Siri and Shortcuts

BusyCal works with Siri and the Shortcuts app on iPhone and iPad. You can create events and tasks, search your calendars, check your availability, open BusyCal at a particular date or view, and switch Calendar Sets automatically when a Focus turns on.

Open BusyCal first and finish setting up your calendars. After setup, actions that read or change calendar data can run without opening BusyCal. Siri or Shortcuts may ask you to unlock your device or allow access before continuing. The actions that change what you are looking at, such as opening a date or a view, open BusyCal.

Requirements

The standard Siri phrases and Shortcuts actions below require iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later. Open Shortcuts and search for BusyCal to check the actions available in your installed version.

Siri AI support described in this guide is for the upcoming BusyCal release. It requires iOS and iPadOS 27 or later, a compatible Apple Intelligence device, and Siri AI enabled in a supported language and region. Installing the operating system alone does not enable it. See Apple's Siri AI availability information and Asking Siri directly.

important

Calendars in a protected Calendar Set stay hidden from Siri and Shortcuts, even while BusyCal itself is unlocked, because they never inherit the authentication you did in the app. If Protected Calendar Sets is set to All, Siri and Shortcuts see no calendars at all. See Settings to change which sets are protected.

Talking to Siri

BusyCal supplies its own spoken phrases for ten common actions, so you can use them without building a shortcut first. Say "Hey Siri" followed by one of these, and Siri asks for whatever detail it still needs.

Quick Add takes whatever you say and runs it through Natural Language entry, so a phrase like "lunch with Sam tomorrow at 1" becomes a complete event:

• "Quick add with BusyCal"
• "Quick add to BusyCal"
• "Add this to BusyCal"
• "Put this on my calendar in BusyCal"

New Event creates an event from a title, a start, and an end:

• "Create an event in BusyCal"
• "New event in BusyCal"
• "Add an event to BusyCal"
• "Schedule an event in BusyCal"

New Task creates a task on a task calendar:

• "Create a task in BusyCal"
• "New task in BusyCal"
• "Add a task to BusyCal"
• "Make a new task in BusyCal"

What's Coming Up shows your events and tasks for the week:

• "What's coming up in BusyCal"
• "Show my schedule in BusyCal"
• "Show upcoming items in BusyCal"
• "Show my week in BusyCal"

Today shows the same list for today only:

• "Show my day in BusyCal"
• "What's on today in BusyCal"
• "Show today's schedule in BusyCal"
• "What do I have today in BusyCal"

When Am I Free finds the next open slot within a date range. Siri asks when to start and stop looking if you have not supplied those dates. The default minimum slot is 30 minutes:

• "When am I free in BusyCal"
• "Find free time in BusyCal"
• "Show my free time in BusyCal"
• "Find an open time in BusyCal"

Find Events searches your events:

• "Find an event in BusyCal"
• "Find events in BusyCal"
• "Search my events in BusyCal"
• "Look up an event in BusyCal"

Find Tasks searches your tasks:

• "Find a task in BusyCal"
• "Find tasks in BusyCal"
• "Search my tasks in BusyCal"
• "Show my tasks in BusyCal"

Complete Task marks a task complete, asking which one you mean:

• "Complete a task in BusyCal"
• "Mark a task done in BusyCal"
• "Check off a task in BusyCal"
• "Finish a task in BusyCal"

Show Calendar Set opens BusyCal on a saved Calendar Set:

• "Show a calendar set in BusyCal"
• "Switch calendar sets in BusyCal"
• "Use a calendar set in BusyCal"
• "Change my calendar set in BusyCal"

Siri reads the result back to you: how many events or tasks matched, up to three of them by name with their dates, and your next free slot when you ask about availability. A shortcut still receives the whole list. When Siri asks you to pick a task, the list includes overdue and undated tasks, and each row shows whether the task is open or complete along with its due date.

Any shortcut you build yourself can also be run by voice. Give it a short name and say "Hey Siri" followed by that name.

Available Shortcut Actions

Open the Shortcuts app, tap + to create a shortcut, and search for "BusyCal" to see the actions below. Actions that take an event or a task accept one passed in from an earlier action, so you can chain a search into a change.

