{"slug": "google-calendar", "name": "Google Calendar", "category": "productivity", "category_name": "Productivity", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 20, "warners": 5, "score": 2.36, "rising": -1.64, "first": "2025-11-09", "latest": "2026-08-28", "why": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 10, "compare": 0, "warn": 7}, "spark": [1, 2, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://calendar.google.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Google Calendar"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 764744946, "item_id": 47796559, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47796559", "by": "rbbydotdev", "date": "2026-04-16", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've personally moved onto google's free gmail calendar scheduling tool", "excerpt": "I honestly was surprised with the response I got, for what was basically a Sunday hack project: https://github.com/rbbydotdev/someday I think people really like how it's free (runs on google app scripts) and open source. I've personally moved onto google's free gmail calendar scheduling tool, which strangely took pretty long to come to market. Calendly stretches back to ... 2013? Scheduling, oddly feels a little nich", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Cal.com is going closed source"}, {"id": 753944321, "item_id": 47121520, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47121520", "by": "ojagodzinski", "date": "2026-02-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "(and are free: weawow https://weawow.com/i/app-download + google callendar)", "excerpt": "- pick up phone (unlock done automatically via face/finger/location) - swipe finger to the right to show weather OR swipe finger to the left to show callendar Android widgets show me much more information about weather and calendar view than these monitors (and are free: weawow https://weawow.com/i/app-download + google callendar).", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I built Timeframe, our family e-paper dashboard"}, {"id": 739801264, "item_id": 46237579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46237579", "by": "twapi", "date": "2025-12-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices.", "excerpt": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices. Notifications. Share with Family & Work. Repeating tasks. Supports notes and attachments. Multiple Lists (calendars). Free.", "context": "", "use_case": "todo list", "switched_from": "", "story": "My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)"}, {"id": 737834384, "item_id": 46114649, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46114649", "by": "rukuu001", "date": "2025-12-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Google Cal will auto-decline meetings that occur during \u2018out of office\u2019 events.", "excerpt": "Google Cal will auto-decline meetings that occur during \u2018out of office\u2019 events. I have several of these \u2018out of office\u2019 events recurring in my calendar that I use for concentrated work", "context": "", "use_case": "Calendar scheduling", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to Attend Meetings"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 791687216, "item_id": 49480451, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49480451", "by": "numpad0", "date": "2026-08-28", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Isn't this likely because Google Calendar was abused a lot in phishing?", "excerpt": "> To subscribe to a new calendar, you must use a computer web browser. You can't subscribe to a calendar in the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone, or iPad. Isn't this likely because Google Calendar was abused a lot in phishing? e.g. fake \"CLICK TO PROCEED\" links as ads -> redirected to Google Calendar named \"CLICK [+] SIGN TO CONTINUE\" -> \"URGENT: re-enter your credit card number at https://scam.example/buy-us-", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d"}, {"id": 785337714, "item_id": 49083607, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083607", "by": "cube00", "date": "2026-07-28", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Google can flood me with spam filled Google Calendar Invites", "excerpt": "It's ironic that I set everything up correctly on my self hosted domain and still end up in spam because of my low volume. I even go to the trouble of registering in their Postmaster Tools and clogging up my DNS with their verification tokens all for the tools to tell me I don't send enough mail while they happily pass what little mail I send straight to spam. Not enough outgoing email You haven't sent enough email t", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DMARC Has Been Public Since 2012. 68.4% of Domains Still Don't Enforce It"}, {"id": 755280177, "item_id": 47205011, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47205011", "by": "n8cpdx", "date": "2026-03-01", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Google Calendar was buggy with local calendars", "excerpt": "I just tried to move to Android because it's more open. Was not prepared for the \"open\" OS to not have basic support for self-hosted calendars. Yes, contacts and calendar are a core OS level feature in 2026. Yes DAVx5 exists, but Google Calendar was buggy with local calendars and DAVx5 actually didn't work reliably afaict. Calendar.app is totally seamless with synology on iOS. Same with contacts. Android was working ", "context": "tried moving to Android; uses Synology calendars", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading"}, {"id": 755278577, "item_id": 47204911, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47204911", "by": "cromka", "date": "2026-03-01", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "some apps still add events to the (apparently default) Google calendar even after I disabled Google Calendar