ical-generator

ical-generator is a small piece of code which generates ical calendar files. I use this to generate subscriptionable calendar feeds.

Installation

npm install ical-generator

Quick Start

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const http = require('http');
const cal = ical({domain: 'github.com', name: 'my first iCal'});

// overwrite domain
cal.domain('sebbo.net');

cal.createEvent({
    start: moment(),
    end: moment().add(1, 'hour'),
    summary: 'Example Event',
    description: 'It works ;)',
    location: 'my room',
    url: 'http://sebbo.net/'
});

http.createServer(function(req, res) {
    cal.serve(res);
}).listen(3000, '127.0.0.1', function() {
    console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:3000/');
});

Just another example

const ical = require('ical-generator');

// Create new Calendar and set optional fields
const cal = ical({
    domain: 'sebbo.net',
    prodId: {company: 'superman-industries.com', product: 'ical-generator'},
    name: 'My Testfeed',
    timezone: 'Europe/Berlin'
});

// You can also set values like this…
cal.domain('sebbo.net');

// … or get values
cal.domain(); // --> "sebbo.net"

// create a new event
const event = cal.createEvent({
    start: moment(),
    end: moment().add(1, 'hour'),
    timestamp: moment(),
    summary: 'My Event',
    organizer: 'Sebastian Pekarek <mail@example.com>'
});

// like above, you can also set/change values like this…
event.summary('My Super Mega Awesome Event');

// get the iCal string
cal.toString(); // --> "BEGIN:VCALENDAR…"


// You can also create events directly with ical()
ical({
    domain: 'sebbo.net',
    prodId: '//superman-industries.com//ical-generator//EN',
    events: [
        {
            start: moment(),
            end: moment().add(1, 'hour'),
            timestamp: moment(),
            summary: 'My Event',
            organizer: 'Sebastian Pekarek <mail@example.com>'
        }
    ]
}).toString();

API

ical-generator

ical([Object options])

Creates a new Calendar (ICalCalendar).

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical();

You can pass options to setup your calendar or use setters to do this.

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical({domain: 'sebbo.net'});

// is the same as

const cal = ical().domain('sebbo.net');

// is the same as

const cal = ical();
cal.domain('sebbo.net');

Calendar

domain([String domain])

Use this method to set your server's hostname. It will be used to generate the feed's UID. Default hostname is your server's one (require('os').hostname()).

prodId([String|Object prodId])

Use this method to overwrite the default Product Identifier (//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN). prodId can be either a valid Product Identifier or an object:

cal.prodId({
    company: 'My Company',
    product: 'My Product',
    language: 'EN' // optional, defaults to EN
});

// OR

cal.prodId('//My Company//My Product//EN');

name([String name])

Use this method to set your feed's name. Is used to fill NAME and X-WR-CALNAME in your iCal file.

url([String url])

Use this method to set your feed's URL.

const cal = ical().url('https://example.com/calendar.ical');

scale([String scale])

Use this method to set your feed's CALSCALE. There is no default value for this property and it will not appear in your iCal file unless set. The iCal standard specifies this as GREGORIAN if no value is present.

const cal = ical().scale('gregorian');

timezone([String timezone])

Use this method to set your feed's timezone. Is used to fill TIMEZONE-ID and X-WR-TIMEZONE in your iCal.

const cal = ical().timezone('Europe/Berlin');

method([String method])

Calendar method. May be any of the following: publish, request, reply, add, cancel, refresh, counter, declinecounter.

ttl([Number ttl])

Use this method to set your feed's time to live (in seconds). Is used to fill REFRESH-INTERVAL and X-PUBLISHED-TTL in your iCal.

const cal = ical().ttl(60 * 60 * 24);

createEvent([Object options])

Creates a new Event (ICalEvent) and returns it. Use options to prefill the event's attributes. Calling this method without options will create an empty event.

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent({summary: 'My Event'});

// overwrite event summary
event.summary('Your Event');

events([Object events])

Add Events to calendar or return all attached events.

const cal = ical();

cal.events([
    {
        start: new Date(),
        end: new Date(new Date().getTime() + 3600000),
        summary: 'Example Event',
        description: 'It works ;)',
        url: 'http://sebbo.net/'
    }
]);

cal.events(); // --> [ICalEvent]

save(String file, Function cb)

Save Calendar to disk asynchronously using fs.writeFile. Won't work in browsers.

saveSync(String file)

Save Calendar to disk synchronously using fs.writeFileSync. Won't work in browsers.

serve(http.ServerResponse response, [String filename])

Send Calendar to the User when using HTTP. See Quick Start above. Won't work in browsers. Defaults to 'calendar.ics'.

x (String key, String value) /x (Object attributes)

Add a custom X- attribute to the generated calendar file.

toBlob()

Generates a blob to use for downloads or to generate a download URL. Only supported in browsers supporting the Blob API.

toURL()

Returns a download URL using the Blob. Only supported in browsers supporting the Blob API.

toString()

Return Calendar as a String.

toJSON()

Return a shallow copy of the calendar's options for JSON stringification. Can be used for persistence.

const cal = ical();
const json = JSON.stringify(cal);

// later
cal = ical(json);

length()

Returns the amount of events in the calendar.

clear()

Empty the Calender.

