macOS Calendar Integration

Manage events in Calendar.app using AppleScript (osascript) on macOS.

Prerequisites

• macOS with Calendar.app configured
• At least one calendar account set up (iCloud, Google, Exchange, etc.)
• Automation permission granted to your terminal (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation)

Listing Calendars

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  set output to ""
  repeat with c in calendars
    set output to output & name of c & " (" & name of (account of c) & ")" & linefeed
  end repeat
  return output
end tell'

Creating Events

Simple event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    make new event with properties {summary:"Dentist", start date:date "2026-03-15 10:00:00", end date:date "2026-03-15 11:00:00"}
  end tell
end tell'

Event with location and notes

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    make new event with properties {summary:"Lunch with Alex", start date:date "2026-03-16 12:30:00", end date:date "2026-03-16 13:30:00", location:"Rynek 1, Wrocław", description:"Discuss project roadmap"}
  end tell
end tell'

All-day event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    make new event with properties {summary:"Team offsite", start date:date "2026-04-01 00:00:00", end date:date "2026-04-02 00:00:00", allday event:true}
  end tell
end tell'

Reading Events

Events in a date range

osascript -e '
set startDate to current date
set hours of startDate to 0
set minutes of startDate to 0
set seconds of startDate to 0
set endDate to startDate + 7 * days

tell application "Calendar"
  set output to ""
  repeat with c in calendars
    set evts to (every event of c whose start date ≥ startDate and start date ≤ endDate)
    repeat with e in evts
      set output to output & (start date of e) & " | " & summary of e & " | " & name of c & linefeed
    end repeat
  end repeat
  return output
end tell'

Today's events

osascript -e '
set todayStart to current date
set hours of todayStart to 0
set minutes of todayStart to 0
set seconds of todayStart to 0
set todayEnd to todayStart + 1 * days

tell application "Calendar"
  set output to ""
  repeat with c in calendars
    set evts to (every event of c whose start date ≥ todayStart and start date < todayEnd)
    repeat with e in evts
      set output to output & (start date of e) & " - " & (end date of e) & " | " & summary of e & linefeed
    end repeat
  end repeat
  return output
end tell'

Get event details

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set evts to (every event whose summary is "Dentist")
    repeat with e in evts
      set output to "Summary: " & summary of e & linefeed
      set output to output & "Start: " & (start date of e) & linefeed
      set output to output & "End: " & (end date of e) & linefeed
      set output to output & "Location: " & location of e & linefeed
      set output to output & "Notes: " & description of e & linefeed
      set output to output & "All-day: " & allday event of e & linefeed
      return output
    end repeat
  end tell
end tell'

Updating Events

Change event time

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set evts to (every event whose summary is "Dentist")
    repeat with e in evts
      set start date of e to date "2026-03-15 14:00:00"
      set end date of e to date "2026-03-15 15:00:00"
    end repeat
  end tell
end tell'

Change event title

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set evts to (every event whose summary is "Dentist")
    repeat with e in evts
      set summary of e to "Dentist (rescheduled)"
    end repeat
  end tell
end tell'

Deleting Events

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set evts to (every event whose summary is "Dentist (rescheduled)")
    repeat with e in evts
      delete e
    end repeat
  end tell
end tell'

Searching Events

Search by title across all calendars

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  set output to ""
  repeat with c in calendars
    set evts to (every event of c whose summary contains "meeting")
    repeat with e in evts
      set output to output & (start date of e) & " | " & summary of e & " | " & name of c & linefeed
    end repeat
  end repeat
  return output
end tell'

Search within a specific date range

osascript -e '
set rangeStart to date "2026-03-01 00:00:00"
set rangeEnd to date "2026-03-31 23:59:59"

tell application "Calendar"
  set output to ""
  repeat with c in calendars
    set evts to (every event of c whose start date ≥ rangeStart and start date ≤ rangeEnd and summary contains "standup")
    repeat with e in evts
      set output to output & (start date of e) & " | " & summary of e & linefeed
    end repeat
  end repeat
  return output
end tell'

Recurring Events

Weekly recurring event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Work"
    set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"Weekly standup", start date:date "2026-03-16 09:00:00", end date:date "2026-03-16 09:30:00"}
    set recStr to "FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO;COUNT=12"
    set recurrence of newEvent to recStr
  end tell
end tell'

Daily recurring event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"Morning run", start date:date "2026-03-16 07:00:00", end date:date "2026-03-16 07:45:00"}
    set recurrence of newEvent to "FREQ=DAILY;COUNT=30"
  end tell
end tell'

Monthly recurring event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"Rent payment", start date:date "2026-04-01 00:00:00", end date:date "2026-04-02 00:00:00", allday event:true}
    set recurrence of newEvent to "FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=1;COUNT=12"
  end tell
end tell'

Setting Reminders / Alerts

Alert before event

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"Flight to Berlin", start date:date "2026-04-10 06:00:00", end date:date "2026-04-10 08:30:00"}
    -- alert 60 minutes before
    make new display alarm at end of display alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:-60}
  end tell
end tell'

Multiple alerts

osascript -e '
tell application "Calendar"
  tell calendar "Home"
    set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"Important meeting", start date:date "2026-04-15 14:00:00", end date:date "2026-04-15 15:00:00"}
    -- alert 1 day before
    make new display alarm at end of display alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:-1440}
    -- alert 30 minutes before
    make new display alarm at end of display alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:-30}
  end tell
end tell'

Best Practices

Calendar Selection

• Always specify which calendar to operate on by name.
• List calendars first if you are unsure of the exact name.

Date Formats

• AppleScript parses dates using the system locale. The format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS" works with most macOS locale settings.
• For locale-independent dates, construct them programmatically with current date and arithmetic.

Performance

• Searching across all calendars with large histories can be slow. Narrow the date range whenever possible.
• Use whose filters in the AppleScript query instead of filtering in a loop.

Safety

• Never delete events without explicit user confirmation.
• When updating recurring events, be aware that changes may affect all occurrences.
• Calendar changes sync to cloud accounts — they are not local-only.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"not authorized" error	Grant Automation permission to terminal in System Settings
Calendar not found	Run the list-calendars command to get exact names
Date parse error	Check system locale; try "March 15, 2026 10:00:00 AM" format
Event not syncing	Open Calendar.app and verify the account is online
Recurrence not applied	Ensure the recurrence string follows RFC 5545 RRULE syntax