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google-calendar-automation

Automate Google Calendar events, scheduling, availability checks, and attendee management via Rube MCP (Composio). Create events, find free slots, manage attendees, and list calendars programmatically.

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name:google-calendar-automationdescription:Automate Google Calendar events, scheduling, availability checks, and attendee management via Rube MCP (Composio). Create events, find free slots, manage attendees, and list calendars programmatically.requires:mcp:[rube]

Google Calendar Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Google Calendar workflows including event creation, scheduling, availability checks, attendee management, and calendar browsing through Composio's Google Calendar toolkit.

Prerequisites

  • Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

  • Active Google Calendar connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit googlecalendar

  • Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

    • Setup

    Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.


  • Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

  • Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit googlecalendar

  • If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Google OAuth

  • Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

    • Core Workflows

    1. Create and Manage Events

    When to use: User wants to create, update, or delete calendar events

    Tool sequence:

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARS - Identify target calendar ID [Prerequisite]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_GET_CURRENT_DATE_TIME - Get current time with proper timezone [Optional]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_FREE_SLOTS - Check availability before booking [Optional]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_CREATE_EVENT - Create the event [Required]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_PATCH_EVENT - Update specific fields of an existing event [Alternative]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_UPDATE_EVENT - Full replacement update of an event [Alternative]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_DELETE_EVENT - Delete an event [Optional]

    • Key parameters:

  • calendar_id: Use 'primary' for main calendar, or specific calendar ID

  • start_datetime: ISO 8601 format 'YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS' (NOT natural language)

  • timezone: IANA timezone name (e.g., 'America/New_York', NOT 'EST' or 'PST')

  • event_duration_hour: Hours (0+)

  • event_duration_minutes: Minutes (0-59 only; NEVER use 60+)

  • summary: Event title

  • attendees: Array of email addresses (NOT names)

  • location: Free-form text for event location

    • Pitfalls:

  • start_datetime must be ISO 8601; natural language like 'tomorrow' is rejected

  • event_duration_minutes max is 59; use event_duration_hour=1 instead of event_duration_minutes=60

  • timezone must be IANA identifier; abbreviations like 'EST', 'PST' are NOT valid

  • attendees only accepts email addresses, not names; resolve names first

  • Google Meet link creation defaults to true; may fail on personal Gmail accounts (graceful fallback)

  • Organizer is auto-added as attendee unless exclude_organizer=true

    • 2. List and Search Events

    When to use: User wants to find or browse events on their calendar

    Tool sequence:

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARS - Get available calendars [Prerequisite]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_EVENT - Search by title/keyword with time bounds [Required]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_LIST - List events in a time range [Alternative]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_INSTANCES - List instances of a recurring event [Optional]

    • Key parameters:

  • query / q: Free-text search (matches summary, description, location, attendees)

  • timeMin: Lower bound (RFC3339 with timezone offset, e.g., '2024-01-01T00:00:00-08:00')

  • timeMax: Upper bound (RFC3339 with timezone offset)

  • singleEvents: true to expand recurring events into instances

  • orderBy: 'startTime' (requires singleEvents=true) or 'updated'

  • maxResults: Results per page (max 2500)

    • Pitfalls:

  • Timezone warning: UTC timestamps (ending in 'Z') don't align with local dates; use local timezone offsets instead

  • Example: '2026-01-19T00:00:00Z' covers 2026-01-18 4pm to 2026-01-19 4pm in PST

  • Omitting timeMin/timeMax scans the full calendar and can be slow

  • pageToken in response means more results; paginate until absent

  • orderBy='startTime' requires singleEvents=true

    • 3. Manage Attendees and Invitations

    When to use: User wants to add, remove, or update event attendees

    Tool sequence:

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_EVENT or GOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_LIST - Find the event [Prerequisite]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_PATCH_EVENT - Add attendees (replaces entire attendees list) [Required]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_REMOVE_ATTENDEE - Remove a specific attendee by email [Required]

    • Key parameters:

  • event_id: Unique event identifier (opaque string, NOT the event title)

  • attendees: Full list of attendee emails (PATCH replaces entire list)

  • attendee_email: Email to remove

  • send_updates: 'all', 'externalOnly', or 'none'

    • Pitfalls:

