Outlook Calendar Reader

Overview

This skill reads calendar events from Outlook via ICS subscription URL.

When to Use

• User asks about today's meetings or schedule
• User asks about upcoming events
• User wants to check availability
• User asks "What's on my calendar?"

ICS URL Configuration

ICS URL: <YOUR_ICS_URL_HERE>

⚠️ Setup Required: Replace <YOUR_ICS_URL_HERE> above with your actual ICS URL.

How to get your ICS URL:

1. Open Outlook Web
2. Go to Calendar → Settings (gear icon) → View all Outlook settings
3. Calendar → Shared calendars → Publish a calendar
4. Select calendar and permissions → Publish → Copy ICS link

Execution Steps

Method 1: Use ics_parser.py (Recommended)

The skill includes ics_parser.py that handles all parsing and RRULE expansion.

Prerequisite: uv must be installed.

# Get today's date
TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

# Parse events for today
uv run ~/.claude/skills/outlook-calendar/ics_parser.py \
  --url "ICS_URL_HERE" \
  --start "$TODAY" \
  --end "$TODAY"

# Parse events for a date range
uv run ~/.claude/skills/outlook-calendar/ics_parser.py \
  --url "ICS_URL_HERE" \
  --start 2025-12-01 \
  --end 2025-12-31

# Output as JSON
uv run ~/.claude/skills/outlook-calendar/ics_parser.py \
  --url "ICS_URL_HERE" \
  --start 2025-12-01 \
  --end 2025-12-31 \
  --format json

# Debug mode (shows event counts)
uv run ~/.claude/skills/outlook-calendar/ics_parser.py \
  --url "ICS_URL_HERE" \
  --start 2025-12-01 \
  --end 2025-12-31 \
  --debug

Method 2: Manual Parsing with WebFetch

If the script is not available, use WebFetch and parse manually:

1. Fetch ICS: Use WebFetch to retrieve the ICS URL
2. Parse Events: Extract VEVENT blocks
3. Handle RRULE: Expand recurring events (see RRULE Reference below)
4. Filter & Format: Filter by date range and output as table

Script Features

The ics_parser.py script handles:

• ✅ All 3 DTSTART formats (UTC, TZID, all-day)
• ✅ RRULE expansion (WEEKLY, DAILY with BYDAY, INTERVAL, UNTIL, COUNT)
• ✅ Automatic timezone conversion (UTC → Taipei UTC+8)
• ✅ Dependencies auto-installed by uv
• ✅ Table or JSON output format
• ✅ Debug mode for troubleshooting

Output Format

The script outputs a markdown table:

• 🔄 indicates a recurring event

RRULE Reference

Identify Recurring Events

A VEVENT with RRULE is a recurring event:

BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Taipei Standard Time:20250424T103000
RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR
SUMMARY:Standup Meeting
END:VEVENT

Common RRULE Parameters

DTSTART Formats

Outlook ICS uses 3 different formats:

Example Queries

• "What meetings do I have today?"
• "Show my calendar for this week"
• "Am I free tomorrow afternoon?"
• "What's on my schedule for 12/5?"

Troubleshooting

Quick Debug

# Run with debug flag
uv run ics_parser.py --url "..." --start 2025-12-01 --end 2025-12-31 --debug

Output shows:

• Total VEVENTs in ICS
• Number of recurring events
• Whether dateutil is available
• Events found in range

Common Issues

Error Handling

• If ICS URL shows placeholder: Guide user to edit this file and configure their ICS URL
• If uv not found: Install uv first (see README)
• If no events found: Confirm the date range and calendar permissions
• If parsing fails: Use --debug flag to see event counts