How do I add an .ics file to Google Calendar?

Open Google Calendar in a browser, go to Settings, then Import & export, and import the file. For a calendar that should keep updating, use Add calendar, From URL with the subscription link instead.

Can I open an .ics file without a calendar app?

Yes. It is plain text, so any editor shows the event details. Look for DTSTART, DTEND, SUMMARY and LOCATION.

File extensions

How to open a .ics file

iCalendar file · Calendar

An .ics file is a calendar event or a whole calendar, stored as plain text. Double-clicking adds it to your calendar app, and opening it in a text editor shows the date, time and location directly.

What a .ics file actually is

iCalendar is the open standard defined in RFC 5545 for exchanging calendar data. Every meeting invitation you receive by email is an .ics attachment, whatever mail client sent it.

It is text, with labelled lines such as DTSTART for the start time and SUMMARY for the title, so you can always read an invitation even when nothing will import it.

Why it will not open

It usually opens, just not where you wanted: whichever calendar app claimed the file type grabs it. And a subscription calendar delivered as a one-off .ics import will not update afterwards, which surprises people later.

Renaming it to an extension you can open will not help: changing the extension does not convert the file, it only changes what Windows tries to open it with.

Step by step

Windows

01Double-click to add the event to the default Calendar app or Outlook.
02To read it without importing anything, right-click, choose "Open with", then Notepad. The DTSTART and SUMMARY lines are the event.
03To put it in Google Calendar, open Google Calendar in a browser and use Settings, Import & export, then Import.
04For a calendar that should keep updating, do not import the file. Use Add calendar, From URL, and paste the subscription link instead.

macOS

01Double-click to add it to Calendar.
02To inspect it first, right-click, Open With, TextEdit.

What usually goes wrong

Import once versus subscribe

Importing an .ics copies the events as they were at that moment. If the source is a schedule that changes, such as a sports fixture list or a class timetable, subscribe to the URL instead so updates flow through.

Time zones travel with the file

An .ics carries time zone information, and an event created in another zone can land at an unexpected hour. If a meeting appears at the wrong time, check the TZID in the raw file before assuming the sender made a mistake.

Programs that open .ics

Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer. Once you have downloaded it, you can check the file against our index before you run it.

If you end up downloading one of these from somewhere other than the publisher, what you can and cannot verify about that is worth two minutes.

Common questions

How do I add an .ics file to Google Calendar?: Open Google Calendar in a browser, go to Settings, then Import & export, and import the file. For a calendar that should keep updating, use Add calendar, From URL with the subscription link instead.
Can I open an .ics file without a calendar app?: Yes. It is plain text, so any editor shows the event details. Look for DTSTART, DTEND, SUMMARY and LOCATION.