---
title: "Connect a Google Calendar to your community calendar"
url: "https://mycommunitysync.com/connect-google-calendar"
community: "CommunitySync"
description: "Get your Google Calendar's iCal address and connect it to CommunitySync — plus what to do when Google Workspace hides the secret address or your events show up as \"Busy\"."
updated: "2026-07-18T18:45:00.616+00:00"
---

# Connect a Google Calendar to your community calendar

*Calendar*

Your community calendar in CommunitySync syncs from the calendar your team already
uses — you keep editing events in Google Calendar, and they appear in the member
portal automatically (hourly, or instantly with **Sync now**). All you need is the
calendar's **iCal address**: a link that ends in `.ics`.

## Before you start: use a dedicated calendar

Don't connect your personal calendar. In Google Calendar, create a calendar just
for community events (**Settings → Add calendar → Create new calendar**, e.g.
"KWSWF Events") and share edit access with the staff who run events. Two reasons:

- Everything the feed carries becomes visible to your members — a dedicated
  calendar keeps your own appointments out of the portal.
- The calendar's name becomes a filter chip in the member portal for events that
  have no category, so name it the way you'd want members to read it.

## Get the iCal address

1. Open [Google Calendar](https://calendar.google.com) in a browser and click the
   **gear → Settings**.
2. In the left sidebar under **Settings for my calendars**, click the calendar you
   want to connect.
3. Scroll to **Integrate calendar**.
4. Copy the **Secret address in iCal format** — this is the one you want. It
   carries full event details (titles, descriptions, locations) *without* making
   your calendar public. Treat it like a password.

## Connect it in CommunitySync

1. In your community's **Admin Panel**, open **Calendar → Feeds & categories**.
2. Click **Connect a feed**, give it a member-friendly name, and paste the address.
3. Click **Connect & import** — your events import immediately and you'll see the
   count. From then on it syncs every hour on its own.

## Troubleshooting

### "That looks like Google Calendar's web page link"

You pasted the calendar's *browser* URL (it contains `?cid=` or `/embed`). Those
links serve a web page, not calendar data. Go back to **Integrate calendar** and
copy the address that ends in `.ics`.

### I don't see a "Secret address in iCal format" field (Google Workspace)

If your Google account belongs to a company domain (Google Workspace), your domain
admin controls whether calendars can be shared outside the organization. When
external sharing is limited, Google **hides the secret address entirely**. A domain
admin can unlock it:

1. Go to [admin.google.com](https://admin.google.com) → **Apps → Google Workspace
   → Calendar → Sharing settings**.
2. Under **External sharing options for primary calendars**, choose **"Share all
   information, but outsiders cannot change calendars"**.
3. There's a *separate, identical* setting for **secondary calendars** on the same
   page — set that one too if you connected a dedicated events calendar (recommended
   above).
4. Save, wait a few minutes, then reload the calendar's Settings page — the secret
   address appears under **Integrate calendar**.

### My events all say "Busy"

You connected the **Public address** while the calendar only shares free/busy
information — Google strips titles and details before anyone outside sees them.
Two fixes, either works:

- **Recommended:** switch to the **Secret address in iCal format** (see above) —
  full details, calendar stays private. Paste it over the old URL in the feed's
  edit dialog; it re-imports on save.
- Or make the calendar public with full details (**Access permissions for events →
  Make available to public → "See all event details"**) — note this makes the
  calendar readable by anyone and Google may index it.

### I edited an event in Google but the portal hasn't caught up

Feeds sync hourly. For an immediate refresh, open **Admin Panel → Calendar** and
click the **Sync now** icon on the feed. Also note Google itself can take a few
minutes to publish changes to its feed addresses.

### Calendar

- [Connect an Apple (iCloud) Calendar to your community calendar](https://mycommunitysync.com/connect-apple-calendar.md)
- [How often the calendar syncs (and how to sync now)](https://mycommunitysync.com/calendar-sync-frequency.md)