google-calendar-sync

name	google-calendar-sync
description	Manages Google Calendar through the Calendar API. Create, read, update, and delete events, manage multiple calendars, set reminders, handle recurring events, and sync with local schedules. Use when working with Google Calendar, scheduling events, checking availability, managing meetings, or automating calendar workflows.

Google Calendar Sync

Comprehensive Google Calendar integration enabling event management, calendar organization, availability checking, recurring event handling, and workflow automation through the Google Calendar API v3.

Quick Start

When asked to work with Google Calendar:

1. Authenticate: Set up OAuth2 credentials (one-time setup)
2. List events: View upcoming events and meetings
3. Create events: Schedule new meetings and appointments
4. Update events: Modify existing events
5. Check availability: Find free time slots
6. Manage calendars: Work with multiple calendars

Prerequisites

One-Time Setup

1. Enable Calendar API:

# Visit Google Cloud Console
# https://console.cloud.google.com/

# Enable Calendar API for your project
# APIs & Services > Enable APIs and Services > Google Calendar API

2. Create OAuth2 Credentials:

# In Google Cloud Console:
# APIs & Services > Credentials > Create Credentials > OAuth client ID
# Application type: Desktop app
# Download credentials as credentials.json

3. Install Dependencies:

pip install google-auth google-auth-oauthlib google-auth-httplib2 google-api-python-client python-dateutil pytz --break-system-packages

4. Initial Authentication:

python scripts/authenticate.py
# Opens browser for Google sign-in
# Saves token.json for future use

See reference/setup-guide.md for detailed setup.

Core Operations

List Events

View upcoming events:

# Today's events
python scripts/list_events.py --today

# This week
python scripts/list_events.py --days 7

# Specific date range
python scripts/list_events.py \
  --start 2025-01-01 \
  --end 2025-01-31

# Next N events
python scripts/list_events.py --limit 10

Filter events:

# By search term
python scripts/list_events.py --query "team meeting"

# By calendar
python scripts/list_events.py --calendar "Work"

# Only free/busy
python scripts/list_events.py --show-deleted false

Get event details:

# Get specific event
python scripts/get_event.py --event-id EVENT_ID

# Export to file
python scripts/get_event.py --event-id EVENT_ID --output event.json

Create Events

Simple event:

# Basic event
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Team Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --end "2025-01-20 15:00"

# With description
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Project Review" \
  --start "2025-01-21 10:00" \
  --end "2025-01-21 11:00" \
  --description "Q4 project review meeting"

# With location
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Client Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-22 14:00" \
  --end "2025-01-22 15:00" \
  --location "Conference Room A"

All-day event:

python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Conference" \
  --start "2025-02-15" \
  --end "2025-02-17" \
  --all-day

With attendees:

python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Team Standup" \
  --start "2025-01-20 09:00" \
  --duration 30 \
  --attendees "[e-mail],[e-mail]" \
  --send-notifications

With reminders:

python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Important Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --duration 60 \
  --reminders "popup:10,email:60"  # 10 min popup, 60 min email

Video conference:

# Add Google Meet link
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Virtual Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --duration 60 \
  --add-meet-link

Recurring Events

Create recurring:

# Daily standup
python scripts/create_recurring.py \
  --summary "Daily Standup" \
  --start "2025-01-20 09:00" \
  --duration 15 \
  --rule "FREQ=DAILY;COUNT=30"

# Weekly meeting
python scripts/create_recurring.py \
  --summary "Team Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --duration 60 \
  --rule "FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,WE,FR;UNTIL=20251231"

# Monthly review
python scripts/create_recurring.py \
  --summary "Monthly Review" \
  --start "2025-01-15 10:00" \
  --duration 120 \
  --rule "FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=15"

Recurrence rule examples:

# Every weekday
"FREQ=DAILY;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR"

# Every Monday and Wednesday
"FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,WE"

# First Monday of every month
"FREQ=MONTHLY;BYDAY=1MO"

# Every 2 weeks
"FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=2"

# Until specific date
"FREQ=DAILY;UNTIL=20251231T235959Z"

# Specific number of occurrences
"FREQ=WEEKLY;COUNT=10"

See reference/recurrence-rules.md for complete RRULE syntax.