Find and read your calendar data:

Action	What it does	Key parameters
Find Events	Finds events by date range, text, or Calendar Set.	Search Text, Start Date, End Date, Calendar, Calendar Set, Limit
Find Tasks	Finds tasks by due date, text, or Calendar Set.	Search Text, Start Date, End Date, Calendar, Calendar Set, Completed, Limit
Get Upcoming Items	Shows the events and tasks coming up next, with a summary you can see in the Shortcuts result.	Upcoming Range, Number of Days, Calendar Set, Include Tasks
Get Availability	Returns free or busy time in a date range.	Start Date, End Date, Calendars, Free or Busy, Minimum Duration in Minutes, Respect Working Hours
When Am I Free	Finds the next available time within the dates you supply.	Start Date, End Date, Minimum Duration in Minutes, Calendars, Respect Working Hours

Searches follow BusyCal's calendar visibility settings. Set Calendar or Calendar Set to narrow the results further.

Date filters in Find Events use the event's start date; Find Tasks uses the task's due date. An event that began before the search period may be omitted even if it is still running. Leave the date filters empty when you want to include tasks without a due date.

Find Events and Find Tasks return up to 50 items by default. Increase Limit (up to 500), or narrow the dates and calendars, when you need more specific results.

Create events and tasks:

Action	What it does	Key parameters
Quick Add	Creates an event, task, or journal entry from the text you type.	Text, Item Type, Calendar
Create Event	Creates an event with the dates and details you choose.	Title, Start Date, End Date, All Day, Start Time Zone, End Time Zone, Calendar, Location, Alarms in Minutes, Travel Time in Minutes, Notes, URL, Tags, Show As
Create Task	Creates a task with the date and details you choose.	Title, Due Date, All Day, Due Time Zone, Calendar, Location, Alarms in Minutes, Notes, URL, Tags, Priority, Starred

Alarms in Minutes counts from the start time, or from a task's due date. Use -15 for fifteen minutes before, or 0 for the exact time. You can set up to four.

Change existing items:

Action	What it does	Key parameters
Update Event	Changes the details you choose on an event.	Event, Repeating Events, Title, Location, Notes, URL, Location URL, Travel Time in Minutes, Tags, Alarms in Minutes
Update Task	Changes the details you choose on a task.	Task, Title, Notes, URL, Location URL, Tags, Alarms in Minutes, Priority, Starred
Move Event	Moves an event to a new start date, keeping its duration.	Event, Start Date, Start Time Zone, Repeating Events
Defer Task	Gives a task a new due date, or clears its due date.	Task, Due Date, All Day, Due Time Zone
Complete Task	Marks a task complete.	Task, Completion Date
Reopen Task	Reopens a task you already completed.	Task
Duplicate Calendar Item	Duplicates an event or task.	Calendar Item, Repeating Events, Calendar
Delete Events	Deletes the events you pass in.	Events, Repeating Events
Delete Tasks	Deletes the tasks you pass in.	Tasks

Open BusyCal at a particular place:

Action	What it does	Key parameters
Change Calendar View	Opens a BusyCal calendar view: List, Day, Week, Month, or Tasks.	Calendar View
Change to Date	Opens a date in BusyCal.	Date
Show Calendar Set	Shows a saved Calendar Set.	Calendar Set
Open Calendar Item	Opens an event or task in BusyCal.	Calendar Item

Update Event, Move Event, Duplicate Calendar Item, and Delete Events take a Repeating Events choice of This Event, This and Future Events, or All Events, and all four default to This Event. Choose the scope before running the action. Task changes apply to the selected task.

Three more actions open BusyCal. Create New Event and Create New Task also power BusyCal's Control Center controls:

Action	What it does	Key parameters
Create New Event	Opens BusyCal on the new event screen. Needs iOS 18 or later.	None
Create New Task	Opens BusyCal on the new task screen. Needs iOS 18 or later.	None
Launch App	Opens BusyCal. Its Target lists one value, New Event. To open the new event screen, use Create New Event. Needs iOS 16 or later.	Target

Quick Add

The Quick Add action takes a line of free text and parses it the same way BusyCal's own entry field does.

How to use it

1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap + to create a shortcut.
2. Search for "BusyCal" and add Quick Add.
3. Type your text into the Text field, or pass it in from an earlier action.
4. Set Item Type to Task or Journal to create one of those instead of an event.

