Calendar Event Manager
Create macOS Calendar events with tiered sound alarms and paired Reminders so events are never missed across Mac and iOS.
Self-Evolving Skill: This skill improves through use. If instructions are wrong, parameters drifted, or a workaround was needed — fix this file immediately, don't defer. Only update for real, reproducible issues.
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 alarmentries (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 Date Construction (CRITICAL)
NEVER use date "STRING" in AppleScript. String-based date parsing is locale-dependent and silently produces wrong results:
| Anti-pattern | What happens | Example |
| ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| date "April 1, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM" | On 24h systems, "PM" is ignored → 06:00 | 4 failures in amonic session |
| date "2026-04-01 18:00:00" | ISO parsed as individual numbers → year 12169 | 1 failure |
| set month before set day to 1 | Day 31 + April (30 days) → rolls to May 1 | 1 failure |
ALWAYS use programmatic date construction:
-- Build date safely: day-first-then-month prevents rollover
set d to current date
set day of d to 1 -- safe floor FIRST (prevents month rollover)
set month of d to April
set year of d to 2026
set day of d to 1 -- now set actual target day
set hours of d to 18 -- 24h format, no AM/PM ambiguity
set minutes of d to 0
set seconds of d to 0
Calendar Discovery (run first)
tell application "Calendar"
set output to ""
repeat with c in calendars
set output to output & name of c & " (writable:" & writable of c & ")" & linefeed
end repeat
output
end tell
Use the first writable:true calendar. Never assume "Home" or "Calendar" exists.
Full Event Creation (Copy-Paste Ready)
tell application "Calendar"
-- Build start date programmatically
set startDate to current date
set day of startDate to 1
set month of startDate to MONTH_CONSTANT
set year of startDate to YEAR_INT
set day of startDate to DAY_INT
set hours of startDate to HOUR_24
set minutes of startDate to 0
set seconds of startDate to 0
-- Build end date (1 hour later)
set endDate to startDate + 1 * hours
tell calendar "WRITABLE_CALENDAR_NAME"
set newEvent to make new event with properties {summary:"EVENT_NAME", start date:startDate, end date:endDate, location:"LOCATION", description:"NOTES"}
tell newEvent
make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-1440, sound name:"Blow"}
make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-180, sound name:"Pop"}
make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-60, sound name:"Glass"}
make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms with properties {trigger interval:-30, sound name:"Ping"}
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
Verification (always run after creation)
tell application "Calendar"
tell calendar "WRITABLE_CALENDAR_NAME"
set matches to (every event whose summary is "EVENT_NAME" and start date > (current date))
repeat with e in matches
log (summary of e) & " | " & (start date of e) & " → " & (end date of e)
end repeat
end tell
end tell
Paired Reminders Creation
tell application "Reminders"
set defaultList to default list
-- Build date programmatically (same pattern as Calendar)
set eventDate to current date
set day of eventDate to 1
set month of eventDate to MONTH_CONSTANT
set year of eventDate to YEAR_INT
set day of eventDate to DAY_INT
set hours of eventDate to HOUR_24
set minutes of eventDate to 0
set seconds of eventDate to 0
-- Due-time reminder
make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"EVENT_NAME", due date:eventDate, body:"LOCATION\nNOTES"}
-- Day-before
make new reminder in defaultList with properties {name:"TOMORROW: EVENT_NAME", due date:(eventDate - 1 * days), body:"Event tomorrow! LOCATION"}
-- Morning-of at 9 AM
set morningDate to eventDate
set hours of morningDate to 9
set minutes of morningDate to 0
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 alarmnotdisplay alarm
References
- Sound Reference - Full sound duration data and approved/rejected lists
- Apple Calendar Scripting Guide
Post-Execution Reflection
After this skill completes, check before closing:
- Did the command succeed? — If not, fix the instruction or error table that caused the failure.
- Did parameters or output change? — If the underlying tool's interface drifted, update Usage examples and Parameters table to match.
- Was a workaround needed? — If you had to improvise (different flags, extra steps), update this SKILL.md so the next invocation doesn't need the same workaround.
Only update if the issue is real and reproducible — not speculative.