modbender rem — CLI for macOS Reminders
A Go CLI that wraps macOS Reminders. Sub-200ms reads via cgo + EventKit. Single binary, no dependencies at runtime.
Installation
# macOS (recommended)
curl -fsSL https://rem.sidv.dev/install | bash
# Or via Go
go install github.com/BRO3886/rem/cmd/rem@latest
Install this skill into your agent:
# Claude Code or Codex
rem skills install
# OpenClaw
rem skills install --agent openclaw
Quick Start
# See all lists with reminder counts
rem lists --count
# Add a reminder with natural language date
rem add "Buy groceries" --list Personal --due tomorrow --priority high
# List incomplete reminders in a list
rem list --list Work --incomplete
# Search across all reminders
rem search "meeting"
# Complete a reminder by short ID
rem complete abc12345
# View stats
rem stats
Command Reference
Reminder CRUD
| Command | Aliases | Description |
|---|---|---|
rem add |
create, new |
Create a reminder |
rem list |
ls |
List reminders with filters |
rem show |
get |
Show full details of one reminder |
rem update |
edit |
Update reminder properties |
rem delete |
rm, remove |
Delete a reminder |
rem complete |
done |
Mark reminder complete |
rem uncomplete |
— | Mark reminder incomplete |
rem flag |
— | Flag a reminder |
rem unflag |
— | Remove flag |
List Management
| Command | Aliases | Description |
|---|---|---|
rem lists |
— | Show all lists |
rem list-mgmt create |
lm new |
Create a list |
rem list-mgmt rename |
— | Rename a list |
rem list-mgmt delete |
lm rm |
Delete a list |
Search & Analytics
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
rem search <query> |
Search title and notes |
rem stats |
Show statistics and per-list breakdown |
rem overdue |
Show overdue reminders |
rem upcoming |
Show reminders due in next N days (default: 7) |
Import/Export
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
rem export |
Export to JSON or CSV |
rem import <file> |
Import from JSON or CSV file |
Skills & Other
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
rem skills install |
Install rem skill for AI agents |
rem skills uninstall |
Uninstall rem skill from AI agents |
rem skills status |
Show skill installation status |
rem interactive / rem i |
Interactive menu-driven mode |
rem version |
Print version |
rem completion |
Generate shell completions (bash/zsh/fish) |
For full flag details on every command, see references/commands.md.
Key Concepts
Short IDs
Reminders have UUIDs like x-apple-reminder://AB12CD34-.... The CLI displays the first 8 characters as a short ID (AB12CD34). You can pass any unique prefix to commands — rem complete AB1 works if it matches exactly one reminder.
Natural Language Dates
The --due flag accepts natural language:
rem add "Call dentist" --due tomorrow
rem add "Submit report" --due "next friday at 2pm"
rem add "Quick task" --due "in 30 minutes"
rem add "Wrap up" --due eod
Supported patterns: today, tomorrow, next monday, in 3 hours, eod, eow, 5pm, 2026-02-15, and more. See references/dates.md for the full list.
Priority Levels
| Level | Flag value | AppleScript value |
|---|---|---|
| High | --priority high |
1 (range 1-4) |
| Medium | --priority medium |
5 |
| Low | --priority low |
9 (range 6-9) |
| None | --priority none |
0 |
Output Formats
All read commands support -o / --output:
- table (default) — formatted table with borders
- json — machine-readable JSON
- plain — simple text, one item per line
The NO_COLOR environment variable is respected.
URL Storage
macOS Reminders has no native URL field. rem stores URLs in the notes/body field with a URL: prefix and extracts them for display.
Common Workflows
Daily review
rem overdue # Check what's past due
rem upcoming --days 1 # See today's reminders
rem list --list Work --incomplete # Focus on work items
Batch operations with JSON
rem export --list Work --format json > backup.json
rem import backup.json --list "Work Archive"
Scripting with JSON output
# Get overdue count
rem overdue -o json | jq 'length'
# List all incomplete reminder titles
rem list --incomplete -o json | jq -r '.[].name'
Public Go API
For programmatic access, use go-eventkit directly:
import "github.com/BRO3886/go-eventkit/reminders"
client, _ := reminders.New()
r, _ := client.CreateReminder(reminders.CreateReminderInput{
Title: "Buy milk",
ListName: "Shopping",
Priority: reminders.PriorityHigh,
})
items, _ := client.Reminders(reminders.WithCompleted(false))
See go-eventkit docs for the full API surface.
Limitations
- macOS only — requires EventKit framework and
osascript - No tags, subtasks, or recurrence — not exposed by EventKit/AppleScript
--flaggedfilter is slower (~3-4s) — falls back to JXA since EventKit doesn't expose flagged- List deletion may fail on some macOS versions