Natural language examples

The action understands phrases like:

• Lunch with Sarah tomorrow at noon
• Team meeting Thursday at 3pm for 1 hour
• Doctor appointment June 15 at 9am /Personal

Use / followed by a calendar name to choose the calendar. See Natural Language for the full syntax.

Create Task

The Create Task action builds a task from separate fields rather than free text, so a shortcut can set the due date, time zone, task calendar, tags, alarms, Priority, and Starred on its own. Leave Calendar empty to use your default task calendar.

Change to Date

The Change to Date action opens BusyCal on the date you pass in.

How to use it

1. Add the Change to Date action to your shortcut.
2. Pick a date in the action, or pass one in from an earlier action.
3. Running the shortcut opens BusyCal on that date.

Change Calendar View

The Change Calendar View action opens BusyCal in the view you choose.

Available views

• List opens the list view.
• Day opens Day view.
• Week opens Week view.
• Month opens Month view.
• Tasks opens the task view.

Get Upcoming Items

The Get Upcoming Items action returns your events and tasks for Today, Tomorrow, This Week, or Custom Number of Days, and shows them as a summary in the Shortcuts result without opening BusyCal. Choose Custom Number of Days to use the Number of Days you set. Set Include Tasks to off for events only, or pick a Calendar Set to narrow it.

Set a Calendar Set with a Focus

A Focus filter switches BusyCal to a chosen Calendar Set for as long as that Focus is on.

How to use it

1. Open Settings > Focus.
2. Select or create a Focus, such as Work, Personal, or Sleep.
3. Scroll down to Focus Filters and tap Add Filter.
4. Select BusyCal.
5. Choose the Calendar Set you want while that Focus is on, then tap Add.

The switch happens in place, without opening BusyCal. When the Focus ends, BusyCal returns to your usual Calendar Set. If you choose another set yourself while the Focus is on, that becomes the selection kept afterwards.

Example uses

• A Work Focus that shows only your work calendars during office hours.
• A Personal Focus that hides work calendars in the evening and at weekends.
• A Sleep Focus that shows only the calendars you want to see first thing.

tip

Create Calendar Sets by tapping the Calendar Set button in the toolbar and then Manage Sets…. See Calendar Sets for more.

Asking Siri Directly

With Siri AI available on your device and a BusyCal version that supports it, you can ask for calendar changes in your own words without building a shortcut first. Include BusyCal in your request so Siri knows which app to use.

These examples describe supported tasks, rather than fixed phrases. Siri may ask you to identify an item, supply a missing detail, or confirm a change.

To do this	Try asking
Create an event	"In BusyCal, add lunch with Sam tomorrow from 1 to 2 pm."
Reschedule an event	"In BusyCal, move my dentist appointment to Thursday at 10 am."
Change event details	"In BusyCal, change the location of lunch with Sam to Riverside Café."
Create a task	"In BusyCal, add a task to renew my passport, due next Friday."
Complete a task	"In BusyCal, mark the groceries task as complete."
Remove an event	"In BusyCal, delete my dentist appointment on Thursday."
Create a task calendar	"In BusyCal, create a task calendar called Home Projects."

For schedule summaries and free-time searches, you can also use the standard Siri phrases. They remain useful on devices without Siri AI.

Ask about your schedule

Ask for events on a particular day or during part of the day:

• "What’s on my calendar in BusyCal this afternoon?"
• "What events do I have in BusyCal this evening?"
• "What am I doing next Tuesday in BusyCal?"

Siri interprets the dates and times in your request. For a precise window, include the hours: "What events do I have in BusyCal today between noon and 6 pm?" You can narrow the request by naming a calendar, such as "What’s on my Work calendar in BusyCal next Tuesday?"

Choose a calendar

Name an existing calendar when you want to choose where an item is added:

• "Create lunch tomorrow from 1 to 2 pm in my Work calendar in BusyCal."
• "Add Buy milk to my Shopping list in BusyCal, due tomorrow."

Choose a calendar you can edit. Tasks need a calendar that supports tasks. Siri may ask you to choose if more than one calendar matches the name.

A Calendar Set controls which calendars you view. Choose an individual calendar when adding an event or task.

