# Tasks to iCal Paste a todo.txt list and get an .ics file of to-do or VEVENT entries to import into Apple Reminders, Google Calendar or Outlook. Runs in your browser. ## Run it - **CLI:** `gizza tool tasks-to-ical "(A) Pay the hosting invoice +admin @office due:2026-08-25 Draft the quarterly report +work t:2026-08-20 due:2026-08-28 x 2026-08-19 2026-08-01 File the tax return +admin due:2026-08-19"` - **Web:** https://gizza.ai/tools/tasks-to-ical/ - **Agents:** machine-readable descriptor (parameters JSON Schema) at https://gizza.ai/tools/tasks-to-ical/tool.json ## Inputs - `tasks` — Your todo.txt list (one task per line) _(field)_ - `component` — What each task should become _(field)_ - `include` — Which tasks to export _(field)_ - `skip_completed` — Leave out tasks already marked done with x _(field)_ - `duration_minutes` — Event length (minutes) for a timed deadline _(field)_ - `reminder_minutes` — Remind me this many minutes ahead (0 = no reminder) _(field)_ - `timezone` — How the times are anchored _(field)_ - `calendar_name` — Calendar name (optional) _(field)_ ## Output - iCalendar file (text) ## Query parameters Open the tool pre-filled and auto-run via URL: - `tasks` — Your todo.txt list (one task per line) - `component` — What each task should become - `include` — Which tasks to export - `skip_completed` — Leave out tasks already marked done with x - `duration_minutes` — Event length (minutes) for a timed deadline - `reminder_minutes` — Remind me this many minutes ahead (0 = no reminder) - `timezone` — How the times are anchored - `calendar_name` — Calendar name (optional) Example: `https://gizza.ai/tools/tasks-to-ical/?tasks=%28A%29%20Pay%20the%20hosting%20invoice%20%2Badmin%20%40office%20due%3A2026-08-25%0ADraft%20the%20quarterly%20report%20%2Bwork%20t%3A2026-08-20%20due%3A2026-08-28%0Ax%202026-08-19%202026-08-01%20File%20the%20tax%20return%20%2Badmin%20due%3A2026-08-19&component=vtodo&include=dated&skip_completed=true&duration_minutes=60&reminder_minutes=0&timezone=floating&calendar_name=Work%20deadlines` --- ## About this tool A todo.txt file is a plain-text task list: one task per line, with `due:` deadlines, `t:` start dates, `(A)`–`(Z)` priorities, `+project` tags and `@context` tags. Calendars and task apps do not read it — they read iCalendar. This tool is the step between them. Paste your list and it hands back a standards-compliant `.ics` document you can save and import into Apple Reminders, Nextcloud Tasks, Thunderbird, Google Calendar, Outlook or anything else that speaks iCalendar. The conversion runs as WebAssembly inside this page, so your task list never leaves the browser tab. The output is deterministic too: `DTSTAMP` is a fixed constant and the entry IDs are derived from the tasks themselves, so the same list always produces the same bytes. That keeps re-imports and version-controlled calendar files clean — importing twice updates the same entries instead of duplicating them. ### A worked example Paste this, leave every option alone: ```text (A) Pay the hosting invoice +admin @office due:2026-08-25 Draft the quarterly report +work t:2026-08-20 due:2026-08-28 Buy milk @errands ``` You get back: ```text BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//gizza-ai//tasks-to-ical//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTODO UID:pay-the-hosting-invoice@1.local DTSTAMP:19700101T000000Z DUE;VALUE=DATE:20260825 SUMMARY:Pay the hosting invoice DESCRIPTION:(A) Pay the hosting invoice +admin @office due:2026-08-25 CATEGORIES:admin,office PRIORITY:1 STATUS:NEEDS-ACTION END:VTODO BEGIN:VTODO UID:draft-the-quarterly-report@2.local DTSTAMP:19700101T000000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260820 DUE;VALUE=DATE:20260828 SUMMARY:Draft the quarterly report DESCRIPTION:Draft the quarterly report +work t:2026-08-20 due:2026-08-28 CATEGORIES:work STATUS:NEEDS-ACTION END:VTODO END:VCALENDAR ``` Three things to notice. The `(A)` became `PRIORITY:1` and the metadata came out of the `SUMMARY`, while the untouched original line was kept in `DESCRIPTION`, so nothing you wrote is lost. The `t:` date became `DTSTART`, so the second task shows a start as well as a deadline. And "Buy milk" is missing — it carries no date, and the default export is dated tasks only. Switch **Which tasks to export** to *Everything* to bring undated tasks along as unscheduled to-dos. ### What each line can say - **`x`** at the very start marks the task done. In todo.txt the next bare date is the completion date and the one after it is the creation date — both are read. - **`(A)`** through **`(Z)`** set priority, and are accepted before or after the completion date, or as a `pri:A` tag. They map onto the RFC 5545 numeric scale: `(A)` → `PRIORITY:1`, `(B)` → `5`, everything else → `9`. A task with no priority letter gets no `PRIORITY` line. - **`due:2026-08-25`** is the deadline; **`t:2026-08-20`** is the start (threshold) date. Add a time for a timed entry: `due:2026-08-25T14:30`, seconds optional. - **`+project`** and **`@context`** words become `CATEGORIES`, deduplicated and kept in the order you wrote them. - **`uid:`** or **`id:`** pins the entry's ID, which is what you want if you plan to re-import an evolving list into the same calendar. - **`rec:`** and **`h:`** are recognised and taken out of the summary. Anything else shaped like `key:value` is left exactly where you put it, so a `url:` or a custom tag survives. - Blank lines and lines starting with `#` are skipped, so a commented, sectioned file works. ### To-dos or events **To-do (VTODO)** is the default and the more faithful mapping: each task keeps its `DUE`, its `STATUS` (`NEEDS-ACTION`, or `COMPLETED` with `PERCENT-COMPLETE:100`), its `COMPLETED` and `CREATED` dates and its priority. Task apps — Apple Reminders, Nextcloud Tasks, Thunderbird — import these as real tasks you can tick off. **Event (VEVENT)** exists because several calendar apps, Google Calendar among them, ignore `VTODO` entirely. An event lands on the grid where