Update Events

Modify event:

# Update time
python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --start "2025-01-20 15:00" \
  --end "2025-01-20 16:00"

# Update summary and description
python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --summary "Updated Meeting Title" \
  --description "New description"

# Add attendees
python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --add-attendees "[e-mail]"

# Move to different calendar
python scripts/move_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --destination-calendar "Personal"

Update recurring instance:

# Update single instance
python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --instance-date "2025-01-20" \
  --start "2025-01-20 16:00"

# Update all future instances
python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --start "2025-01-20 16:00" \
  --update-following

Delete Events

Delete event:

# Delete single event
python scripts/delete_event.py --event-id EVENT_ID

# Delete recurring instance
python scripts/delete_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --instance-date "2025-01-20"

# Delete all future instances
python scripts/delete_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --delete-following

Check Availability

Find free time:

# Check availability
python scripts/check_availability.py \
  --start "2025-01-20 09:00" \
  --end "2025-01-20 17:00" \
  --duration 60

# Check multiple calendars
python scripts/check_availability.py \
  --calendars "Work,Personal" \
  --date "2025-01-20" \
  --duration 30

# Find next available slot
python scripts/find_next_slot.py \
  --duration 60 \
  --business-hours-only

FreeBusy query:

# Check if people are free
python scripts/check_freebusy.py \
  --emails "[e-mail],[e-mail]" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --end "2025-01-20 15:00"

Calendar Management

List calendars:

# Get all calendars
python scripts/list_calendars.py

# Get calendar details
python scripts/get_calendar.py --calendar-id "primary"

Create calendar:

# Create new calendar
python scripts/create_calendar.py \
  --summary "Project Alpha" \
  --description "Project Alpha team calendar" \
  --timezone "America/New_York"

Share calendar:

# Share with user
python scripts/share_calendar.py \
  --calendar-id CALENDAR_ID \
  --email "[e-mail]" \
  --role writer

# Make public
python scripts/share_calendar.py \
  --calendar-id CALENDAR_ID \
  --public \
  --role reader

Calendar roles:

• owner - Full control
• writer - Create/modify events
• reader - View only
• freeBusyReader - See free/busy only

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Schedule Meeting with Attendees

Scenario: Find time and schedule meeting

# 1. Check availability
python scripts/check_freebusy.py \
  --emails "[e-mail],[e-mail]" \
  --date "2025-01-20" \
  --duration 60

# 2. Create meeting
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Project Discussion" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --duration 60 \
  --attendees "[e-mail],[e-mail]" \
  --add-meet-link \
  --send-notifications

Workflow 2: Sync with Local Calendar

Scenario: Export/import events

# Export to ICS
python scripts/export_calendar.py \
  --calendar-id "primary" \
  --output calendar.ics \
  --start "2025-01-01" \
  --end "2025-12-31"

# Import from ICS
python scripts/import_calendar.py \
  --file events.ics \
  --calendar-id "primary"

Workflow 3: Daily Schedule Summary

Scenario: Get morning email with day's schedule

# Generate daily summary
python scripts/daily_summary.py \
  --send-email \
  --to "[e-mail]"

Workflow 4: Recurring Task Events

Scenario: Create recurring reminders

# Create recurring task
python scripts/create_recurring.py \
  --summary "Submit Weekly Report" \
  --start "2025-01-20 16:00" \
  --duration 30 \
  --rule "FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=FR" \
  --reminders "popup:0"

Workflow 5: Event Analytics

Scenario: Analyze calendar usage

# Generate statistics
python scripts/calendar_stats.py \
  --start "2025-01-01" \
  --end "2025-01-31" \
  --output stats.json

# Meeting time analysis
python scripts/meeting_analysis.py --days 30

Event Colors

Color IDs:

COLORS = {
    '1': 'Lavender',
    '2': 'Sage',
    '3': 'Grape',
    '4': 'Flamingo',
    '5': 'Banana',
    '6': 'Tangerine',
    '7': 'Peacock',
    '8': 'Graphite',
    '9': 'Blueberry',
    '10': 'Basil',
    '11': 'Tomato'
}

