| name | findmeetingtimes-timezone |
| description | Use whenever calling FindMeetingTimes, interpreting its output, or
scheduling a meeting that depends on cross-timezone availability.
FindMeetingTimes ALWAYS returns suggestions in UTC even when the
request was sent in a local timezone. This skill prevents misreading
UTC slots as local time. Triggers: "find a time", "check availability",
"when is X free", "schedule a meeting", "vind een moment", "wanneer
kan X", any use of FindMeetingTimes.
|
| cowork | {"category":"productivity","icon":"Clock"} |
| targets | ["copilot-cowork"] |
FindMeetingTimes — timezone handling
The trap
FindMeetingTimes accepts start, end, and time_zone parameters
in local time, but its response always reports suggestion times in
UTC — regardless of the requested timezone. Reading a UTC slot as if
it were local time silently produces a wrong-by-1-or-2-hour proposal.
Required workflow
- Always pass
time_zone explicitly in the request (e.g. W. Europe Standard Time).
- Treat every
dateTime in the response as UTC until proven otherwise.
- Convert each suggestion to the user's local timezone before
reasoning, comparing to a calendar, or proposing it to the user.
- Show your conversion in writing: when proposing a slot from a
FindMeetingTimes result, state the source UTC and the converted
local time, e.g. "11:00 UTC = 13:00 CEST".
- Verify against the user's busy calendar in local time. A slot
marked
free for the attendee can still conflict with the user's
own calendar — cross-check ListCalendarView results in local time.
Conversion reference (Europe/Berlin, NL user)
| Period | Offset | UTC → local |
|---|
| CET (winter, ~late Oct → late Mar) | UTC+1 | add 1 hour |
| CEST (summer, ~late Mar → late Oct) | UTC+2 | add 2 hours |
DST transitions: last Sunday of March (→ CEST) and last Sunday of
October (→ CET). Around those dates, do not assume — verify the offset.
Verification gate
Before sending or proposing any meeting time derived from
FindMeetingTimes:
If any box is unchecked, do not propose the slot yet.
When NOT to use
- Pure user-only availability questions answered from
ListCalendarView directly (no FindMeetingTimes call needed)
- Times the user typed verbatim ("schedule for 10:00 tomorrow") — no
conversion needed; trust the user's local-time intent
Common failure modes
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|
| Proposed slot is off by 2 hours in summer | Read UTC as CEST |
| Proposed slot is off by 1 hour in winter | Read UTC as CET |
| Attendee shows "free" but conflicts with user's calendar | Skipped the cross-check step |
| Proposed slot near DST transition is off by 1 hour | Used wrong offset for the date |
