.
• macOS may prompt for Reminders automation access the first time the helper runs.

Output Conventions

• Use exact local dates and times when summarizing due reminders.
• Prefer compact human-readable output for today, overdue, and due.
• When creating a reminder, echo the final list, title, due date, and remind time if present.
• When completing a reminder, echo the matched reminder id and title.