MCP iCal Server

MCP iCal Server

What is MCP iCal Server about?

MCP iCal Server bridges natural language input and the native macOS Calendar app. By speaking or typing plain‑English commands, users can create, view, modify, and delete calendar events without manually navigating the UI.

How to use MCP iCal Server?

1. Install dependencies – clone the repo and run uv sync.
2. Configure an MCP client – add an entry for mcp-ical in Claude’s claude_desktop_config.json (or any MCP‑compatible client) pointing to the command uv run mcp-ical.
3. Launch the client from the terminal so macOS prompts for calendar access.
4. Ask natural‑language questions such as “What’s my schedule for next week?” or “Add a lunch meeting with Sarah tomorrow at noon.”

Key features of MCP iCal Server

• Event creation from free‑form text, with support for location, notes, reminders, and recurrence.
• Smart schedule queries to list upcoming events or find free time slots.
• Intelligent updates allowing date/time shifts, calendar transfers, location changes, note additions, and reminder tweaks.
• Multi‑calendar handling including Google Calendar synced via iCloud.
• Developer‑friendly testing with a pytest suite (creates temporary calendars/events).

Use cases of MCP iCal Server

• Quick personal scheduling: “Schedule a dentist appointment for next Wednesday at 3 PM.”
• Team coordination: “Set up my weekly team sync every Monday at 9 AM with a 15‑minute reminder.”
• Detailed event planning: “Create a product review meeting tomorrow from 2‑4 PM, add notes about Q1 metrics, and remind me 1 hour before.”
• Finding availability: “When am I free for a 2‑hour meeting next Tuesday?”
• Cross‑platform calendar management when iCloud mirrors Google Calendar.

FAQ

Q: Do I need special permissions?\nA: Yes. Launch the MCP client (e.g., Claude) from the terminal; macOS will ask to grant Calendar access.

Q: What if I prefer a different MCP client?\nA: Add the same server entry (command: uv, args: ["run", "mcp-ical"]) to the client’s configuration file.

Q: How are recurring events handled?\nA: Most standard recurrences work; complex patterns may require manual adjustment. Results are better with Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Q: Can I run tests safely?\nA: Yes. Tests create temporary calendars/events and clean up automatically, but run them only in a development environment.

Q: Is there a Node.js version?\nA: Currently the server is Python‑based and uses uv for dependency management.

MCP iCal Server

🗓️ Natural Language Calendar Management for macOS

🌟 Overview

Transform how you interact with your macOS calendar using natural language! The mcp-ical server leverages the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to turn your calendar management into a conversational experience.

You: "What's my schedule for next week?"
Claude: "Let me check that for you..."
[Displays a clean overview of your upcoming week]

You: "Add a lunch meeting with Sarah tomorrow at noon"
Claude: "✨ 📅 Created: Lunch with Sarah Tomorrow, 12:00 PM"

✨ Features

📅 Event Creation

Transform natural language into calendar events instantly!

"Schedule a team lunch next Thursday at 1 PM at Bistro Garden"
↓
📎 Created: Team Lunch
   📅 Thursday, 1:00 PM
   📍 Bistro Garden

Supported Features

• Custom calendar selection
• Location and notes
• Smart reminders
• Recurring events

Power User Examples

🔄 Recurring Events:
"Set up my weekly team sync every Monday at 9 AM with a 15-minute reminder"

📝 Detailed Events:
"Schedule a product review meeting tomorrow from 2-4 PM in the Engineering calendar, 
add notes about reviewing Q1 metrics, and remind me 1 hour before"

📱 Multi-Calendar Support:
"Add a dentist appointment to my Personal calendar for next Wednesday at 3 PM"

🔍 Smart Schedule Management & Availability

Quick access to your schedule with natural queries:

"What's on my calendar for next week?"
↓
📊 Shows your upcoming events with smart formatting

"When am I free to schedule a 2-hour meeting next Tuesday?"
↓
🕒 Available time slots found:
   • Tuesday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
   • Tuesday 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

✏️ Intelligent Event Updates

Modify events naturally:

Before: "Move tomorrow's team meeting to 3 PM instead"
↓
After: ✨ Meeting rescheduled to 3:00 PM

Update Capabilities

• Time and date modifications
• Calendar transfers
• Location updates
• Note additions
• Reminder adjustments
• Recurring pattern changes

📊 Calendar Management

• View all available calendars
• Smart calendar suggestions
• Seamless Google Calendar integration when configured with iCloud

💡 Pro Tip: Since you can create events in custom calendars, if you have your Google Calendar synced with your iCloud Calendar, you can use this MCP server to create events in your Google Calendar too! Just specify the Google calendar when creating/updating events.

🚀 Quick Start

💡 Note: While these instructions focus on setting up the MCP server with Claude for Desktop, this server can be used with any MCP-compatible client. For more details on using different clients, see the MCP documentation.

Prerequisites

• uv package manager
• macOS with Calendar app configured
• An MCP client - Claude for desktop is recommended

Installation

Whilst this MCP server can be used with any MCP compatible client, the instructions below are for use with Claude for desktop.

1. Clone and Setup

   # Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/Omar-V2/mcp-ical.git
   cd mcp-ical
   
   # Install dependencies
   uv sync
   

2. Configure Claude for Desktop

   Create or edit ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

   {
       "mcpServers": {
           "mcp-ical": {
               "command": "uv",
               "args": [
                   "--directory",
                   "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/mcp-ical",
                   "run",
                   "mcp-ical"
               ]
           }
       }
   }
   

3. Launch Claude for Calendar Access

   ⚠️ Critical: Claude must be launched from the terminal to properly request calendar permissions. Launching directly from Finder will not trigger the permissions prompt.

   Run the following command in your terminal.

   /Applications/Claude.app/Contents/MacOS/Claude
   

   ⚠️ Warning: Alternatively, you can manually grant calendar access, but this involves modifying system files and should only be done if you understand the risks involved.

4. Start Using!

   Try: "What's my schedule looking like for next week?"
   

🔑 Note: When you first use a calendar-related command, macOS will prompt for calendar access. This prompt will only appear if you launched Claude from the terminal as specified above.

🧪 Testing

⚠️ Warning: Tests will create temporary calendars and events. While cleanup is automatic, only run tests in development environments.

# Install dev dependencies
uv sync --dev

# Run test suite
uv run pytest tests

🐛 Known Issues

Recurring Events

• Non-standard recurring schedules may not always be set correctly
• Better results with Claude 3.5 Sonnet compared to Haiku
• Reminder timing for recurring all-day events may be off by one day

🤝 Contributing

Feedback and contributions are welcome. Here's how you can help:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with Model Context Protocol
• macOS Calendar integration built with PyObjC