outlook-calendar-automation

Outlook Calendar Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Outlook Calendar operations through Composio's Outlook toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

Active Outlook connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit outlook

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 outlook

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

Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Create Calendar Events

When to use: User wants to schedule a new event on their Outlook calendar

Tool sequence:

OUTLOOK_LIST_CALENDARS - List available calendars [Optional]

OUTLOOK_CALENDAR_CREATE_EVENT - Create the event [Required]

Key parameters:

subject: Event title

start_datetime: ISO 8601 start time (e.g., '2025-01-03T10:00:00')

end_datetime: ISO 8601 end time (must be after start)

time_zone: IANA or Windows timezone (e.g., 'America/New_York', 'Pacific Standard Time')

attendees_info: Array of email strings or attendee objects

body: Event description (plain text or HTML)

is_html: Set true if body contains HTML

location: Physical location string

is_online_meeting: Set true for Teams meeting link

online_meeting_provider: 'teamsForBusiness' for Teams integration

show_as: 'free', 'tentative', 'busy', 'oof'

Pitfalls:

start_datetime must be chronologically before end_datetime

time_zone is required and must be a valid IANA or Windows timezone name

Adding attendees can trigger invitation emails immediately

To generate a Teams meeting link, set BOTH is_online_meeting=true AND online_meeting_provider='teamsForBusiness'

user_id defaults to 'me'; use email or UUID for other users' calendars

2. List and Search Events

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

Tool sequence:

OUTLOOK_GET_MAILBOX_SETTINGS - Get user timezone for accurate queries [Prerequisite]

OUTLOOK_LIST_EVENTS - Search events with filters [Required]

OUTLOOK_GET_EVENT - Get full details for a specific event [Optional]

OUTLOOK_GET_CALENDAR_VIEW - Get events active during a time window [Alternative]

Key parameters:

filter: OData filter string (e.g., "start/dateTime ge '2024-07-01T00:00:00Z'")

select: Array of properties to return

orderby: Sort criteria (e.g., ['start/dateTime desc'])

top: Results per page (1-999)

timezone: Display timezone for results

start_datetime/end_datetime: For CALENDAR_VIEW time window (UTC with Z suffix)

Pitfalls:

OData filter datetime values require single quotes and Z suffix

Use 'start/dateTime' for event start filtering, NOT 'receivedDateTime' (that is for emails)

'createdDateTime' supports orderby/select but NOT filtering

Pagination: follow @odata.nextLink until all pages are collected

CALENDAR_VIEW is better for "what's on my calendar today" queries (includes spanning events)

LIST_EVENTS is better for keyword/category filtering

Response events have start/end nested as start.dateTime and end.dateTime

3. Update Events

When to use: User wants to modify an existing calendar event

Tool sequence:

OUTLOOK_LIST_EVENTS - Find the event to update [Prerequisite]

OUTLOOK_UPDATE_CALENDAR_EVENT - Update the event [Required]

Key parameters:

event_id: Unique event identifier (from LIST_EVENTS)

subject: New event title (optional)

start_datetime/end_datetime: New times (optional)

time_zone: Timezone for new times

attendees: Updated attendee list (replaces existing if provided)

body: Updated description with contentType and content

location: Updated location

Pitfalls:

UPDATE merges provided fields with existing event; unspecified fields are preserved

Providing attendees replaces the ENTIRE attendee list; include all desired attendees

Providing categories replaces the ENTIRE category list

Updating times may trigger re-sends to attendees

event_id is required; obtain from LIST_EVENTS first

4. Delete Events and Decline Invitations

When to use: User wants to remove an event or decline a meeting invitation

Tool sequence:

OUTLOOK_DELETE_EVENT - Delete an event [Optional]

OUTLOOK_DECLINE_EVENT - Decline a meeting invitation [Optional]

Key parameters:

event_id: Event to delete or decline

send_notifications: Send cancellation notices to attendees (default true)

comment: Reason for declining (for DECLINE_EVENT)

proposedNewTime: Suggest alternative time when declining

Pitfalls:

Deletion with send_notifications=true sends cancellation emails

Declining supports proposing a new time with start/end in ISO 8601 format

Deleting a recurring event master deletes all occurrences

sendResponse in DECLINE_EVENT controls whether the organizer is notified

5. Find Available Meeting Times

When to use: User wants to find optimal meeting slots across multiple people

Tool sequence:

