Get calendar events

Use this action to get the events on one or more calendars within a date range, for example to read out your agenda or send it in a notification.

This action returns its result in a response variable, which you can use in later steps of the same automation or script.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To get calendar events from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the calendars you want to read.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Get calendar events.
7. Set the time range with a Start time and either an End time or a Duration.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as calendar.get_events. Store the result in a response variable so you can use it in later steps:

action: calendar.get_events
target:
  entity_id:
    - calendar.school
    - calendar.work
data:
  duration:
    hours: 24
response_variable: agenda

This returns the events on calendar.school and calendar.work for the next 24 hours.

Options in YAML

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action at a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will run the action on every matching calendar entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific calendar entity, such as calendar.living_room.
• Device: every calendar entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every calendar entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every calendar entity on a floor.
• Label: every calendar entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on both of them at once.

Response data

The action returns the matching events for each calendar you targeted. The response is keyed by the calendar, with an events list. Each event includes the following fields:

• summary: The title of the event.
• description: A longer description of the event, if it has one.
• start: The date or date and time the event starts.
• end: The date or date and time the event ends. The end is exclusive.
• location: The location of the event, if it has one.

A shortened example of the response looks like this:

calendar.school:
  events:
    - summary: "Parents evening"
      start: "2024-03-10 19:00:00"
      end: "2024-03-10 20:00:00"
      location: "Main hall"
calendar.work:
  events:
    - summary: "Team standup"
      start: "2024-03-10 09:00:00"
      end: "2024-03-10 09:15:00"

Good to know

• Set the time range with a start time and either an end time or a duration, but not both an end time and a duration.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Create calendar event: Adds a new event to a calendar.