Google Calendar API

Manage calendars and events via Google's Calendar REST API.

Official docs: https://developers.google.com/workspace/calendar/api/v3/reference

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• List and manage calendars
• Create, update, and delete calendar events
• Search and filter events by time range
• Manage event attendees and send invitations
• Set up event reminders
• Check free/busy availability
• Handle recurring events
• Quick-add events using natural language

Prerequisites

Go to vm0.ai Settings → Connectors and connect Google Calendar. vm0 will automatically inject the required GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN environment variable.

Placeholders: Values in {curly-braces} like {event-id} are placeholders. Replace them with actual values when executing.

How to Use

Base URL: https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3

Calendar List

List All Calendars

Get all calendars the user has access to:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/users/me/calendarList" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.items[]? | {id, summary, primary, accessRole}'

Get Calendar Details

Get metadata for a specific calendar:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/{calendar-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '{id, summary, description, timeZone}'

For primary calendar, use primary as the calendar ID:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '{id, summary, description, timeZone}'

Events

List Events

List upcoming events from the primary calendar:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events?maxResults=10&orderBy=startTime&singleEvents=true&timeMin=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.items[]? | {id, summary, start, end}'

List Events with Time Filter

Get events within a specific date range:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events?timeMin=2024-01-01T00:00:00Z&timeMax=2024-12-31T23:59:59Z&singleEvents=true&orderBy=startTime" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.items[]? | {id, summary, start, end}'

Search Events

Search events by query string:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events?q=meeting&singleEvents=true" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.items[]? | {id, summary, start, end}'

Get Event Details

Get full details for a specific event:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.'

Create Event

Create a new event. Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Team Meeting",
  "description": "Weekly sync-up meeting",
  "location": "Conference Room A",
  "start": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T10:00:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  },
  "end": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T11:00:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  },
  "attendees": [
    {
      "email": "colleague@example.com"
    }
  ],
  "reminders": {
    "useDefault": false,
    "overrides": [
      {
        "method": "email",
        "minutes": 30
      },
      {
        "method": "popup",
        "minutes": 10
      }
    ]
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, htmlLink}'

Create All-Day Event

Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Company Holiday",
  "start": {
    "date": "2024-07-04"
  },
  "end": {
    "date": "2024-07-05"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, htmlLink}'

Quick Add Event

Create event from natural language text:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/quickAdd?text=Lunch%20with%20Sarah%20tomorrow%20at%2012pm" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.error // {id, summary, start, end}'

Update Event

Update an existing event. Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Updated Team Meeting",
  "description": "Updated description",
  "start": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T14:00:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  },
  "end": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T15:00:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PUT "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, updated}'

Patch Event

Partially update an event (only specified fields). Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Updated Title Only"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, updated}'

Delete Event

Delete an event:

curl -s -X DELETE "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)"

Send deletion notifications to attendees:

curl -s -X DELETE "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}?sendUpdates=all" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)"

Attendees

Set Attendees on Event

Note: PATCH replaces the entire attendees array — always include all intended attendees in the list, not just the ones you're adding.

Write the full attendees list to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "attendees": [
    {
      "email": "attendee1@example.com",
      "optional": false
    },
    {
      "email": "attendee2@example.com",
      "optional": true
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}?sendUpdates=all" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, attendees}'

Remove Attendee from Event

Patch the event with the updated attendees list (omit the attendee you want to remove). Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "attendees": [
    {
      "email": "remaining@example.com"
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}?sendUpdates=all" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, attendees}'

Reminders

Set Custom Reminders

Update event with custom reminders. Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "reminders": {
    "useDefault": false,
    "overrides": [
      {
        "method": "email",
        "minutes": 1440
      },
      {
        "method": "popup",
        "minutes": 30
      }
    ]
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, reminders}'

Use Default Reminders

Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "reminders": {
    "useDefault": true
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, reminders}'

Recurring Events

Create Recurring Event

Create an event with recurrence rule. Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Weekly Team Standup",
  "start": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T09:00:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  },
  "end": {
    "dateTime": "2024-03-15T09:30:00",
    "timeZone": "America/New_York"
  },
  "recurrence": [
    "RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,WE,FR;COUNT=20"
  ]
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, recurrence, htmlLink}'

Common recurrence patterns:

• Daily: RRULE:FREQ=DAILY
• Weekly on specific days: RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,WE,FR
• Monthly on same day: RRULE:FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=15
• Until specific date: RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;UNTIL=20241231T235959Z
• Limited occurrences: RRULE:FREQ=DAILY;COUNT=10

List Recurring Event Instances

Get all instances of a recurring event:

curl -s "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{recurring-event-id}/instances?timeMin=2024-01-01T00:00:00Z&timeMax=2024-12-31T23:59:59Z" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" | jq '.items[]? | {id, summary, start, end, recurringEventId}'

Free/Busy Information

Query Free/Busy

Check availability for one or more calendars. Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "timeMin": "2024-03-15T00:00:00Z",
  "timeMax": "2024-03-15T23:59:59Z",
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "primary"
    },
    {
      "id": "colleague@example.com"
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // .calendars'

Secondary Calendars

Create Secondary Calendar

Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Project Alpha Calendar",
  "description": "Calendar for Project Alpha events",
  "timeZone": "America/New_York"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, description}'

Update Calendar Properties

Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "summary": "Updated Calendar Name",
  "description": "Updated description"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/{calendar-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, description}'

Delete Secondary Calendar

curl -s -X DELETE "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/{calendar-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)"

Event Colors

Set Event Color

Update event color using colorId (1-11). Write to /tmp/calendar_request.json:

{
  "colorId": "5"
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PATCH "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events/{event-id}" --header "Authorization: Bearer $(printenv GOOGLE_CALENDAR_TOKEN)" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/calendar_request.json | jq '.error // {id, summary, colorId}'

Available color IDs:

• 1: Lavender
• 2: Sage
• 3: Grape
• 4: Flamingo
• 5: Banana
• 6: Tangerine
• 7: Peacock
• 8: Graphite
• 9: Blueberry
• 10: Basil
• 11: Tomato

Common Query Parameters

Guidelines

1. Primary Calendar: Use primary as the calendar ID for the user's primary calendar
2. Date Format: Use RFC3339 format for dates (2024-03-15T10:00:00Z or with timezone 2024-03-15T10:00:00-04:00)
3. All-Day Events: Use date field instead of dateTime for all-day events
4. Notifications: Use sendUpdates parameter to control whether attendees receive email notifications
5. Patch vs Update: Use PATCH for partial updates (more efficient), PUT for full replacement. Note: PATCH on attendees replaces the entire array — always include all intended attendees
6. Time Zones: Always specify time zones explicitly to avoid ambiguity
7. Recurring Events: To modify all instances, update the recurring event master; to modify single instance, update the specific instance ID

API Reference

• REST Reference: https://developers.google.com/workspace/calendar/api/v3/reference
• Events Reference: https://developers.google.com/workspace/calendar/api/v3/reference/events
• OAuth Scopes: https://developers.google.com/workspace/calendar/api/auth
• OAuth Playground: https://developers.google.com/oauthplayground/
• Recurrence Rules: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5545#section-3.8.5