User guide Shortcuts, AppleScript and other apps

Shortcuts, AppleScript and other apps

You don't have to open Almanac to add an event. You can send text to it from other apps, use links and scripts, and move events in and out with standard calendar files.

In apps that have a Share button or menu, choose Almanac to send the selected text or link to Almanac. An Add to Almanac window shows what will be created.

Services menu

Select some text in almost any app, such as “Dinner with Priya Thursday 7pm” in an email, then choose Services › Add to Almanac from the app menu or the right-click menu. Almanac reads the text like a quick entry sentence.

almanac:// links

Almanac responds to two kinds of link. Put the sentence after text=, with spaces written as %20:

Link	What it does
`almanac://add?text=Lunch%20tomorrow%20noon`	Creates the event or task straight away
`almanac://new?text=Lunch%20tomorrow%20noon`	Opens quick entry with the text filled in, so you can check it before pressing Return

You can use these links in notes, launchers or anywhere else that opens URLs. A third kind, almanac://license?key=…, activates a licence key. See Licence and billing.

AppleScript

Almanac has an AppleScript dictionary with these commands:

Command	What it does
`add`	Creates an event or task from a sentence and returns a confirmation
`parse sentence`	Shows how Almanac understands a sentence, without saving it
`upcoming events`	Lists upcoming events as text, for the number of `days` you choose (1 by default)
`join next meeting`	Opens the video call of the current or next meeting
`show date`	Opens Almanac on a date, such as `2026-12-03` or `next friday`

Examples:

tell application "Almanac" to add "Dentist friday 3pm"
tell application "Almanac" to upcoming events days 3
tell application "Almanac" to join next meeting

The first time a script controls Almanac, macOS asks whether to allow it. Click OK. You can change this later in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Automation.

Shortcuts

Almanac doesn't have its own actions in the Shortcuts app yet. Use the Run AppleScript action with any of the commands above. For example, to add an event from text you dictate or type:

In Shortcuts, create a new shortcut.
Add an action that gets your text, such as Ask for Input.
Add Run AppleScript and pass the text to tell application "Almanac" to add.

A shortcut that runs tell application "Almanac" to join next meeting is a handy way to join your next call with a keyboard shortcut or from the menu bar.

Import and export .ics files

Almanac reads and writes standard .ics calendar files.

Import

Choose File › Import .ics… (⇧⌘I), or
double-click an .ics file in Finder, or drag it onto Almanac's Dock icon.

Export

Export Visible Range as .ics… (⇧⌘E) saves all events in the view you're looking at.
To share a single event, open it and choose Export as .ics….

To subscribe to a calendar that updates itself, such as a sports schedule or holidays, add it as a subscribed calendar instead of importing it.

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