gcal-autoreminder

Automated reminders for Google Calendar using Google Apps Script.

This project scans calendar events for a shared reminder tag defined in CONFIG.reminderTag and schedules reminder emails to event guests ahead of time. Reminders are scheduled by creating time-based triggers that send emails later.

How it works

• scheduleForCalendars() runs on a schedule (daily) and scans calendars listed in CONFIG.calendarIds.
• For each calendar event on the target day(s), it checks for CONFIG.reminderTag. If that tag is present on its own, the event gets every reminder defined in CONFIG.reminderSchedules. If a matching reminder param is also present, it can narrow that down.
• If the tag and schedule param match, it builds an email and creates a time-based trigger to send it later that day.
• When the trigger fires, sendReminderEmailFromStore() sends the email and logs it to a spreadsheet.

Reminder timing

• Reminder offsets and time windows are configured in CONFIG.reminderSchedules.
• If a target reminder day lands on a weekend (as defined by CONFIG.weekendDays), it is pushed forward to the next workday.
• The script does not schedule new reminders on weekend days (also based on CONFIG.weekendDays).

Reminder tags and params

The project config defines:

• reminderTag: Required marker that must appear in the event description.
• reminderTag on its own applies every configured reminder in CONFIG.reminderSchedules.
• reminderParam: Shared parameter name used to restrict schedules by daysAhead, for example reminder_days=1,7.
• The param syntax is strict: use a single token like reminder_days=1,7 with no spaces around =.

Example event description snippets:

• #reminder_email schedules every reminder defined in CONFIG.reminderSchedules.
• #reminder_email reminder_days=1 schedules only the 1-day reminder.
• #reminder_email reminder_days=1,7 schedules the 1-day and 7-day reminders.
• Contact: Mihail Anton, mihail.anton@elixir-europe.org adds the contact person to the reminder email footer when the email domain matches CONFIG.contactEmailDomain.
• If you change CONFIG.reminderTag to #board_reminder, then #board_reminder reminder_days=7 becomes the matching form.

Project structure

• autoreminder.gs — entry points and scheduling flow
• calendarUtils.gs — parsing event description links and reminder schedule matching
• config.js — configuration
  • spreadsheetLogId: Spreadsheet ID for logs.
  • calendarIds: Array of calendar IDs.
  • timezone: Timezone used for day calculations.
  • reminderTimezone: Timezone used in email formatting.
  • reminderTag: Shared tag in event descriptions (for example #reminder_email).
  • reminderParam: Shared param in event descriptions (for example reminder_days).
  • contactEmailDomain: Allowed domain for Contact: email parsing (for example elixir-europe.org).
  • weekendDays: ISO weekday numbers (1=Mon ... 7=Sun).
  • reminderSchedules: Array of objects { daysAhead, minHour, maxHour }.
• dateUtils.gs — date math and weekend handling
• emailScheduler.gs — trigger storage + sending
• ReminderComposer.gs — email composition

Manual setup with Google Apps Script

1. Create a new Apps Script project in Google Drive.
2. Copy the files from this repo into the Apps Script project.
3. In config.js, fill in:
   • spreadsheetLogId (spreadsheet that has a Logs sheet)
   • calendarIds (list of calendars to scan)
4. In the spreadsheet, ensure a sheet named Logs exists.

Required OAuth scopes

Apps Script will prompt for permissions on first run:

• Calendar (read events)
• Mail (send email)
• Spreadsheet (write logs)
• Script (create time-based triggers)

Advanced setup with clasp

Prereqs

• Node.js installed
• clasp installed globally:

npm install -g @google/clasp

Login and create

clasp login
clasp create --type standalone --title "gcal-autoreminder"

This creates a .clasp.json linked to your Apps Script project.

Push code

From the repo directory:

clasp push

Deploy (optional)

If you want a versioned deployment (e.g. for sharing or running as an add-on), create a deployment:

clasp deploy --description "Initial deployment"

List existing deployments:

clasp deployments

Pull code (optional)

If you created the script in the Apps Script UI and want to download it:

clasp pull

Configure triggers

Create a time-based trigger that runs scheduleForCalendars() once per weekday (or every day if you want it to decide). You can do this in the Apps Script UI or via clasp:

In the Apps Script UI:

• Triggers (clock icon) → Add Trigger
• Choose function: scheduleForCalendars
• Event source: Time-driven
• Type: Day timer (choose a time)

Testing tips

• Add a test event with the shared reminder tag in the description, for example #reminder_email or #reminder_email reminder_days=1.
• Add Contact: Mihail Anton, mihail.anton@elixir-europe.org to the event description to verify the contact block is appended near the bottom of the email.
• Temporarily set a reminder schedule to daysAhead: 0 and a narrow time window.
• Check the Logs sheet for sent emails.

Notes

• Emails are sent as BCC to event guests; the "To" field is the script owner.
• The script avoids sending reminders on weekend days.