OUTLOOK_FIND_MEETING_TIMES - Get meeting time suggestions [Required]

OUTLOOK_GET_SCHEDULE - Check free/busy for specific people [Alternative]

Key parameters:

attendees: Array of attendee objects with email and type

meetingDuration: ISO 8601 duration (e.g., 'PT1H' for 1 hour, 'PT30M' for 30 min)

timeConstraint: Time slots to search within

minimumAttendeePercentage: Minimum confidence threshold (0-100)

Schedules: Email array for GET_SCHEDULE

StartTime/EndTime: Time window for schedule lookup (max 62 days)

Pitfalls:

FIND_MEETING_TIMES searches within work hours by default; use activityDomain='unrestricted' for 24/7

Time constraint time slots require dateTime and timeZone for both start and end

GET_SCHEDULE period cannot exceed 62 days

Meeting suggestions respect attendee availability but may return suboptimal times for complex groups

Common Patterns

Event ID Resolution

1. Call OUTLOOK_LIST_EVENTS with time-bound filter
Find target event by subject or other criteria

Extract event id (e.g., 'AAMkAGI2TAAA=')

Use in UPDATE, DELETE, or GET_EVENT calls

OData Filter Syntax for Calendar

Time range filter:

filter: "start/dateTime ge '2024-07-01T00:00:00Z' and start/dateTime le '2024-07-31T23:59:59Z'"

Subject contains:

filter: "contains(subject, 'Project Review')"

Combined:

filter: "contains(subject, 'Review') and categories/any(c:c eq 'Work')"

Timezone Handling

Get user timezone: OUTLOOK_GET_MAILBOX_SETTINGS with select=['timeZone']

Use consistent timezone in filter datetime values

Calendar View requires UTC timestamps with Z suffix

LIST_EVENTS filter accepts timezone in datetime values

Online Meeting Creation

1. Set is_online_meeting: true
Set online_meeting_provider: 'teamsForBusiness'

Create event with OUTLOOK_CALENDAR_CREATE_EVENT

Teams join link available in response onlineMeeting field

Or retrieve via OUTLOOK_GET_EVENT for the full join URL

Known Pitfalls

DateTime Formats:

ISO 8601 format required: '2025-01-03T10:00:00'

Calendar View requires UTC with Z: '2025-01-03T10:00:00Z'

Filter values need single quotes: "'2025-01-03T00:00:00Z'"

Timezone mismatches shift event boundaries; always resolve user timezone first

OData Filter Errors:

400 Bad Request usually indicates filter syntax issues

Not all event properties support filtering (createdDateTime does not)

Retry with adjusted syntax/bounds on 400 errors

Valid filter fields: start/dateTime, end/dateTime, subject, categories, isAllDay

Attendee Management:

Adding attendees triggers invitation emails

Updating attendees replaces the full list; include all desired attendees

Attendee types: 'required', 'optional', 'resource'

Calendar delegation affects which calendars are accessible

Response Structure:

Events nested at response.data.value

Event times at event.start.dateTime and event.end.dateTime

Calendar View may nest at data.results[i].response.data.value

Parse defensively with fallbacks for different nesting levels

Quick Reference

Task	Tool Slug	Key Params
Create event	OUTLOOK_CALENDAR_CREATE_EVENT	subject, start_datetime, end_datetime, time_zone
List events	OUTLOOK_LIST_EVENTS	filter, select, top, timezone
Get event details	OUTLOOK_GET_EVENT	event_id
Calendar view	OUTLOOK_GET_CALENDAR_VIEW	start_datetime, end_datetime
Update event	OUTLOOK_UPDATE_CALENDAR_EVENT	event_id, subject, start_datetime
Delete event	OUTLOOK_DELETE_EVENT	event_id, send_notifications
Decline event	OUTLOOK_DECLINE_EVENT	event_id, comment
Find meeting times	OUTLOOK_FIND_MEETING_TIMES	attendees, meetingDuration
Get schedule	OUTLOOK_GET_SCHEDULE	Schedules, StartTime, EndTime
List calendars	OUTLOOK_LIST_CALENDARS	user_id
Mailbox settings	OUTLOOK_GET_MAILBOX_SETTINGS	select