Event

uid([String|Number uid]) or id([String|Number id])

Use this method to set the event's ID. If not set, an UID will be generated randomly. When output, the ID will be suffixed with '@' + your calendar's domain.

sequence([Number sequence])

Use this method to set the event's revision sequence number of the calendar component within a sequence of revisions.

start([moment|Date start])

Appointment date of beginning as Date object. This is required for all events!

end([moment|Date end])

Appointment date of end as Date object.

timezone([String timezone])

Use this method to set your event's timezone using the TZID property parameter on start and end dates, as per date-time form #3 in section 3.3.5 of RFC 554.

This and the 'floating' flag (see below) are mutually exclusive, and setting a timezone will unset the 'floating' flag. If neither 'timezone' nor 'floating' are set, the date will be output with in UTC format (see date-time form #2 in section 3.3.5 of RFC 554).

timestamp([moment|Date stamp]) or stamp([moment|Date stamp])

Appointment date of creation as Date object. Defaults to new Date().

allDay([Boolean allDay])

When allDay == true -> appointment is for the whole day

floating([Boolean floating])

Appointment is a "floating" time. From section 3.3.12 of RFC 554:

Time values of this type are said to be "floating" and are not bound to any time zone in particular. They are used to represent the same hour, minute, and second value regardless of which time zone is currently being observed. For example, an event can be defined that indicates that an individual will be busy from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM every day, no matter which time zone the person is in. In these cases, a local time can be specified.

This and the 'timezone' setting (see above) are mutually exclusive, and setting the floating flag will unset the 'timezone'. If neither 'timezone' nor 'floating' are set, the date will be output with in UTC format (see date-time form #2 in section 3.3.5 of RFC 554).

repeating([Object repeating])

Appointment is a repeating event

event.repeating({
    freq: 'MONTHLY', // required
    count: 5,
    interval: 2,
    until: new Date('Jan 01 2014 00:00:00 UTC'),
    byDay: ['su', 'mo'], // repeat only sunday and monday
    byMonth: [1, 2], // repeat only in january und february,
    byMonthDay: [1, 15], // repeat only on the 1st and 15th
    bySetPos: 3, // repeat every 3rd sunday (will take the first element of the byDay array)
    exclude: [new Date('Dec 25 2013 00:00:00 UTC')], // exclude these dates
    excludeTimezone: 'Europe/Berlin' // timezone of exclude
});

recurrenceId([moment|Date stamp])

Recurrence date as Date object.

summary([String summary])

Appointment summary, defaults to empty string.

description([String description])

Appointment description

htmlDescription([String htmlDescription])

Some calendar apps may support HTML descriptions. Like in emails, supported HTML tags and styling is limited.

location([String location])

Appointment location

appleLocation([Object appleLocation])

This method can be used to pass the location as a structured object. The location is then displayed on the map in iCal. The passed object looks like this:

interface AppleLocationData {
  title: string;
  address: string;
  radius: number;
  geo: GeoData;
}

interface GeoData {
  lat: number;
  lon: number;
}

An example:

event.appleLocation({
    title: 'My Title',
    address: 'My Address',
    radius: 40,
    geo: {
        lat: '52.063921',
        lon: '5.128511'
    }
});

You can either use location() or appleLocation(), but now both. Thanks to @focux for the pull request

geo([String|Object geo])

Appointment geo position (gps). See rfc for more details

event.geo({
    lat: 44.4987,
    lon: -6.87667
});

// OR

event.geo('44.4987;-6.87667');

organizer([String|Object organizer])

Appointment organizer

event.organizer({
    name: 'Organizer\'s Name',
    email: 'organizer@example.com'
});

// OR

event.organizer('Organizer\'s Name <organizer@example.com>');

You can also add an explicit mailto email address.

event.organizer({
    name: 'Organizer\'s Name',
    email: 'organizer@example.com',
    mailto: 'explicit@mailto.com'
})

createAttendee([Object options])

Creates a new Attendee (ICalAttendee) and returns it. Use options to prefill the attendee's attributes. Calling this method without options will create an empty attendee.

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const attendee = event.createAttendee({email: 'hui@example.com', name: 'Hui'});

// overwrite attendee's email address
attendee.email('hui@example.net');

// add another attendee
event.createAttendee('Buh <buh@example.net>');

As with the organizer, you can also add an explicit mailto address.

event.createAttendee({email: 'hui@example.com', name: 'Hui', mailto: 'another@mailto.com'});

// overwrite an attendee's mailto address
attendee.mailto('another@mailto.net');

attendees([Object attendees])

Add Attendees to the event or return all attached attendees.

const event = ical().createEvent();

cal.attendees([
    {email: 'a@example.com', name: 'Person A'},
    {email: 'b@example.com', name: 'Person B'}
]);

cal.attendees(); // --> [ICalAttendee, ICalAttendee]

createAlarm([Object options])

Creates a new Alarm (ICalAlarm) and returns it. Use options to prefill the alarm's attributes. Calling this method without options will create an empty alarm.

