Overview
The iCal Feed integration watches any calendar that is shared as an iCal (ICS) link. When a new event appears, it starts a Taskade automation with the event details. Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, and most other calendar apps can share such a link, so you do not need to sign in to a calendar account.
TL;DR: Paste the iCal link of a calendar into the New Event in Calendar Feed trigger, and each new event starts an automation. Taskade checks the link every 15 minutes. You can also start on a changed event. iCal Feed needs Pro and up. To send Taskade tasks out to your calendar, use Calendar Feed.
Before You Start
- What you need: The iCal link of a calendar, and a Taskade workspace
- Plan: Pro and up. On Free and Starter, the iCal Feed trigger shows a PRO badge and opens the upgrade page.
- Time: About 5 minutes
This page covers calendar events coming into Taskade. Two other pages cover the other directions:
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| Start an automation from an event in any shared calendar | iCal Feed (this page) |
| See your Taskade tasks in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook | Calendar Feed |
| Read and write Google Calendar events from an automation | Google Calendar |
Step 1: Copy the iCal Link of Your Calendar
The link starts with webcal:// or https://, and it often ends in .ics.
| Calendar app | Where to find the link |
|---|---|
| Apple Calendar | Share Calendar, then Public Calendar |
| Google Calendar | Settings, then Secret address in iCal format |
| Outlook | Settings, Calendar, Shared calendars, Publish a calendar, then the ICS link |
Keep the link private. Anyone with the link can read the calendar. Taskade stores it in the trigger, as it does an RSS feed link.
Step 2: Add the Trigger
- Open Automations in your workspace, and click Create.
- Add a trigger, and search for iCal Feed.
- Pick New Event in Calendar Feed.
- Paste the link into Calendar Link (iCal).
- Under Trigger On, keep New events only, or pick New and changed events.
- Click Test, and pick an event from your calendar to test the automation with.
You are done when the test shows an event from your calendar, with its title and start time.
When you turn the automation on, Taskade reads the calendar once. The events that are already in it do not start the automation. Only events added after that moment do.
How the Trigger Works
- Taskade checks the link every 15 minutes, so a new event can take up to 15 minutes to start the automation.
- A recurring series starts the automation once, not once for each occurrence.
- With New and changed events, a change to the title, time, place, notes, or status also starts it.
- If the link does not work when you turn on the automation, Taskade shows the error and does not turn it on.
The trigger passes these fields to the next steps:
| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
summary |
The title of the event |
start, end, timeZone, isAllDay |
When the event happens |
location, description, url |
Where it happens, the notes, and a link |
organizerEmail, status |
Who organized it, and the event status, for example confirmed or cancelled |
isRecurring, recurrenceRule |
Whether the event repeats, and how |
calendarName |
The name of the calendar |
changeType |
Whether the event is new or changed |
Build Your First Calendar Automation
| Goal | Steps that follow the trigger |
|---|---|
| Prepare for each client meeting | Ask AI to write an agenda, then Add Task to a Meetings project |
| Tell the team about a new booking | Send Channel Message in Slack with the title and start time |
| Track team time off | Add Task to a Time Off project with the start and end dates |
To describe the automation in plain words instead, ask Taskade EVE in your workspace. For example:
Build an automation with the iCal Feed trigger. Use the calendar link that I paste. When a new event appears, add a task with the event title and start time to a project that I pick. Do not add any other steps yet.
The last sentence of the prompt keeps the first draft small, so you can test one step before you add more.
Related guides
- Calendar Feed. See your Taskade tasks in your calendar app.
- Google Calendar. Read and write Google Calendar events.
- Microsoft Outlook Calendar. Events from your Microsoft account.
- RSS Integration. Start automations from new posts in a feed.
- Automation Triggers. Every event that can start an automation.
- Explore integrations and browse automations.