If you do not name a task calendar, BusyCal uses its normal task-calendar selection, usually your configured default. For Siri AI event creation, Siri must choose a calendar before adding the event. BusyCal offers your default first in its suggestions, but Siri may still ask which calendar you want. You can change your preferred event and task calendars in Settings.

Change the item you are viewing

Open a saved event in BusyCal so its details are on screen. Then ask, "In BusyCal, move this event to tomorrow at 2 pm." Listen to Siri's response and answer any question about which event or date you mean.

Open a saved task and keep its details on screen to try, "In BusyCal, mark this task as complete."

BusyCal supplies one current item for these requests. It does not supply every visible row or a numbered list of events on screen. If Siri cannot identify the item, use its title and date instead. See Spotlight and the item on screen.

Change a repeating event

Start with the occurrence you want to change. For example, ask, "In BusyCal, move only tomorrow's team meeting to 11 am." A change applies to that occurrence unless you request a wider scope.

To change more than one occurrence, specify "this and future events" or "all events." Check the scope when Siri asks for clarification. An occurrence already edited separately is rescheduled on its own, even when you ask to move the whole series.

Dates, reminders, and task calendars

When creating an event, give both a start and an end time if you want a specific duration, or say "all-day" for an event without a time.

Rescheduling a timed event preserves its time zones unless the request changes them. Changing between timed and all-day events uses BusyCal's normal date and time defaults.

Siri's reminder actions work with BusyCal tasks. You can create, edit, complete, reopen, and delete tasks. Creating a task calendar uses the account that owns your default task calendar, and that account must support creating task calendars.

Siri cannot add or change attendees, attach images to tasks, create location-based task alerts, or create sections within task calendars. Use BusyCal's own controls for supported details that Siri cannot change.

Building Custom Shortcuts

BusyCal actions combine with other apps and system actions. A few starting points:

Morning briefing

Add Get Upcoming Items and set Upcoming Range to Today. Run it to see a summary of today's events and tasks. Turn off Include Tasks for an events-only briefing, or choose a Calendar Set to limit the results.

Capture from the clipboard

Add Get Clipboard, then add Quick Add and use the clipboard result as Text. Copy a line such as Lunch with Sarah tomorrow at noon and run the shortcut to save it. Set Item Type and Calendar in the action when you want a particular destination.

Weekly review

Add Change to Date and set Date to next Monday. Follow it with Change Calendar View set to Week. Running the shortcut opens BusyCal at that date in Week view.

Choose an event and move it

Build a shortcut that lets you select the event before changing it:

1. Add BusyCal's Find Events action. Set Search Text to a title such as dentist, and set Start Date and End Date to the period you want to search.
2. Add Choose from List and pass it the events found by Find Events. Leave multiple selection off so you choose one event.
3. Add BusyCal's Move Event. Set Event to the chosen item and Start Date to the new date and time, or choose Ask Each Time.
4. For a repeating event, set Repeating Events to This Event, This and Future Events, or All Events.
5. Run the shortcut, select the event, and supply its new start time. BusyCal keeps its duration.

Find time for an appointment

1. Add When Am I Free.
2. Set Start Date and End Date, for example tomorrow from 9 am to 5 pm.
3. Set Minimum Duration in Minutes to 45 and choose the Calendars that should count as busy.
4. Turn on Respect Working Hours if the search should stay within your configured working hours.
5. Run the shortcut to see the next matching slot. If there is no suitable slot, extend the date range or reduce the duration.

Clear completed tasks

Use Find Tasks with a due-date range and Completed turned on. Add Choose from List so you can select the tasks to remove, then pass your selection into Delete Tasks. Check the selection before continuing: this deletes tasks rather than merely hiding completed ones.

Spotlight and the Item on Screen

BusyCal events and tasks that appear in Spotlight open directly in BusyCal when selected.

On systems that support it, BusyCal identifies the saved item you are viewing for Siri. Open the event or task's details to make it the current item. Requests that change it in your own words need the Siri AI requirements described above.

Save a new item before referring to it as "this event" or "this task." Items without usable event dates cannot be used for Siri AI calendar-event changes. If Siri cannot resolve an onscreen request, name the event and date, or use Find Events or Find Tasks in Shortcuts.