blob: 713a54dd7c5b76375de7bb78861743647aa20929 (
plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
|
#+TITLE: Add Calendar Event Workflow
#+AUTHOR: Craig Jennings & Claude
#+DATE: 2026-02-01
* Overview
Workflow for creating calendar events via gcalcli with natural language input.
* Triggers
- "create an event"
- "add appointment"
- "schedule a meeting"
- "add to my calendar"
- "calendar event for..."
* Prerequisites
- gcalcli installed and authenticated
- Google Calendar API credentials configured
- Test with =gcalcli list= to verify authentication
* CRITICAL: Check All Calendars Before Scheduling
Before creating any event, ALWAYS check for conflicts across ALL calendars by querying the emacs org calendar files:
#+begin_src bash
grep "2026-02-18" ~/.emacs.d/data/gcal.org # Google calendar
grep "2026-02-18" ~/.emacs.d/data/dcal.org # DeepSat work calendar
grep "2026-02-18" ~/.emacs.d/data/pcal.org # Proton calendar
#+end_src
| File | Calendar |
|----------+---------------------------|
| gcal.org | Craig (Google) |
| dcal.org | Craig DeepSat (work) |
| pcal.org | Craig Proton |
gcalcli only sees Google calendars — it will miss work and Proton events. Always verify the time slot is free across all three before creating.
To *create* events, use gcalcli with =--calendar "Craig"= (Google).
* Workflow Steps
** 1. Parse Natural Language Input
Interpret the user's request to extract:
- Event title
- Date/time (natural language like "tomorrow 3pm", "next Tuesday at 2")
- Any mentioned location
- Any mentioned description
Examples:
- "Create an event tomorrow at 5pm called Grocery Shopping"
- "Add a meeting with Bob on Friday at 10am"
- "Schedule dentist appointment next Wednesday at 2pm at Downtown Dental"
** 2. Apply Defaults
| Field | Default Value |
|------------+----------------------------------|
| Calendar | Craig (default Google Calendar) |
| Reminders | 5 minutes before, at event time |
| Duration | NONE - always ask user |
| Location | None (optional) |
** 3. Gather Missing Information
*Always ask for:*
- Duration (required, no default)
*Ask if relevant:*
- Location (if not provided and seems like an in-person event)
*Never assume:*
- Duration - this must always be explicitly confirmed
** 4. Show Event Summary
Present the event in plain English (NOT the gcalcli command):
#+begin_example
Event: Grocery Shopping
When: Tomorrow (Feb 2) at 5:00 PM
Duration: 1 hour
Location: (none)
Reminders: 5 min before, at event time
Calendar: Personal
#+end_example
** 5. Explicit Confirmation
Ask: "Create this event? (yes/no)"
*Do NOT create the event until user confirms.*
** 6. Execute
Once confirmed, run:
#+begin_src bash
gcalcli --calendar "Calendar Name" add \
--title "Event Title" \
--when "date and time" \
--duration MINUTES \
--where "Location" \
--description "Description" \
--reminder 5 \
--reminder 0 \
--noprompt
#+end_src
** 7. Verify
Confirm the event was created by searching:
#+begin_src bash
gcalcli --calendar "Calendar Name" search "Event Title"
#+end_src
Report success or failure to user.
* Calendars
| Calendar | Access | Notes |
|---------------------------+--------+--------------------------------|
| Craig | owner | Default — use for most events |
| Christine | owner | Christine's calendar |
| Todoist | owner | Todoist integration |
| Craig Jennings (TripIt) | reader | View only, no create |
| Holidays in United States | reader | View only |
| Craig Proton | reader | View only (no API access) |
Use =--calendar "Craig"= to specify (default for adding events).
* gcalcli Command Reference
** Add Event
#+begin_src bash
gcalcli add \
--calendar "My Calendar" \
--title "Event Title" \
--when "tomorrow 3pm" \
--duration 60 \
--where "123 Main St" \
--description "Notes" \
--reminder 5 \
--reminder 0 \
--noprompt
#+end_src
** Quick Add (Natural Language)
#+begin_src bash
gcalcli --calendar "My Calendar" quick "Dinner with Eric 7pm tomorrow"
#+end_src
** Key Options
| Option | Description |
|---------------+-------------------------------------|
| --calendar | Calendar name or ID |
| --title | Event title |
| --when | Date/time (natural language OK) |
| --duration | Length in minutes |
| --where | Location |
| --description | Event notes |
| --reminder | Minutes before (can use multiple) |
| --allday | Create all-day event |
| --noprompt | Skip interactive confirmation |
* Time Formats
gcalcli accepts natural language times:
- "tomorrow 3pm"
- "next Tuesday at 2"
- "2026-02-15 14:00"
- "Feb 15 2pm"
- "today 5pm"
* Duration Shortcuts
| Input | Minutes |
|--------+---------|
| 30m | 30 |
| 1h | 60 |
| 1.5h | 90 |
| 2h | 120 |
| 90 | 90 |
* Error Handling
** Authentication Error
Run =gcalcli init= to re-authenticate.
** Calendar Not Found
Check available calendars with =gcalcli list=.
** Invalid Time Format
Use explicit date format: =YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM=
* Related
- [[file:read-calendar-events.org][Read Calendar Events]] - view events
- [[file:edit-calendar-event.org][Edit Calendar Event]] - modify events
- [[file:delete-calendar-event.org][Delete Calendar Event]] - remove events
- [[file:../calendar-api-research.org][Calendar API Research]] - gcalcli reference
|
