How to Export Google Calendar as an ICS File

Google Calendar makes it straightforward to export your events as an ICS file — either a single calendar or all your calendars at once. Here's how.

Export a Single Calendar

This is the best option if you want to export just one calendar (e.g. your work calendar or a shared team calendar).

1. Go to calendar.google.com on a desktop browser (export isn't available in the mobile app)
2. In the left sidebar, find the calendar you want to export
3. Hover over its name and click the three-dot ⋮ menu that appears
4. Select Settings and sharing
5. Scroll down to the Integrate calendar section
6. Under Export calendar, click the Export link
7. Google downloads a ZIP file containing an ICS file for that calendar
8. Unzip the downloaded file — inside you'll find a .ics file

Export All Calendars at Once

If you want everything — all calendars in your account — use Google Takeout:

1. Go to takeout.google.com
2. Click Deselect all to start with a clean slate
3. Scroll down and check Calendar
4. Click Next step and choose your export settings (format, frequency)
5. Click Create export
6. Google will email you a download link when it's ready (usually within minutes for small calendars, up to a day for large ones)
7. Download and unzip the archive — you'll find a Calendar folder containing one ICS file per calendar

Get a Live ICS Subscription URL

Instead of a one-time export, you can get a URL that always serves the latest version of your calendar. Other apps can subscribe to this URL and stay in sync.

1. Open Settings and sharing for the calendar (as above)
2. Scroll to Integrate calendar
3. Copy the Secret address in iCal format URL

Warning: This URL gives anyone who has it read access to your calendar. Treat it like a password. Google also offers a public URL for calendars marked as public, but the secret address works for private calendars too.

You can paste this URL directly into ICS Viewer to preview your calendar in the browser.

What Gets Exported?

Google's ICS export includes:

• All events in the selected calendar (past and future)
• Recurring event rules (RRULE)
• Event titles, descriptions, locations, and times
• Attendees (name and email)
• Reminders and alarms (VALARM)
• Colour information (as Google-specific extensions)

Attachments (files attached to events) are not included in the ICS export.

Importing the ICS Elsewhere

Once you have your ICS file, you can:

• Import into another app — Apple Calendar, Outlook, Thunderbird all accept ICS files directly
• Preview it — drop it into ICS Viewer for an instant visual preview before importing
• Keep as backup — store the ICS file as an offline backup of your calendar data
• Migrate to another service — most calendar services accept ICS imports, making Google's export the first step in any calendar migration