ICS file generator: make a calendar file for any event

Short answer: fill in the event below, press download, and you have an .ics file that opens in Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar and most phone calendars. You can add reminders, a repeat and guests. It is free, needs no account and runs in your browser.

When an ICS file is the right tool

An .ics file is the one calendar format every major app can open. It is the right choice when you send an invitation by email, put an event on your website, give clients an appointment to save, or move events from one calendar to another. The person who gets the file does not need the same calendar app as you, and does not need an account anywhere.

What to fill in

• Title, date and time: the only required fields. If you leave the end time empty the event lasts one hour. An end time earlier than the start is read as the next day, so 22:00 to 01:00 works.
• All day: tick it for birthdays, holidays and deadlines. The file stores a date instead of a time.
• Place and notes: shown in the event. Put an address in the place and a meeting link in the link field.
• Time zone: under "More options". Pick the zone the time is in, so people in other zones see the right hour.
• Reminder: an alert from 5 minutes to 2 days before the event.
• Repeat: every day, week, month or year, for a set number of times.
• Guests: email addresses are added as attendees. Some calendar apps ask the guests to reply, others just show the names.

Several events in one file

Press "Add another event" to add more cards. The download button then makes one file with every event. For long lists, paste them into Text to ICS or upload a spreadsheet to CSV to ICS.

How to use the file

• Google Calendar: open the downloaded file, or use Settings, Import and export, Import.
• Outlook: double-click the file, or use File, Open and export, Import/Export.
• Apple Calendar: double-click the file and choose the calendar to add it to.
• iPhone and Android: open the file from your email or your Files app and choose your calendar app.

More detail in our guides to importing an .ics file into Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar and to opening an .ics file on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.

Send the file or share a link

Attach the .ics file to an email, or send an "add to calendar" link instead: Google, Outlook and Yahoo links need no file at all. The add to calendar link generator makes those links and a ready-made button for your website or newsletter. Under each event card above you also find the buttons for one event.

Make an ICS file by hand

You can also write the file in Notepad or TextEdit and save it with the extension .ics. This is the shortest file that works:

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Yotei//Free ICS maker//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:5b1d2c0e-7a3f-4c2b-9d51-0f6e8a1b2c3d@yotei.win
DTSTAMP:20261110T090000Z
DTSTART:20261117T090000Z
DTEND:20261117T100000Z
SUMMARY:Meeting
LOCATION:Café Noord\, Kerkstraat 12
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

• BEGIN:VCALENDAR and END:VCALENDAR wrap the whole file. VERSION:2.0 is the format version every calendar app expects.
• BEGIN:VEVENT and END:VEVENT wrap one event. A file can hold as many events as you like.
• UID is a unique id. Calendar apps use it to recognise the same event later.
• DTSTART and DTEND are the start and end. A time ending in Z is in UTC, so the app shows it correctly in your own time zone.
• SUMMARY is the title and LOCATION is the place. A comma inside text is written with a backslash.

Lines must end with a line break, text with commas needs a backslash before each comma, and every event needs a unique UID. The generator does all of that for you, and the ICS validator checks a file you wrote yourself.

When you would rather not type the event

Plans often arrive as a screenshot, a chat or a PDF you cannot copy from. Yotei is a Windows and Mac app that reads the event from your screen: press a shortcut, drag a box around it, check the details and confirm. It adds the event to Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud directly. See how Yotei works, or test it yourself in your browser.

Get Yotei for free

FAQ

How do I create an ICS file?

Fill in the title, date and time above and press "Download .ics file". Open the file to add the event to your calendar, or attach it to an email.

Is the ICS file generator free?

Yes. There is no account, no watermark and no limit on files.

Is my event stored anywhere?

No. The file is made in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server.

What is the difference between ICS, iCal and vCal?

ICS is the file extension of the iCalendar format, which is the current standard. iCal is the name of the format and of Apple's old calendar app. vCal is an older version of the format that modern apps mostly still read.

Does an ICS file work in Google Calendar and Outlook?

Yes, both can import it, and so can Apple Calendar, Thunderbird and phone calendar apps.

Can I add attendees?

Yes. Add email addresses under "More options". Support for attendees differs between calendar apps, so some show them and some ask them to reply.

Can an ICS file repeat?

Yes. Choose a repeat under "More options": every day, week, month or year, for the number of times you set.