Add CalendarMCP to Claude Desktop so Claude can read and manage your Google Calendar directly in chat. Takes about 2 minutes.
Open your Claude Desktop configuration file. The path depends on your OS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.jsonIf the file doesn't exist, create it. If it does, you'll merge in the new key.
Paste the following into your config file. Replace cal_your_api_key with your actual key.
{
"mcpServers": {
"calendar": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch",
"--url", "https://calendarmcp.ai/api/mcp",
"--header", "Authorization: Bearer cal_your_api_key"
]
}
}
}If you already have other MCP servers in mcpServers, add "calendar": ... alongside them.
Quit Claude Desktop completely (don't just close the window) and reopen it. MCP servers are loaded at startup.
In Claude, click the tools icon (hammer) in the bottom toolbar. You should see calendar listed with 10 tools. If not, check the config file for JSON syntax errors.
Try one of these prompts in Claude Desktop:
What's on my calendar today?Find 30 minutes free tomorrow afternoon.Create an event called "Sprint planning" next Monday at 10am.After connecting, Claude Desktop has access to all 10 CalendarMCP tools:
list_eventsget_eventcreate_eventupdate_eventdelete_eventquick_add_eventlist_calendarsfind_free_timemanage_attendeesbatch_update_eventsCheck the JSON syntax in your config file. A trailing comma or missing bracket will silently prevent the server from loading. Use a JSON validator if unsure.
Make sure your API key starts with cal_. Copy it fresh from the dashboard. Don't retype it.
Your Google account may not have any calendars with events. Try "List my calendars" to see what's connected.