An add to calendar link is a URL that opens Google Calendar, Outlook, or Yahoo Calendar with your event details already filled in. Enter a title, time, and location below and this free generator builds all the links plus a downloadable .ics file instantly, right in your browser, with nothing sent to a server.
Event details
Your calendar links
Enter an event title and start date and time to generate your links.
An add to calendar link is a specially formatted URL that pre-fills a new event in the recipient's calendar app. Clicking it opens Google Calendar, Outlook, or Yahoo Calendar with the title, date, time, location, and description already entered, so the recipient only has to press Save. There is no invitation, no RSVP tracking, and no account requirement on your side: the event data travels inside the URL itself.
These links are the standard way to add a calendar call to action to email newsletters, webinar confirmation pages, event listings, and booking confirmations. Because each provider uses its own URL format, you normally need three or four different links plus an .ics file for everyone else. This tool generates all of them at once from a single form.
Google Calendar uses the render endpoint at calendar.google.com with an action=TEMPLATE parameter. Dates go in a single dates parameter as start/end in YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS format, and the ctz parameter tells Google which time zone those values belong to. This is the format behind every "google calendar link generator" result you have seen:
| Parameter | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| action | TEMPLATE | Tells Google Calendar to open the new event form |
| text | Team%20standup | Event title (URL-encoded) |
| dates | 20260710T140000/20260710T150000 | Start/end as YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS, separated by a slash |
| ctz | America/New_York | IANA time zone the dates should be read in |
| details | Agenda%20link... | Event description |
| location | Room%204B | Location field |
Outlook uses a compose deep link at outlook.live.com (personal accounts) or outlook.office.com (work and school accounts) with subject, startdt, enddt, body, and location parameters. The dates are ISO strings, and an allday=true flag switches the event to date-only mode. Both variants take identical parameters, which is why this tool outputs both.
Yahoo Calendar uses calendar.yahoo.com with v=60 plus title, st (start), et (end), desc, and in_loc parameters, with times in the same compact YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS format Google uses.
Use provider links when you control the presentation: an email button, a confirmation page, or an event website where you can show "Add to Google Calendar" and "Add to Outlook" side by side. Links open instantly in the browser, require no download, and work well on mobile.
Use the .ics file when you need one artifact that works everywhere. The .ics format (RFC 5545) is the universal calendar standard: Apple Calendar, Outlook desktop, Thunderbird, Google Calendar, and every corporate calendar system can import it. It is also the only reliable option for Apple Calendar users, since Apple offers no public URL scheme for pre-filled events. A common pattern is to offer the three provider links plus a "Download .ics" fallback, which is exactly what this generator produces.
Omitting the time zone. Without a ctz parameter, Google Calendar interprets the times in whatever zone the recipient's calendar is set to, so a 2 PM meeting in New York becomes 2 PM in London for a UK recipient. Always include the zone, or convert the times first with our meeting time zone planner.
Forgetting the exclusive end date on all-day events. Google and the .ics format treat an all-day end date as exclusive: an event listed as 20260710/20260711 lasts one day, not two. Hand-built links routinely get this wrong and produce events that end a day early. This generator adds the extra day for you.
Unescaped text. Spaces, ampersands, and line breaks in titles or descriptions must be URL-encoded in links, and commas, semicolons, and newlines must be backslash-escaped in .ics files. A single raw ampersand can silently truncate every parameter after it.
An add to calendar link assumes the time is already decided. If you are still negotiating a slot with a group, sending a calendar link too early just means sending a corrected one later. The faster order of operations: run a group availability poll to see everyone's free slots in one grid, pick the winner, then come back here and generate the links for the confirmation email.
You can create a free poll in under a minute, and respondents do not need an account. And if you are weighing whether the meeting is worth everyone's hour in the first place, the meeting cost calculator puts a number on it.
Gmail uses Google Calendar, so a Google Calendar link is what you need. Enter your event details in the generator above and copy the Google Calendar link. When someone clicks it, Google Calendar opens with the title, time, location, and description already filled in, and they just press Save. The same link works in any email client, not only Gmail.
Yes. Apple Calendar on Mac, iPhone, and iPad opens .ics files natively: the recipient taps or double-clicks the file and confirms to add the event. Apple Calendar has no public URL scheme for pre-filled events, so an .ics file is the standard way to send Apple users an add to calendar action.
All-day events use date-only values with no time or time zone, so the event shows on the same calendar date for everyone. Google Calendar and the .ics format treat the end date as exclusive, meaning a one-day event ends on the following date. This generator handles that adjustment automatically, so you enter the real last day and the links come out correct.
Yes, completely free with no account, no watermark, and no usage limits. The links point directly at Google, Outlook, and Yahoo's own calendar pages, and the .ics file is generated in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to our server, so you can use the links in newsletters, event pages, and email signatures without restriction.
No. The links encode the entire event (title, dates, time zone, location, description) in the URL itself, so there is no database record that can expire or be deleted. A link you generate today will still open a pre-filled event years from now, as long as the calendar provider keeps supporting its URL format, which has been stable for over a decade.
Just change the form fields and the links regenerate instantly. If you already shared a link, generate a new one and share it again: links are static, so an old copy keeps its original details. Recipients who already saved the event need to update it in their own calendar or click the new link.
Create a poll, share one link, and see everyone's availability in a single grid. Free, no sign-up needed to respond.