---
id: icalendar
version: "7.2.2"
license: BSD-2-Clause
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# icalendar — RFC 5545 compatible parser and generator of iCalendar files

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 11.8M/mo

## What it is and what it does

icalendar is an RFC 5545 compatible library for working with iCalendar format calendar files in Python. It lets you read existing .ics files, programmatically create new calendar objects with events, journals, and todos, and modify calendar data before writing it back. The package handles the structured text format that calendar applications (Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar) use to exchange scheduling information.

It depends on python-dateutil for date/time handling, tzdata for timezone data, and typing-extensions for type hints. The library supports multiple timezone implementations including the standard library's zoneinfo, dateutil.tz, and pytz, so you can work with calendar data in different timezone contexts. It's actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and runs on modern Python versions (3.10 through 3.14) on both CPython and PyPy.

Use it for:

- Parse calendar files exported from Google Calendar or Outlook to extract event details and metadata.
- Generate .ics files programmatically to create calendar invitations or event feeds for distribution.
- Build calendar synchronization tools that read and transform iCalendar data between systems.
- Create recurring event schedules by constructing calendar objects with recurrence rules.
- Validate and normalize calendar data to ensure RFC 5545 compliance before storage or transmission.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Parses, creates, and modifies iCalendar files (RFC 5545 format) for calendar and scheduling data in Python.

Yes. icalendar is a mature, actively maintained library with no security issues, low install friction, and permissive licensing. It's the standard choice for RFC 5545 calendar work in Python. Install it if you need to parse, create, or manipulate .ics files or calendar scheduling data.

## Install

pip install icalendar
uv add icalendar
poetry add icalendar

## Installing icalendar

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel, three lightweight runtime dependencies (python-dateutil, typing-extensions, tzdata). Actively maintained with recent commits and stable production status.

License in practice: BSD-2-Clause (permissive): you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

from icalendar import Calendar

cal = Calendar()
cal.add('prodid', '-//My calendar//EN')
cal.add('version', '2.0')

print(cal.to_ical())

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether timezone handling with zoneinfo, dateutil.tz, or pytz requires additional setup or configuration beyond installation.
- Performance characteristics when parsing or generating large calendar files.

## Package facts

- License: BSD-2-Clause (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 11.8M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

icalendar parser python, rfc 5545 calendar, create ics files, parse calendar events, python calendar scheduling, icalendar generator, calendar data manipulation, calendar-scheduling, rfc-5545, ics-format

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