Calendar Event Manager

Create macOS Calendar events with tiered sound alarms and paired Reminders so events are never missed across Mac and iOS.

CRITICAL RULES (Hard-Learned Truths 2026-02-12)

These rules are NON-NEGOTIABLE. Violating any of them defeats the purpose of this skill.

1. Calendar + Reminders ALWAYS Together

Every event MUST create BOTH:

• Calendar event with multiple sound alarm entries (custom sound per tier)

• Reminders (3 minimum) as a separate notification channel

Never create one without the other.

2. Use sound alarm , NOT display alarm

-- CORRECT: audible alert with custom sound make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60, sound name:"Glass"}

-- WRONG: silent visual banner only make new display alarm at end of display alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60}

Each alarm supports its own sound name property. Use DIFFERENT sounds for different tiers so the user knows which alert level it is by sound alone.

3. ONLY Long Sounds (>= 1.4 seconds)

Short sounds get missed and ignored. NEVER use sounds under 1.4 seconds.

APPROVED sounds only:

Sound Duration Use For

Funk 2.16s At event time (loudest)

Glass 1.65s 1 hour before

Pop 1.63s Morning-of / 3 hrs before

Sosumi 1.54s Day-before

Ping 1.50s 30 min before

Submarine 1.49s Alternative

Blow 1.40s Gentle early reminder

BANNED sounds: Hero, Basso, Bottle, Purr, Frog, Morse, Tink (all < 1.4s)

4. Multiple Early Reminders Are Mandatory

Minimum alarm tiers for any event:

Tier Trigger Calendar Sound Reminder

1 day before -1440 min Blow "TOMORROW: ..."

Morning-of 9 AM Absolute Sosumi "TODAY: ..."

3 hours before -180 min Pop (via Calendar)

1 hour before -60 min Glass (via Calendar)

30 min before -30 min Ping (via Calendar)

At event time 0 min Funk Due-time reminder

5. macOS Notification Settings Prerequisite

Calendar notifications must be enabled in System Settings:

• System Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Allow Notifications = ON

• Alert style = Banners or Alerts

• Play sound = ON

Open with: open "x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Notifications-Settings.extension"

TodoWrite Task Templates

Template A: Create Event from Invitation

1. Extract event details (title, date, time, location, notes, RSVP)
2. Create Calendar event with 6-tier sound alarms (Blow, Sosumi, Pop, Glass, Ping, Funk)
3. Create 3 Reminders (TOMORROW, TODAY morning, due-time)
4. Verify event and reminders created
5. Report full schedule to user

Template B: Create Event from User Description

1. Ask user for: event name, date/time, duration, location
2. Create Calendar event with 6-tier sound alarms
3. Create 3 Reminders
4. Verify event and reminders created
5. Report full schedule to user

Template C: Test Notification Setup

1. Create test Calendar event 3 min in future with sound alarms (1 min, 2 min tiers)
2. Create test Reminder 2 min in future
3. Wait for user confirmation of notifications
4. Clean up test event and reminders

AppleScript Patterns

Full Event Creation (Copy-Paste Ready)

tell application "Calendar" tell calendar "Calendar" set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"EVENT_NAME", start date:date "DATE_STRING", end date:date "DATE_STRING", location:"LOCATION", description:"NOTES"} tell newEvent -- 1 day before: gentle make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-1440, sound name:"Blow"} -- 3 hours before: noticeable make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-180, sound name:"Pop"} -- 1 hour before: clear make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60, sound name:"Glass"} -- 30 min before: time to go make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-30, sound name:"Ping"} -- At event time: loudest make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:0, sound name:"Funk"} end tell end tell reload calendars end tell

Paired Reminders Creation

tell application "Reminders" set defaultList to default list -- Due-time reminder make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"EVENT_NAME", due date:EVENT_DATE, body:"LOCATION\nNOTES"} -- Day-before make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"TOMORROW: EVENT_NAME", due date:(EVENT_DATE - 1 * days), body:"Event tomorrow! LOCATION"} -- Morning-of at 9 AM set morningDate to date "DATE_STRING" set time of morningDate to 9 * hours make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"TODAY: EVENT_NAME", due date:morningDate, body:"Today! LOCATION"} end tell

Post-Change Checklist

After modifying this skill:

• Sound reference table matches sound-reference.md

• All 6 alarm tiers documented with correct sounds

• BANNED sounds list is complete

• Hook file (hooks/calendar-reminder-sync.ts ) aligned with skill rules

• AppleScript examples use sound alarm not display alarm

References

• Sound Reference - Full sound duration data and approved/rejected lists

• Apple Calendar Scripting Guide