How to Connect Apple Reminders to OpenClaw

Apple's privacy framework requires explicit permission for any app to control another app via AppleScript. Before OpenClaw can access Reminders, you need to grant Automation permission for the osascript command (or OpenClaw directly) to control the Reminders app. The permission dialog appears automatically the first time an AppleScript tries to control Reminders. To trigger it intentionally, run the test command below from Terminal — macOS will show a dialog asking 'Terminal.app would like to control Reminders.app. Allowing control will provide access to documents and data in Reminders, and to perform actions within that app.' Click OK. After approving, verify the permission appears in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation, with 'Reminders' checked under Terminal. If OpenClaw runs as a standalone application (not via Terminal), it will need its own permission entry, which appears automatically the first time it tries to run an AppleScript targeting Reminders. On macOS 14 (Sonoma) and later, Apple added stricter controls — if Automation permission is denied, you may also need to check System Settings > Privacy & Security > App Management.

1# Trigger the Automation permission dialog from Terminal:
2osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to get name of every list'
3# A dialog appears: 'Terminal.app would like to control Reminders.app'
4# Click 'OK' to grant permission
5
6# Verify permission was granted — should return list names:
7osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to get name of every list'
8# Expected output: {"Reminders", "Work", "Personal"} or your custom list names
9
10# Test creating a reminder to verify full write access:
11osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to tell list "Reminders" to make new reminder with properties {name: "OpenClaw permission test"}'
12# A new reminder should appear in your default Reminders list

Open `~/.openclaw/config.yaml` and add the Apple Reminders integration under `integrations`. The configuration specifies which Reminders list is the default target for new tasks, how to handle due dates, and the default priority level. Apple Reminders uses a numeric priority scale: 0 = none, 1 = high, 5 = medium, 9 = low. These correspond to the exclamation mark indicators in the Reminders UI (one exclamation for high, etc.). The `default_list` field is the name of the Reminders list where new tasks are created if no list is specified. This must exactly match an existing list name in your Reminders app — check the Reminders sidebar for the correct names. The `date_format` field controls how OpenClaw interprets date strings when creating reminders with due dates. ISO 8601 (`YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss`) is the most reliable format for scripted date handling in AppleScript.

1# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
2integrations:
3  apple-reminders:
4    default_list: "Reminders"   # exact name of your default Reminders list
5    default_priority: 0          # 0=none, 1=high, 5=medium, 9=low
6    default_due_offset: 24       # hours from now for reminders without explicit date
7    date_format: "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss"  # date format for parsing
8    completed_list: "Completed"  # list to move completed items to (optional)
9    sync_check: true             # verify iCloud sync is available on startup
10
11# AppleScript patterns used internally by OpenClaw:
12# Create reminder with due date:
13# tell application "Reminders"
14#   tell list "Reminders"
15#     make new reminder with properties {¬
16#       name: "Task title", ¬
17#       due date: date "Thursday, March 30, 2026 at 9:00 AM", ¬
18#       priority: 1, ¬
19#       body: "Task notes here"}
20#   end tell
21# end tell

Run end-to-end tests by creating a reminder with a due date, reading it back, marking it complete, and verifying it disappears from the active list. These tests confirm that all core Reminders operations work before enabling automated workflows. AppleScript date handling in Reminders requires a specific format. OpenClaw handles date conversion internally, but understanding the underlying format helps when troubleshooting time zone issues or date parsing failures. After creating the test reminder, open the Reminders app on your Mac and confirm it appears with the correct due date. If you have iCloud sync enabled, also check on your iPhone — the reminder should appear within 5-10 seconds. Testing cross-device sync at this stage prevents surprises when automated workflows start creating reminders.

1# Test creating a reminder with due date (run in Terminal):
2osascript <<'EOF'
3tell application "Reminders"
4  tell list "Reminders"
5    set testReminder to make new reminder with properties {¬
6      name: "OpenClaw integration test", ¬
7      due date: (current date) + (3600), ¬  -- due in 1 hour
8      priority: 1, ¬  -- high priority
9      body: "This reminder was created by OpenClaw to test the integration."}
10    return name of testReminder
11  end tell
12end tell
13EOF
14# Expected output: "OpenClaw integration test"
15
16# Test reading incomplete reminders from a list:
17osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to tell list "Reminders" to get name of every reminder whose completed is false'
18
19# Test marking a reminder complete:
20osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to set completed of (first reminder of list "Reminders" whose name is "OpenClaw integration test") to true'

Configure OpenClaw workflows that create and manage reminders automatically based on events. The most useful patterns are: creating follow-up reminders after research tasks, generating a morning task briefing, and accepting natural language task creation from chat. The morning briefing workflow queries all incomplete reminders across all lists, sorts them by due date, and formats a summary. OpenClaw can display this in the chat interface or, if configured, send it via email or Telegram. RapidDev recommends starting with a simple display-in-chat briefing before connecting to external notification channels — this lets you verify the task data is correct before broadcasting it. For natural language task creation, OpenClaw parses the user's input for task name, due date, and priority keywords ('urgent', 'by Friday', 'remind me at 3pm') and constructs the AppleScript command accordingly. Date parsing relies on OpenClaw's built-in natural language date processor, which handles common phrases like 'next Monday', 'in 2 hours', and 'end of month'.

1# ~/.openclaw/config.yaml — Reminders automation workflows
2workflows:
3  morning-briefing:
4    trigger:
5      type: schedule
6      cron: "0 8 * * *"  # 8am every day
7    actions:
8      - type: apple-reminders-query
9        integration: apple-reminders
10        filter:
11          completed: false
12          due_before: "{{date:now+7days}}"
13        sort_by: due_date
14        output: chat-message
15        format: |
16          ## Today's Reminders
17          {{#each reminders}}
18          - [{{#if overdue}}OVERDUE{{else}}{{due_date_relative}}{{/if}}] {{name}} ({{list}})
19          {{/each}}
20
21  task-from-chat:
22    trigger:
23      type: chat-message
24      pattern: "^(remind me|task:|todo:) (.+)"
25    actions:
26      - type: apple-reminders-create
27        integration: apple-reminders
28        name: "{{trigger.parsed.task_name}}"
29        due_date: "{{trigger.parsed.due_date}}"  # OpenClaw parses natural language dates
30        priority: "{{trigger.parsed.priority}}"
31        body: "Created by OpenClaw from chat"
32        list: "{{trigger.parsed.list | default: config.default_list}}"