you will actually see it. A whole-day task runs from its `t:` date through its `due:` date; a timed one starts at its time and runs for the event length you pick. Because an event must sit somewhere on the calendar, an undated task cannot become one — it is reported by line number rather than quietly dropped. ### Times, timezones and reminders A date with no time (`due:2026-08-25`) is written as `VALUE=DATE`, which every client shows as a whole day and no timezone touches. A date with a time is anchored by the **How the times are anchored** choice. **Floating** writes `20260825T143000` with no zone marker, so 14:30 reads as 14:30 on whatever clock the reader has — the right choice for a personal deadline list. **UTC** treats what you typed as already being UTC and appends the `Z`, so each calendar converts it into local time — the right choice for a list shared across countries. There is no per-task timezone tag; convert the times before pasting if they are mixed. The reminder slider attaches a `VALARM` with `ACTION:DISPLAY` and the task text as its message, from 5 minutes up to a week ahead. Leave it at 0 for no reminder. On a to-do the trigger is anchored to the `DUE` date with `RELATED=END`, which is what RFC 5545 specifies; on an event it counts back from the start. ### Limits and edge cases - Up to **2000 tasks** per run. Past that the conversion stops and tells you to split the list rather than writing a truncated file. - The event length applies only to a **timed** `VEVENT`; it accepts 1 to 1440 minutes (one day). Whole-day events and every `VTODO` ignore it. - The reminder lead time accepts 0 to 10080 minutes (one week). - `rec:` repeat tags are **not** expanded into `RRULE`s. todo.txt's `rec:1w` has no vocabulary for counts, end dates or "every second Tuesday", so translating it would invent repeats you did not ask for. Expand the repeats into dated tasks first, then convert. - A line whose date will not parse, whose `t:` falls after its `due:`, or which is nothing but metadata with no task text, is reported by its line number — the file is not written with a broken entry in it. - Commas, semicolons and backslashes are escaped as RFC 5545 requires, and lines longer than 75 octets are folded with a leading space on the continuation, so a long task imports intact instead of being cut short by a strict parser. - Entry IDs come from a `uid:` / `id:` tag when you set one. Without it the ID is built from the task text and its position, which stays stable as long as the list does. ## FAQ
How do I get the .ics file into my calendar or task app? Save the output with an `.ics` extension — the Download link next to the result does it for you. In Google Calendar on the web, go to Settings → Import & export and pick the file; Outlook uses File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Import an iCalendar (.ics) file; Apple Calendar and Reminders import with File → Import; Thunderbird uses Events and Tasks → Import. Import into a new, empty calendar the first time, so you can delete the whole thing in one click if the mapping was not what you expected.
Should I export to-dos or events? Export **to-dos** if the app you are importing into has a task list — Apple Reminders, Nextcloud Tasks and Thunderbird all read `VTODO`, and it is the only option that keeps completion status, percent-complete and priority. Export **events** if your calendar ignores `VTODO`, which Google Calendar does: the deadlines then appear on the grid as all-day or timed entries. If you are unsure, export both and import them into two separate calendars — the conversion is free and nothing is uploaded either way.
Why did most of my tasks disappear? The default keeps only tasks carrying a `due:` or `t:` tag, because a working todo.txt is mostly someday items that would clutter a calendar. Switch **Which tasks to export** to *Everything* and the undated ones come along as `VTODO` entries with no `DUE`, which task apps file under unscheduled. If a task you expected is dated and still missing, check the tag spelling: `due:2026-08-25` with no space after the colon, and an ISO date — `due: tomorrow` or `due:25/08/2026` will be reported as unreadable rather than guessed at.
What happens to tasks I have already finished? They export by default, which is how you archive finished work: a line beginning with `x` becomes `STATUS:COMPLETED` with `PERCENT-COMPLETE:100` and a `COMPLETED` date taken from the first bare date after the `x`. That is genuinely useful in a task app — it shows the work as done rather than pretending it was never there. Turn on **Leave out tasks already marked done with x** to export only what is still outstanding.
Will my rec: repeating tasks repeat in the calendar? No. A `rec:` tag is recognised and removed from the summary, but it is not turned into an `RRULE`, and the entry appears once on its `due:` date. todo.txt's recurrence syntax simply does not carry enough information — there is no way to say how many times, until when, or on which weekdays — so any automatic translation would produce repeats you did not write. Expand the repeats into individual dated tasks first, then paste the expanded list here. The original line, `rec:` tag and all, is kept in each entry's `DESCRIPTION`.
My multi-day event ends a day late. Is that a bug? No — look at the dates in the calendar rather than in the `.ics` text. iCalendar all-day ends are *exclusive*, so an event running the 20th through the 22nd has to be written with `DTEND` on the 23rd. That day is added for you, which means you should write the last day the task actually runs in `due:`, not the day after it.
Is anything uploaded? No. The conversion is a WebAssembly module running in this page, so your task list stays in the browser tab. Load the page, disconnect from the network, and it still works. The same conversion is available offline in the command-line tool if you would rather script it over a todo.txt file on disk.
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