Set event color:

python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --color-id 9  # Blueberry

Reminder Options

Reminder methods:

• popup - In-app notification
• email - Email reminder

Reminder timing:

# Minutes before event
reminders = [
    {'method': 'popup', 'minutes': 10},
    {'method': 'email', 'minutes': 60},
    {'method': 'popup', 'minutes': 1440}  # 1 day
]

Use default reminders:

# Use calendar's default reminders
'useDefault': True

Time Zones

Specify timezone:

# Event in specific timezone
python scripts/create_event.py \
  --summary "Meeting" \
  --start "2025-01-20 14:00" \
  --timezone "America/Los_Angeles" \
  --duration 60

Common timezones:

'America/New_York'
'America/Chicago'
'America/Denver'
'America/Los_Angeles'
'Europe/London'
'Europe/Paris'
'Asia/Tokyo'
'Australia/Sydney'
'UTC'

Event Status

Status values:

• confirmed - Event is confirmed (default)
• tentative - Event is tentative
• cancelled - Event is cancelled

Set status:

python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --status tentative

Visibility Settings

Visibility options:

• default - Default visibility
• public - Public event
• private - Private event
• confidential - Only time shown, details hidden

Set visibility:

python scripts/update_event.py \
  --event-id EVENT_ID \
  --visibility private

API Rate Limits

Calendar API quotas:

• Queries per day: 1,000,000
• Queries per 100 seconds per user: 500

Best practices:

• Batch operations when possible
• Cache calendar data
• Use incremental sync for updates
• Implement exponential backoff

OAuth Scopes

# Full access
'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar'

# Read-only
'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.readonly'

# Events only
'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events'

# Events read-only
'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events.readonly'

# Settings only
'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.settings.readonly'

Scripts Reference

Authentication:

• authenticate.py - OAuth setup
• refresh_token.py - Refresh token

Events:

• list_events.py - List events
• get_event.py - Get event details
• create_event.py - Create event
• create_recurring.py - Create recurring event
• update_event.py - Update event
• delete_event.py - Delete event
• move_event.py - Move to different calendar

Availability:

• check_availability.py - Check free time
• find_next_slot.py - Find next available
• check_freebusy.py - FreeBusy query

Calendars:

• list_calendars.py - List all calendars
• get_calendar.py - Get calendar details
• create_calendar.py - Create calendar
• share_calendar.py - Share calendar

Import/Export:

• export_calendar.py - Export to ICS
• import_calendar.py - Import from ICS

Automation:

• daily_summary.py - Daily schedule email
• weekly_report.py - Weekly calendar report
• sync_calendar.py - Sync with external source

Analytics:

• calendar_stats.py - Usage statistics
• meeting_analysis.py - Meeting patterns
• time_tracking.py - Track time allocation

Best Practices

1. Use RFC3339 format: For dates/times (2025-01-20T14:00:00-08:00)
2. Specify timezones: Avoid ambiguity
3. Send notifications: When adding/updating attendees
4. Use batch requests: For multiple operations
5. Handle recurring events carefully: Understand instance vs series
6. Cache calendar lists: Reduce API calls
7. Implement sync tokens: For incremental updates
8. Respect quotas: Monitor usage

Integration Examples

See examples/ for complete workflows:

• examples/meeting-scheduler.md - Automated meeting scheduling
• examples/calendar-sync.md - Multi-calendar synchronization
• examples/reminder-system.md - Custom reminder workflows
• examples/analytics.md - Calendar analytics and insights

Troubleshooting

"Invalid time zone"

• Use IANA timezone names
• Check spelling
• Reference: https://www.iana.org/time-zones

"Invalid recurrence rule"

• Verify RRULE syntax
• Use FREQ, COUNT/UNTIL, and optional parameters
• See reference/recurrence-rules.md

"Event not found"

• Event may be deleted
• Check calendar ID
• Verify event ID

"Insufficient permissions"

• Check OAuth scopes
• Re-authenticate with needed scopes

Reference Documentation

• reference/setup-guide.md - Setup instructions
• reference/recurrence-rules.md - RRULE reference
• reference/api-reference.md - API documentation
• reference/timezone-reference.md - Timezone list