How to import an iCal file into Google Calendar?
Short answerAn iCalendar file must begin with the header BEGIN:VCALENDAR, carry a version line, hold each event between BEGIN:VEVENT and END:VEVENT lines, and end with END:VCALENDAR. [1] If it has that shape, import it from a computer through Settings and Import and Export. [1]
The explanation
iCalendar is a standard format that calendar applications use to exchange events. Google's help page says that if an import errors, you may be able to fix the formatting in a text editor that can save .ics files. [1] The header and footer lines are the usual culprits when one is missing.
The page also notes you can export an .ics file from Google Calendar and use it as an example. [1] That is a quick way to learn the layout: export one event, open it in a text editor and compare it with the file that fails.
Edit carefully, keep each event block intact, and save with the .ics extension. Then try the import again with the file. If your field software generates the file, report the error to its support, since a hand fix will need repeating with every export.
What to watch for
- Saving the edited file as a .txt file.
- Deleting the footer line while cleaning the file.
How Apex does it
In progress
Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
Apex works toward an iCal or ICS subscribe feed, which is partly built. A feed is generated by the software, so there is no hand-edited file to repair.
- SC16iCal/ICS subscribe feed(In progress)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.
Sources
- Google Calendar Help: Import events to Google Calendar (read 2026-10-07)
Where this question comes from: owners type it, or a close variant, into search boxes. It was returned by public search suggestions (Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo) when we collected them on 2026-10-06; the exact phrase seen was “how to import ical into google calendar?”. We do not have search volumes.