Get started · 5 min read

Connect a calendar

Link Google, Outlook, iCloud, or any feed so you're never offered a time you're busy.

DayOtter never invents availability - it reads your real calendars. Connecting every calendar that holds commitments is the single most important setup step: it's what guarantees a booking can never land on top of something you've already got.

A connection does two jobs: it reads your busy times (so conflicts are respected) and it can write new bookings back (so meetings show up where you actually look). You control which calendar each new booking is written to, and which calendars only count for conflicts.

Supported calendars

Google Calendar - one-click OAuth. Real-time sync via Google's push channels.
Microsoft 365 / Outlook - one-click OAuth via Microsoft Graph, also real-time.
Apple iCloud - connect over CalDAV using an app-specific password (not your Apple ID password).
Any ICS / webcal feed - read-only subscriptions, for calendars you can't OAuth into (a shared team calendar, a sports schedule, a partner's feed).

Connect one

Go to Settings → Calendars.
Pick your provider and approve access. For Apple, generate an app-specific password at appleid.apple.com first, then paste it in.
Choose which of that account's calendars DayOtter should check for conflicts - tick every calendar that represents real commitments.
Pick the target calendar new bookings are written to (usually your main work calendar).

Note

Connect more than one account if your life is split across them - a work Google and a personal iCloud, say. DayOtter merges them into one honest view of when you're free, so a dentist appointment in your personal calendar still blocks a work slot.

Busy, not private

DayOtter only reads that you're busy at a given time - never the titles, attendees, or notes of your events. The calendars you mark read-only are used purely for conflict checks and are never written to.

Connection tokens are encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM). You can disconnect any account at any time from the same screen, which immediately stops all reading and writing for it.

If availability looks wrong

A slot you expected to be blocked is offered → the conflicting event lives in a calendar you didn't tick for conflict-checking. Add it under Settings → Calendars.
Bookings aren't appearing in your calendar → check which account is set as the write target, and that DayOtter still has access (re-approve if you changed your password).
Apple stopped syncing → app-specific passwords can be revoked from your Apple ID; generate a new one and reconnect.

Related guides

Set your availability

Weekly hours, date exceptions, multiple schedules, and defenses that hold.

Getting started

From sign-up to a booking link people can use - in about five minutes.

Create a booking type

One template per kind of meeting - shaped exactly how you work.

Ready to try it? Get started free, or browse all guides.

Supported calendars

Google Calendar - one-click OAuth. Real-time sync via Google's push channels.

Microsoft 365 / Outlook - one-click OAuth via Microsoft Graph, also real-time.

Apple iCloud - connect over CalDAV using an app-specific password (not your Apple ID password).

Any ICS / webcal feed - read-only subscriptions, for calendars you can't OAuth into (a shared team calendar, a sports schedule, a partner's feed).

Connect one

Go to Settings → Calendars.

Pick your provider and approve access. For Apple, generate an app-specific password at appleid.apple.com first, then paste it in.

Choose which of that account's calendars DayOtter should check for conflicts - tick every calendar that represents real commitments.

Pick the target calendar new bookings are written to (usually your main work calendar).

Busy, not private

Connection tokens are encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM). You can disconnect any account at any time from the same screen, which immediately stops all reading and writing for it.

If availability looks wrong

A slot you expected to be blocked is offered → the conflicting event lives in a calendar you didn't tick for conflict-checking. Add it under Settings → Calendars.

Bookings aren't appearing in your calendar → check which account is set as the write target, and that DayOtter still has access (re-approve if you changed your password).

Apple stopped syncing → app-specific passwords can be revoked from your Apple ID; generate a new one and reconnect.