Calendar Event Manager

Create macOS Calendar events with tiered sound alarms and paired Reminders so events are never missed across Mac and iOS.

CRITICAL RULES (Hard-Learned Truths 2026-02-12)

These rules are NON-NEGOTIABLE. Violating any of them defeats the purpose of this skill.

1. Calendar + Reminders ALWAYS Together

Every event MUST create BOTH:

• Calendar event with multiple sound alarm entries (custom sound per tier)
• Reminders (3 minimum) as a separate notification channel

Never create one without the other.

2. Use sound alarm, NOT display alarm

-- CORRECT: audible alert with custom sound
make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60, sound name:"Glass"}

-- WRONG: silent visual banner only
make new display alarm at end of display alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60}

Each alarm supports its own sound name property. Use DIFFERENT sounds for different tiers so the user knows which alert level it is by sound alone.

3. ONLY Long Sounds (>= 1.4 seconds)

Short sounds get missed and ignored. NEVER use sounds under 1.4 seconds.

APPROVED sounds only:

Sound	Duration	Use For
Funk	2.16s	At event time (loudest)
Glass	1.65s	1 hour before
Pop	1.63s	Morning-of / 3 hrs before
Sosumi	1.54s	Day-before
Ping	1.50s	30 min before
Submarine	1.49s	Alternative
Blow	1.40s	Gentle early reminder

BANNED sounds: Hero, Basso, Bottle, Purr, Frog, Morse, Tink (all < 1.4s)

4. Multiple Early Reminders Are Mandatory

Minimum alarm tiers for any event:

Tier	Trigger	Calendar Sound	Reminder
1 day before	-1440 min	Blow	"TOMORROW: ..."
Morning-of 9 AM	Absolute	Sosumi	"TODAY: ..."
3 hours before	-180 min	Pop	(via Calendar)
1 hour before	-60 min	Glass	(via Calendar)
30 min before	-30 min	Ping	(via Calendar)
At event time	0 min	Funk	Due-time reminder

5. macOS Notification Settings Prerequisite

Calendar notifications must be enabled in System Settings:

• System Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Allow Notifications = ON
• Alert style = Banners or Alerts
• Play sound = ON

Open with: open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Notifications-Settings.extension"

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TodoWrite Task Templates

Template A: Create Event from Invitation

1. Extract event details (title, date, time, location, notes, RSVP)
2. Create Calendar event with 6-tier sound alarms (Blow, Sosumi, Pop, Glass, Ping, Funk)
3. Create 3 Reminders (TOMORROW, TODAY morning, due-time)
4. Verify event and reminders created
5. Report full schedule to user

Template B: Create Event from User Description

1. Ask user for: event name, date/time, duration, location
2. Create Calendar event with 6-tier sound alarms
3. Create 3 Reminders
4. Verify event and reminders created
5. Report full schedule to user

Template C: Test Notification Setup

1. Create test Calendar event 3 min in future with sound alarms (1 min, 2 min tiers)
2. Create test Reminder 2 min in future
3. Wait for user confirmation of notifications
4. Clean up test event and reminders

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AppleScript Patterns

Full Event Creation (Copy-Paste Ready)

tell application "Calendar"
    tell calendar "Calendar"
        set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"EVENT_NAME", start date:date "DATE_STRING", end date:date "DATE_STRING", location:"LOCATION", description:"NOTES"}
        tell newEvent
            -- 1 day before: gentle
            make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-1440, sound name:"Blow"}
            -- 3 hours before: noticeable
            make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-180, sound name:"Pop"}
            -- 1 hour before: clear
            make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60, sound name:"Glass"}
            -- 30 min before: time to go
            make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-30, sound name:"Ping"}
            -- At event time: loudest
            make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:0, sound name:"Funk"}
        end tell
    end tell
    reload calendars
end tell

Paired Reminders Creation

tell application "Reminders"
    set defaultList to default list
    -- Due-time reminder
    make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"EVENT_NAME", due date:EVENT_DATE, body:"LOCATION\nNOTES"}
    -- Day-before
    make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"TOMORROW: EVENT_NAME", due date:(EVENT_DATE - 1 * days), body:"Event tomorrow! LOCATION"}
    -- Morning-of at 9 AM
    set morningDate to date "DATE_STRING"
    set time of morningDate to 9 * hours
    make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"TODAY: EVENT_NAME", due date:morningDate, body:"Today! LOCATION"}
end tell

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Post-Change Checklist

After modifying this skill:

1. Sound reference table matches sound-reference.md
2. All 6 alarm tiers documented with correct sounds
3. BANNED sounds list is complete
4. Hook file (hooks/calendar-reminder-sync.ts) aligned with skill rules
5. AppleScript examples use sound alarm not display alarm

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References

• Sound Reference - Full sound duration data and approved/rejected lists
• Apple Calendar Scripting Guide