reminders-automation

Reminders.app Automation

Automate Reminders.app using Swift CLI with EventKit (JXA support is too limited for practical use).

Overview

Important: Unlike other macOS apps, Reminders.app requires Swift with EventKit for full automation. AppleScript/JXA can only read list names - not actual reminders or their properties.

Why Swift CLI?

Feature	JXA Support	EventKit (Swift) Support
List reminder lists	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Read reminders	❌ No	✅ Yes
Create reminders	❌ No	✅ Yes
Update reminders	❌ No	✅ Yes
Mark complete	❌ No	✅ Yes
Due dates	❌ No	✅ Yes
Priorities	❌ No	✅ Yes

Recommendation: Use Swift CLI for Reminders automation.

Prerequisites

• Swift compiler (included with Xcode Command Line Tools)
• EventKit permission granted
• macos-automation-core for TypeScript integration

Swift CLI Pattern

Create Swift Package

mkdir reminders-cli
cd reminders-cli
swift package init --type executable

Package.swift

// swift-tools-version: 5.9
import PackageDescription

let package = Package(
    name: "reminders-cli",
    platforms: [.macOS(.v13)],
    targets: [
        .executableTarget(name: "reminders-cli")
    ]
)

Sources/main.swift

import EventKit
import Foundation

@main
struct RemindersCLI {
    static func main() async {
        let store = EKEventStore()

        do {
            let granted = try await store.requestFullAccessToReminders()
            guard granted else {
                print("{\"error\": \"Permission denied\"}")
                return
            }
        } catch {
            print("{\"error\": \"\\(error.localizedDescription)\"}")
            return
        }

        let calendars = store.calendars(for: .reminder)
        let predicate = store.predicateForIncompleteReminders(
            withDueDateStarting: nil,
            ending: nil,
            calendars: calendars
        )

        let reminders = await withCheckedContinuation { continuation in
            store.fetchReminders(matching: predicate) { reminders in
                continuation.resume(returning: reminders)
            }
        }

        guard let reminders = reminders else {
            print("[]")
            return
        }

        let output = reminders.map { reminder in
            [
                "title": reminder.title ?? "",
                "list": reminder.calendar.title,
                "priority": reminder.priority,
                "completed": reminder.isCompleted
            ]
        }

        if let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: output),
           let json = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) {
            print(json)
        }
    }
}

Build and Run

swift build -c release
.build/release/reminders-cli

TypeScript Integration

interface Reminder {
  title: string
  list: string
  priority: number
  completed: boolean
}

async function getReminders(): Promise<Reminder[]> {
  const proc = Bun.spawn(
    ['/path/to/reminders-cli/.build/release/reminders-cli'],
    { stdout: 'pipe', stderr: 'pipe' }
  )

  const output = await new Response(proc.stdout).text()
  const error = await new Response(proc.stderr).text()

  if (error) throw new Error(error)
  return JSON.parse(output)
}

Common Patterns

Today's Reminders

let today = Calendar.current.startOfDay(for: Date())
let tomorrow = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .day, value: 1, to: today)!

let predicate = store.predicateForIncompleteReminders(
    withDueDateStarting: nil,
    ending: tomorrow,
    calendars: calendars
)

Create Reminder

let reminder = EKReminder(eventStore: store)
reminder.title = "New Task"
reminder.calendar = store.defaultCalendarForNewReminders()
reminder.dueDateComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.year, .month, .day], from: dueDate)

try store.save(reminder, commit: true)

Permissions

Grant permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Reminders.

First run will prompt for permission:

"reminders-cli" would like to access your reminders.
[Don't Allow] [OK]

What JXA Cannot Do

JXA is severely limited with Reminders:

// This only gets list names, not reminders
const Reminders = Application('Reminders')
const lists = Reminders.lists().map(l => l.name())
// Cannot access actual reminder items!

Additional Resources

• eventkit-requirements.md - Why EventKit is required
• swift-cli-pattern.md - Building Swift CLIs for automation

Examples

• reminders-cli/ - Complete Swift CLI implementation
• reminders-wrapper.ts - TypeScript integration

Recommendation

Always use Swift CLI with EventKit for Reminders automation. JXA is insufficient for practical use.