macOS Calendar & Reminders Management

This skill guides you through effective use of che-ical-mcp for calendar and task management on macOS.

Date/Time Format

CRITICAL: Always use ISO8601 format with timezone for all date/time parameters:

code

2026-01-18T14:00:00+08:00  (correct)
2026-01-18 14:00           (wrong - will fail)

Use the user's local timezone. For Taiwan: +08:00

Tool Categories

1. Discovery (Start Here)

Before creating or modifying, always check existing state:

code

list_calendars          → See all calendars and their sources
list_events_quick       → Quick view: "today", "this_week", "next_7_days"
list_reminders          → See tasks by list or completion status

2. Events (Calendar)

Task	Tool	Key Parameters
View schedule	`list_events`	start_date, end_date, calendar_name
Quick view	`list_events_quick`	range: "today", "tomorrow", "this_week", week_starts_on
Create event	`create_event`	title, start_time, end_time, calendar_name (required)
Search	`search_events`	keyword/keywords, match_mode ("any"/"all")
Check availability	`check_conflicts`	start_time, end_time

Week Start Day (v0.8.2+): For this_week/next_week ranges, use week_starts_on:

•system (default): Use system locale
•monday: ISO 8601 (Europe, Asia)
•sunday: US, Japan
•saturday: Middle East

3. Reminders (Tasks)

Task	Tool	Key Parameters
List tasks	`list_reminders`	calendar_name, completed (true/false/omit)
Create task	`create_reminder`	title, calendar_name (required), due_date
Complete	`complete_reminder`	reminder_id, completed (true/false)

4. Batch Operations (Efficiency)

Task	Tool	When to Use
Create multiple	`create_events_batch`	Recurring meetings, series
Move multiple	`move_events_batch`	Calendar migration
Delete multiple	`delete_events_batch`	Cleanup old events
Find duplicates	`find_duplicate_events`	Before merging calendars

Common Workflows

Schedule a Meeting

code

1. check_conflicts(start_time, end_time)  → Ensure no overlap
2. create_event(title, start_time, end_time, calendar_name, location?, alarms_minutes_offsets?)

Weekly Review

code

1. list_events_quick(range: "this_week")  → See upcoming events
2. list_reminders(completed: false)       → See pending tasks
3. search_events(keywords: ["important"]) → Find priority items

Calendar Migration

code

1. list_calendars()                       → Identify source/target
2. find_duplicate_events(calendars, date_range)  → Check for duplicates
3. move_events_batch(event_ids, target_calendar) → Move events

Source Disambiguation

When multiple calendars have the same name (e.g., "Work" in both iCloud and Google):

code

create_event(
  calendar_name: "Work",
  calendar_source: "iCloud",  ← Specify the source
  ...
)

Available sources: "iCloud", "Google", "Exchange", "CalDAV", "Local"

Best Practices

•Always specify calendar_name for create operations (v0.8.0+)
•Use batch operations for multiple similar actions
•Check conflicts before scheduling important events
•Use search instead of listing all events when looking for specific items
•Prefer list_events_quick over list_events for common ranges
•Specify week_starts_on when user's locale differs from expected (v0.8.2+)