Calendar (ICS)
Run an automation when an ICS calendar feed lists a new event.
What it does
Polls a calendar feed (any standard ICS URL — most calendar systems expose them) at a fixed interval. When a new event appears, the workflow fires with the event data in memory.
For Google Calendar specifically, prefer the OAuth-based Google Calendar trigger. The ICS variant on this page is the generic option for any other calendar system that publishes an ICS feed.
What you configure
| Field | What it controls | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| URL | The ICS feed URL. | required | Must be reachable from the AI Kit server. |
| Poll interval | How often to check, in milliseconds. | optional | Default is 60 000 (once per minute). |
| Output name (memory output) | Where the event data is stored. | required | Includes title, start, end, location, attendees. |
📷 SCREENSHOT: The Calendar trigger configuration with the ICS URL and poll-interval fields.
Example scenario
Meeting preparation digest. The night before, a workflow polls the team calendar's ICS feed and, for every meeting tomorrow, runs an LLM Prompt step that drafts a one-line preparation note. The notes are emailed to the team.
Recommendations
- ✅ Use a public-readable ICS URL or one with an embedded token. ICS feeds rarely support headers-based authentication.
- ✅ Set the poll interval to something proportional to how time-sensitive the events are. Once per hour is plenty for daily digests.
- ⚠️ ICS feeds can lag behind the real calendar by minutes or hours, depending on the provider. Do not rely on this trigger for real-time meeting awareness.
- ❌ Do not poll a public ICS URL too aggressively. Some providers rate-limit and will start returning empty feeds.
What to do next
- For Google Calendar specifically: Google Calendar.
- For arbitrary HTTP polling: HTTP Request inside a cron-triggered workflow.