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How do I use Siri with BusyCal?

BusyCal ships its own spoken phrases, so Siri can add and read items without you building a shortcut first. Say "Hey Siri" and then one of these:

  • "Quick add with BusyCal" to describe an event in your own words. For a task, say "Create a task in BusyCal", or build a shortcut around Quick Add with Item Type set to Task.
  • "Create an event in BusyCal" or "Create a task in BusyCal" when you want Siri to ask for the details.
  • "What's coming up in BusyCal" for your upcoming events and tasks.
  • "When am I free in BusyCal" for your next open slot.

Siri asks for whatever it still needs, and the item is saved whether or not BusyCal is open. This works on macOS 15 and iOS 18 or later.

For anything else, build a shortcut in the Shortcuts app with BusyCal's actions, give it a short name, and say "Hey Siri" followed by that name. The full action list is in Siri and Shortcuts for Mac and Siri and Shortcuts for iPhone and iPad.

Talking to Siri in your own words​

On macOS 27 and iOS 27, Siri can work with your BusyCal events and tasks directly, with no shortcut in between. You can say things like "add lunch with Sam tomorrow at 1", "move my 3pm meeting to Thursday", "mark the groceries task done", or "what's on my calendar this week". Siri can create, change, and delete events and tasks, and create a task calendar. It cannot add or change attendees.

If Siri sends your item to the wrong app​

Saying "remind me" or "add an event" without naming BusyCal sends the item to Apple's Reminders or Calendar app. Include "in BusyCal" in the request, or use a named shortcut, so the item goes straight to BusyCal.

If Siri cannot see your calendars​

On iPhone and iPad, calendars in a protected Calendar Set stay hidden from Siri and Shortcuts, even while BusyCal itself is unlocked. If Protected Calendar Sets is set to All, Siri sees no calendars at all. Change which sets are protected under Settings > Security in BusyCal. See Settings.

On the Mac, a Calendar Set is a Smart Filter saved with its Remember calendar set (visible calendars) option turned on. Smart Filters saved without this option are not offered as Calendar Sets to Siri, Shortcuts, the Focus filter, AppleScript, or the Claude Desktop extension. See Smart Filters.

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