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#+TITLE: Add Calendar Event Workflow
#+AUTHOR: Craig Jennings & Claude
#+DATE: 2026-02-01
* Overview
Workflow for creating calendar events. Uses the Google Calendar MCP server (preferred) or gcalcli (fallback, personal account only).
* Triggers
- "create an event"
- "add appointment"
- "schedule a meeting"
- "add to my calendar"
- "calendar event for..."
* Prerequisites
- Google Calendar MCP server configured and authenticated (=@cocal/google-calendar-mcp=)
- Two accounts available: =personal= (Craig Google) and =work= (Craig Deepsat)
- Fallback: gcalcli installed (personal account only)
* CRITICAL: Check All Calendars Before Scheduling
Before creating any event, ALWAYS check for conflicts across ALL calendars. Use the MCP =get-freebusy= tool to check availability, or query multiple sources:
1. *MCP server* — check both personal and work accounts via =list-events= or =get-freebusy=
2. *Emacs org files* — for Proton calendar (not accessible via MCP or gcalcli):
#+begin_src bash
grep "2026-02-18" ~/.emacs.d/data/pcal.org # Proton calendar
#+end_src
Always verify the time slot is free across all calendars before creating.
* 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, create the event.
*** MCP (preferred)
Use the =create-event= MCP tool:
- =account_id=: "personal" (default) or "work"
- =calendar_id=: calendar name or ID (default: primary)
- =summary=: event title
- =start=, =end=: ISO 8601 datetime (e.g., "2026-02-15T14:00:00-06:00")
- =location=: location string (optional)
- =description=: event notes (optional)
- =reminders=: custom reminders (optional)
*** gcalcli (fallback, personal account only)
#+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:
*** MCP
Use =search-events= or =list-events= to verify.
*** gcalcli (fallback)
#+begin_src bash
gcalcli --calendar "Calendar Name" search "Event Title"
#+end_src
Report success or failure to user.
* Calendars
| Calendar | Access | Account | Notes |
|---------------------------+--------+----------+--------------------------------|
| Craig Google | owner | personal | Default — use for most events |
| Christine | owner | personal | Christine's calendar |
| Craig Deepsat | owner | work | DeepSat work calendar |
| Todoist | owner | personal | Todoist integration |
| Craig Jennings (TripIt) | reader | personal | View only, no create |
| Holidays in United States | reader | personal | View only |
| Craig Proton | reader | personal | View only (no API access) |
* Time Formats
MCP tools use ISO 8601: =2026-02-15T14:00:00-06:00=
gcalcli accepts natural language times:
- "tomorrow 3pm"
- "next Tuesday at 2"
- "2026-02-15 14:00"
- "Feb 15 2pm"
- "today 5pm"
* Duration
MCP uses explicit start/end times (no duration field — calculate end time from start + duration).
gcalcli duration shortcuts:
| Input | Minutes |
|--------+---------|
| 30m | 30 |
| 1h | 60 |
| 1.5h | 90 |
| 2h | 120 |
| 90 | 90 |
* Error Handling
** MCP Authentication Error
Use =manage-accounts= MCP tool with =action: "add"= and the account nickname to re-authenticate.
** gcalcli Authentication Error
Run =gcalcli init= to re-authenticate.
** Calendar Not Found
MCP: Use =list-calendars= to see available calendars.
gcalcli: Use =gcalcli list=.
** Invalid Time Format
MCP: Use ISO 8601 format: =YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS±HH:MM=
gcalcli: 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
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