app", "excerpt": "What's annoying to me is that I have to use DavX for calendar synchronization and some apps still add events to the (apparently default) Google calendar even after I disabled Google Calendar app. You get a general feeling that Android is half assed if you don't use a Google account. Adding tasks using Gemini voice assistant? Sure, but only if you use Google Tasks. And so on. I moved to Android from iPhone and am actu", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["tracking mood for cbt", "calendar", "embedded booking widget", "calendar feed generation", "internal meeting scheduling", "todo list"], "compared": [{"slug": "nextcloud", "name": "Nextcloud", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "android", "name": "Android", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "davx5", "name": "DAVx5", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "ios", "name": "iOS", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "gemini", "name": "Gemini", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "calendly", "name": "Calendly", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477600", "title": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47202808", "title": "Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46112906", "title": "How to Attend Meetings", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49081783", "title": "DMARC Has Been Public Since 2012. 68.4% of Domains Still Don't Enforce It", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449187", "title": "Ask HN: What are tools you have made for yourself since the advent of AI", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111545", "title": "Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence \u2013 Coming Fall 2026 \u2013 Googlebook", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-03": {"warn": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 2}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"warn": 1}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 791687216, "item_id": 49480451, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49480451", "by": "numpad0", "date": "2026-08-28", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Isn't this likely because Google Calendar was abused a lot in phishing?", "excerpt": "> To subscribe to a new calendar, you must use a computer web browser. You can't subscribe to a calendar in the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone, or iPad. Isn't this likely because Google Calendar was abused a lot in phishing? e.g. fake \"CLICK TO PROCEED\" links as ads -> redirected to Google Calendar named \"CLICK [+] SIGN TO CONTINUE\" -> \"URGENT: re-enter your credit card number at https://scam.example/buy-us-", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d"}, {"id": 791655584, "item_id": 49478474, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49478474", "by": "Thanemate", "date": "2026-08-28", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "there's no way in the web app to assign a default calendar for new events", "excerpt": "I recently decided to use my google calendar to track my mood, as part of my CBT therapy. What baffles me is that, there's no way in the web app to assign a default calendar for new events. When I create a new event on the web, I have to scroll through all the calendars that I have and choose the one that I want every time. Meanwhile, in the mobile app, I can simply tap on a new block, the event window appears, and t", "context": "", "use_case": "tracking mood for CBT", "switched_from": "", "story": "\u201cIt works better in the app\u201d"}, {"id": 785337714, "item_id": 49083607, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083607", "by": "cube00", "date": "2026-07-28", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Google can flood me with spam filled Google Calendar Invites", "excerpt": "It's ironic that I set everything up correctly on my self hosted domain and still end up in spam because of my low volume. I even go to the trouble of registering in their Postmaster Tools and clogging up my DNS with their verification tokens all for the tools to tell me I don't send enough mail while they happily pass what little mail I send straight to spam. Not enough outgoing email You haven't sent enough email t", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DMARC Has Been Public Since 2012. 68.4% of Domains Still Don't Enforce It"}, {"id": 775320210, "item_id": 48457513, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457513", "by": "ym705", "date": "2026-06-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "directly sync it to my Google family calendar", "excerpt": "I made a small tool where I and my wife can send receipt photos, ask in text to create events or send poster of an event from Telegram and it directly sync it to my Google family calendar. https://emily.infiniwa.com/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are tools you have made for yourself since the advent of AI"}, {"id": 769898321, "item_id": 48118645, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48118645", "by": "cromka", "date": "2026-05-12", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "Someone said it doesn't work anymore for Workspace accounts, which I use. It did work, though, and it wasn't communicated when it stopped.", "context": "", "use_case": "Calendar", "switched_from": "", "story": "Googlebook: Designed for Gemini Intelligence \u2013 Coming Fall 2026 \u2013 Googlebook"}, {"id": 768441008, "item_id": 48027563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48027563", "by": "arjunchint", "date": "2026-05-05", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I embedded a Google Calendar widget on my Book a demo page", "excerpt": "The hard part about the web is that API's aren't just available even if the website owner wants them exposed (big if). I embedded a Google Calendar widget on my Book a demo