  • event_id is a technical identifier, NOT the event title; always search first to get the ID

  • PATCH_EVENT attendees field replaces the entire list; include existing attendees to avoid removing them

  • Attendee names cannot be resolved; always use email addresses

  • Use GMAIL_SEARCH_PEOPLE to resolve names to emails before managing attendees

    • 4. Check Availability and Free/Busy Status

    When to use: User wants to find available time slots or check busy periods

    Tool sequence:

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARS - Identify calendars to check [Prerequisite]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_GET_CURRENT_DATE_TIME - Get current time with timezone [Optional]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_FREE_SLOTS - Find free intervals across calendars [Required]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FREE_BUSY_QUERY - Get raw busy periods for computing gaps [Fallback]

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_CREATE_EVENT - Book a confirmed slot [Required]

    • Key parameters:

  • items: List of calendar IDs to check (e.g., ['primary'])

  • time_min/time_max: Query interval (defaults to current day if omitted)

  • timezone: IANA timezone for interpreting naive timestamps

  • calendarExpansionMax: Max calendars (1-50)

  • groupExpansionMax: Max members per group (1-100)

    • Pitfalls:

  • Maximum span ~90 days per Google Calendar freeBusy API limit

  • Very long ranges or inaccessible calendars yield empty/invalid results

  • Only calendars with at least freeBusyReader access are visible

  • Free slots responses may normalize to UTC ('Z'); check offsets

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_FREE_BUSY_QUERY requires RFC3339 timestamps with timezone

    • Common Patterns

    ID Resolution


  • Calendar name -> calendar_id: GOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARS to enumerate all calendars

  • Event title -> event_id: GOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_EVENT or GOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_LIST

  • Attendee name -> email: GMAIL_SEARCH_PEOPLE

    • Timezone Handling


  • Always use IANA timezone identifiers (e.g., 'America/Los_Angeles')

  • Use GOOGLECALENDAR_GET_CURRENT_DATE_TIME to get current time in user's timezone

  • When querying events for a local date, use timestamps with local offset, NOT UTC

  • Example: '2026-01-19T00:00:00-08:00' for PST, NOT '2026-01-19T00:00:00Z'

    • Pagination


  • GOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_LIST returns nextPageToken; iterate until absent

  • GOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARS also paginates; use page_token

    • Known Pitfalls

  • Natural language dates: NOT supported; all dates must be ISO 8601 or RFC3339

  • Timezone mismatch: UTC timestamps don't align with local dates for filtering

  • Duration limits: event_duration_minutes max 59; use hours for longer durations

  • IANA timezones only: 'EST', 'PST', etc. are NOT valid; use 'America/New_York'

  • Event IDs are opaque: Always search to get event_id; never guess or construct

  • Attendees as emails: Names cannot be used; resolve with GMAIL_SEARCH_PEOPLE

  • PATCH replaces attendees: Include all desired attendees in the array, not just new ones

  • Conference limitations: Google Meet may fail on personal accounts (graceful fallback)

  • Rate limits: High-volume searches can trigger 403/429; throttle between calls

    • Quick Reference

    TaskTool SlugKey Params
    List calendarsGOOGLECALENDAR_LIST_CALENDARSmax_results
    Create eventGOOGLECALENDAR_CREATE_EVENTstart_datetime, timezone, summary
    Update eventGOOGLECALENDAR_PATCH_EVENTcalendar_id, event_id, fields to update
    Delete eventGOOGLECALENDAR_DELETE_EVENTcalendar_id, event_id
    Search eventsGOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_EVENTquery, timeMin, timeMax
    List eventsGOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_LISTcalendarId, timeMin, timeMax
    Recurring instancesGOOGLECALENDAR_EVENTS_INSTANCEScalendarId, eventId
    Find free slotsGOOGLECALENDAR_FIND_FREE_SLOTSitems, time_min, time_max, timezone
    Free/busy queryGOOGLECALENDAR_FREE_BUSY_QUERYtimeMin, timeMax, items
    Remove attendeeGOOGLECALENDAR_REMOVE_ATTENDEEevent_id, attendee_email
    Get current timeGOOGLECALENDAR_GET_CURRENT_DATE_TIMEtimezone
    Get calendarGOOGLECALENDAR_GET_CALENDARcalendar_id