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const alarm = event.createAlarm({type: 'display', trigger: 300});

// add another alarm
event.createAlarm({
    type: 'audio',
    trigger: 300, // 5min before event
});

alarms([Object alarms])

Add alarms to the event or return all attached alarms.

const event = ical().createEvent();

cal.alarms([
    {type: 'display', trigger: 600},
    {type: 'audio', trigger: 300}
]);

cal.attendees(); // --> [ICalAlarm, ICalAlarm]

createCategory([Object options])

Creates a new Category (ICalCategory) and returns it. Use options to prefill the categories' attributes. Calling this method without options will create an empty category.

const ical = require('ical-generator');
const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const category = event.createCategory({name: 'APPOINTMENT'});

// add another alarm
event.createCategory({
    name: 'MEETING'
});

categories([Object categories])

Add categories to the event or return all selected categories.

const event = ical().createEvent();

cal.categories([
    {name: 'APPOINTMENT'},
    {name: 'MEETING'}
]);

cal.categories(); // --> [ICalCategory, ICalCategory]

url([String url])

Appointment URL

transparency([String transparency])

Set the field to opaque if the person or resource is no longer available due to this event. If the calendar entry has no influence on availability, you can set the field to transparent. This value is mostly used to find out if a person has time on a certain date or not (see TRANSP in iCal specification).

status([String status])

Appointment status. May be any of the following: confirmed, tentative, cancelled.

busystatus([String busystatus])

Appointment busystatus. May be any of the following: free, tentative, busy, oof.

x (String key, String value) /x (Object attributes)

Add a custom X- attribute to the generated calendar file.

created([moment|Date created])

Date object of the time the appointment was created.

lastModified([moment|Date lastModified])

Date object of the time the appointent was modified last.

Attendee

name([String name])

Use this method to set the attendee's name.

email([String email])

The attendee's email address. An email address is required for every attendee!

rsvp([String rsvp])

Set the attendee's RSVP expectation. May be one of the following: true, false

role([String role])

Set the attendee's role, defaults to REQ-PARTICIPANT. May be one of the following: chair, req-participant, opt-participant, non-participant

status([String status])

Set the attendee's status. May be one of the following: accepted, tentative, declined, delegated, needs-action (See Section 4.2.12)

type([String type])

Set the attendee's type. May be one of the following: individual, group, resource, room, unknown (See Section 4.2.3)

delegatesTo(ICalAttendee|Object attendee)

Creates a new Attendee if the passed object is not already an attendee. Will set the delegatedTo and delegatedFrom attributes.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const attendee = cal.createAttendee();

attendee.delegatesTo({email: 'foo@bar.com', name: 'Foo'});

delegatesFrom(ICalAttendee|Object attendee)

Creates a new Attendee if the passed object is not already an attendee. Will set the delegatedTo and delegatedFrom attributes.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const attendee = cal.createAttendee();

attendee.delegatesFrom({email: 'foo@bar.com', name: 'Foo'});

Alarm

type([String type])

Use this method to set the alarm type. Right now, audio and display are supported.

trigger([Number|moment|Date trigger]) / triggerBefore([Number|moment|Date trigger])

Use this method to set the alarm time.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const alarm = cal.createAlarm();

alarm.trigger(600); // -> 10 minutes before event starts
alarm.trigger(new Date()); // -> now

triggerAfter([Number|moment|Date trigger])

Use this method to set the alarm time.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();
const alarm = cal.createAlarm();

alarm.triggerAfter(600); // -> 10 minutes after the event finishes
alarm.triggerAfter(new Date()); // -> now

repeat([Number repeat])

Use this method to repeat the alarm.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();

// repeat the alarm 4 times every 5 minutes…
cal.createAlarm({
    repeat: 4,
    interval: 300
});

interval([Number interval])

Use this method to set the alarm's interval.

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();

// repeat the alarm 4 times every 5 minutes…
cal.createAlarm({
    repeat: 4,
    interval: 300
});

attach([String|Object attach])

Alarm attachment; used to set the alarm sound if type = audio. Defaults to "Basso".

const cal = ical();
const event = cal.createEvent();

event.createAlarm({
    attach: 'https://example.com/notification.aud'
});

// OR

event.createAlarm({
    attach: {
        uri: 'https://example.com/notification.aud',
        mime: 'audio/basic'
    }
});

description([String| description])

Alarm description; used to set the alarm message if type = display. Defaults to the event's summary.

x (String key, String value) /x (Object attributes)

Add a custom X- attribute to the generated calendar file.

Category

name([String name])

Use this method to set the category name.

Tests

npm test
npm run coverage
npm run browser-test

FAQ

What's Error: Can't resolve 'fs'?

ical-generator uses the node.js fs module to save your calendar on the filesystem. In browser environments, you usually don't need this, so if you pass null for fs in your bundler. In webpack this looks like this:

{
  "node": {
    "fs": "empty"
  }
}

Where's the changelog?

It's here.

Thanks @rally25rs for this tip.

Copyright and license

Copyright (c) Sebastian Pekarek under the MIT license.