page, I don't know the API and Google doesn't expose/maintain one either. What we are doing at Retriever AI is to instead reverse engineer the website APIs on the fly and call them directly from within the webpage so that auth/session tokens propo", "context": "", "use_case": "Embedded booking widget", "switched_from": "", "story": "Computer Use Is 45x More Expensive Than Structured APIs"}, {"id": 764744946, "item_id": 47796559, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47796559", "by": "rbbydotdev", "date": "2026-04-16", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've personally moved onto google's free gmail calendar scheduling tool", "excerpt": "I honestly was surprised with the response I got, for what was basically a Sunday hack project: https://github.com/rbbydotdev/someday I think people really like how it's free (runs on google app scripts) and open source. I've personally moved onto google's free gmail calendar scheduling tool, which strangely took pretty long to come to market. Calendly stretches back to ... 2013? Scheduling, oddly feels a little nich", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Cal.com is going closed source"}, {"id": 756877824, "item_id": 47304864, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47304864", "by": "memset", "date": "2026-03-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "creates a google calendar (.ics) feed as output", "excerpt": "I just built a little tool that takes a Fora itinerary as input and creates a google calendar (.ics) feed as output. https://itinerary.projects.jaygoel.com/", "context": "", "use_case": "Calendar feed generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"}, {"id": 755280177, "item_id": 47205011, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47205011", "by": "n8cpdx", "date": "2026-03-01", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Google Calendar was buggy with local calendars", "excerpt": "I just tried to move to Android because it's more open. Was not prepared for the \"open\" OS to not have basic support for self-hosted calendars. Yes, contacts and calendar are a core OS level feature in 2026. Yes DAVx5 exists, but Google Calendar was buggy with local calendars and DAVx5 actually didn't work reliably afaict. Calendar.app is totally seamless with synology on iOS. Same with contacts. Android was working ", "context": "tried moving to Android; uses Synology calendars", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading"}, {"id": 755278577, "item_id": 47204911, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47204911", "by": "cromka", "date": "2026-03-01", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "some apps still add events to the (apparently default) Google calendar even after I disabled Google Calendar app", "excerpt": "What's annoying to me is that I have to use DavX for calendar synchronization and some apps still add events to the (apparently default) Google calendar even after I disabled Google Calendar app. You get a general feeling that Android is half assed if you don't use a Google account. Adding tasks using Gemini voice assistant? Sure, but only if you use Google Tasks. And so on. I moved to Android from iPhone and am actu", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Galaxy update removes Android recovery menu tools, including sideloading"}, {"id": 755256004, "item_id": 47203500, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47203500", "by": "n8cpdx", "date": "2026-02-28", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "doesn't support drag and drop for adjusting event times", "excerpt": "It comes down mostly to app quality. The apps that are present are not as polished in ways that I found intolerable: - myNetDiary: seemingly equivalent features, but was super stuttery on Android - like 20fps just scrolling and interacting. It also didn't feel native at all - Transit: the app was extremely glitch when trying to scroll. Seizure inducing. - Wire guard supports on demand tunnel on iOS and macOS. No such", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Block the \u201cUpgrade to Tahoe\u201d alerts"}, {"id": 754370001, "item_id": 47148125, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47148125", "by": "rga5321", "date": "2026-02-24", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Todoist + Gcal events on the kindle", "excerpt": "In case anyone wants Todoist + Gcal events on the kindle, I coded a simple web app for that some years ago: https://github.com/rga5321/productivity-dashboard I am not using it anymore as I bought a TRMNL display and set up a simple template to do the same, but it worked well for me.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hacking an old Kindle to display bus arrival times"}, {"id": 753944321, "item_id": 47121520, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47121520", "by": "ojagodzinski", "date": "2026-02-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "(and are free: weawow https://weawow.com/i/app-download + google callendar)", "excerpt": "- pick up phone (unlock done automatically via face/finger/location) - swipe finger to the right to show weather OR swipe finger to the left to show callendar Android widgets show me much more information about weather and calendar view than these monitors (and are free: weawow https://weawow.com/i/app-download + google callendar).", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I built Timeframe, our family e-paper dashboard"}, {"id": 749855073, "item_id": 46865942, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46865942", "by": "PretzelJudge", "date": "2026-02-02", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "we use Google calendar to find times that work", "excerpt": "I like this quote: > First time founders are obsessed with product. Second time founders are obsessed with distribution. I have personally grown an app from zero to 100k+ users, with no marketing budget. I don't have a magic formula, but i can say in hindsight that the first 5 users were harder to get than the next 999,995. Here was my secret: I begged. Finding 5 people to actually use my product was soooo freakin ha", "context": "", "use_case": "internal meeting scheduling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What weird or scrappy things did you do to get your first users?"}, {"id": 748235618, "item_id": 46764726, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46764726", "by": "reacharavindh", "date": "2026-01-26", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "work Google Calendar", "excerpt": "I've been thinking about this very thing the last few days. \"secretary in my Mac\" to be specific. An ever running daemon that uses an LLM model for smarts, but pretty much do as many dumb things deterministically as possible. 1. Fetch my calendars(Fastmail, work Google Calendar, Couple's calendar at Cupla) and embellish it with routine tasks like pickup/drop kids, and give me a Today view like this https://zoneless.t", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Clawdbot - open source personal AI assistant"}, {"id": 745354547, "item_id": 46584659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584659", "by": "meenal_xyz", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Would have taken months for Google Calendar integration", "excerpt": "Hey HN! Author here. I work on AI products and was constantly missing school events because information was scattered everywhere\u2014emails, WhatsApp groups, paper flyers that mysteriously appear in backpacks. Over the holidays, I built Relay as a personal project. Forward emails to a Relay address or send messages/photos to Relay on WhatsApp \u2192 AI extracts tasks/events \u2192 you review and add to calendar. The AI part was tr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": null}, {"id": 739801264, "item_id": 46237579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46237579", "by": "twapi", "date": "2025-12-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices.", "excerpt": "I use Google Calendar as my todo list. Syncs across devices. Notifications. Share with Family & Work. Repeating tasks. Supports notes and attachments. Multiple Lists (calendars). Free.", "context": "", "use_case": "todo list", "switched_from": "", "story": "My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file (2020)"}, {"id": 738347072, "item_id": 46146692, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46146692", "by": "sergey_commit", "date": "2025-12-04", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to never use GCalendar at all, but now, due to work, I have to.", "excerpt": "I work in IT, and like any specialist in an IT company working remotely, I have to attend daily standups, various meetings, discussions, and conferences. I used to never use GCalendar at all, but now, due to work, I have to. And very often, you forget about a meeting in the calendar, even after a notification. Tracking meetings isn\u2019t convenient at all. And I think I\u2019m not the only one. So, I came up with the idea to ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": null}, {"id": 737834384, "item_id": 46114649, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46114649", "by": "rukuu001", "date": "2025-12-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Google Cal will auto-decline meetings that occur during \u2018out of office\u2019 events.", "excerpt": "Google Cal will auto-decline meetings that occur during \u2018out of office\u2019 events. I have several of these \u2018out of office\u2019 events recurring in my calendar that I use for concentrated work", "context": "", "use_case": "Calendar scheduling", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to Attend Meetings"}, {"id": 737814704, "item_id": 46113419, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46113419", "by": "garciasn", "date": "2025-12-01", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Google Calendar (we use Workspace at my current org) doesn't even have solid support for good meeting invite commentary.", "excerpt": "I agree with each and every single slide in this presentation; I do. I also know that in each and every company I have ever worked for, none of this is going to fly. Especially, \"Attending meetings is a choice.\" Just like paying taxes is a choice; got it. --- For decades, I have been asking for agendas; I have asked for clarification on what to do to prepare; I have even suggested that we have solid outcomes. None of", "context": "leader at an organization", "use_case": "meeting invites", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to Attend Meetings"}, {"id": 733957633, "item_id": 45872352, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45872352", "by": "biinjo", "date": "2025-11-09", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Im finalizing the Google Calendar integration for Ganttify.", "excerpt": "Im finalizing the Google Calendar integration for Ganttify. https://gantt-chart.com It will allow users to fully manage their calendar in a Gantt chart. Complete with customizations like dependencies between events, custom colors for time blocks and custom icons for single-day events (\u201cmilestone\u201d-like). Ganttify is a Gantt chart add-on for web applications or services that can benefit from a Gantt view. My goal is to", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (Nov 2025)"}, {"id": 733863651, "item_id": 45866478, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45866478", "by": "maxnoe", "date": "2025-11-09", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "They integrate with radicale since May this year for card- and caldav https://opencloud.eu/en/news/opencloud-calendar-and-contact-management-available-community", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Opencloud \u2013 An alternative to Nextcloud written in Go"}]}