Calendar
Two-way calendar sync for families: Google, iCloud and Outlook
HouseChief syncs two ways with Google Calendar, iCloud and Outlook. An event you add can show in the calendar app you already use, and events from those calendars show in HouseChief. School and team calendars come in by a subscription link, which is one-way. This guide is that setup.
Connect Google, iCloud and Outlook
Do this once per parent. Each parent connects their own accounts. A kid's profile does not have a calendar login.
Connect the account you already use
In Settings, connect Google Calendar, iCloud or Outlook. iCloud uses an app-specific password from Apple, not your Apple ID password. Outlook works for personal Outlook.com accounts and for most Microsoft 365 work or school accounts.
Choose which calendars to show
Turn on the calendars that should appear in HouseChief, such as a work calendar you only need to see, and leave off the ones that are noise.
Pick where new HouseChief events are copied
Set a default calendar for new events. Quick add, the Chief of Staff and forwarded email use that default. On any single event you can choose HouseChief only, every synced calendar, or one Google, iCloud or Outlook calendar. Changing it later moves the copy.
Add a school or team calendar by link
Paste the calendar's subscription link (ICS or iCal). Those dates show next to yours and stay read-only. HouseChief refreshes the feed in the background. If the school moves picture day, your calendar follows. You cannot push a HouseChief event back onto that feed.
Optional: subscribe from another calendar app
Settings has Add HouseChief to your calendar app. Paste that private link into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar (From URL) or Outlook (Subscribe from web). HouseChief's own events appear there, view-only, 30 days back and a year ahead. The feed is events only.
Two-way and one-way are different
Two-way means both directions. Add picture day in HouseChief and it can show on the Google, iCloud or Outlook calendar you picked. Add a dentist visit in that calendar and it shows in HouseChief. That is the right setup for the calendars parents actually edit.
A subscription link is one-way. The school or the league publishes it, and you follow it. You do not edit their calendar by approving something in HouseChief. Mixing these up is the usual pitfall: a parent adds "ride home" on top of a subscribed team calendar and expects the coach to see it. The coach will not. Put rides and carpools on your own calendar, and leave the team feed as the team's source.
The other pitfall is a work calendar. Some workplaces have to approve HouseChief before Outlook will connect, and some company rules do not allow family events on a work calendar. Connect a personal calendar for anything you would not want on a work account. Showing a work calendar in HouseChief, so you can see that you are busy, is separate from copying a family event onto it.
Each parent connects the accounts that are theirs. If Sam is on Google and Jordan is on iCloud, both connect, and each chooses where new HouseChief events are copied. One parent's connection does not sign the other parent in. Colors stay with the person, so Maya's picture day is Maya's color on every phone and on the wall, which is what makes a mixed week readable.
A useful check after setup: add a test event in HouseChief, confirm it landed on the calendar you picked, then add one in Google, iCloud or Outlook and confirm it showed up in HouseChief. If only one direction works, you have a subscription, not two-way sync. Fix that before the season starts, not the morning of the game.
Where this meets school email
Subscribing to the school calendar catches the dates the school publishes as a feed. The newsletter still has the rest. Forward school emails puts those in the Inbox until a parent approves them, and the approved event uses the default calendar from the steps above. Google's own notes on a family calendar are in Create a family group on Google Calendar. Apple's are in Share iCloud calendars on iPhone. Outlook's subscribe steps are in Import or subscribe to a calendar in Outlook.com.
Sources
Questions
Does HouseChief sync both ways with Google Calendar, iCloud and Outlook?
Yes. Each parent connects their own Google, iCloud or Outlook account, chooses which calendars to show, and picks where HouseChief events are copied. Personal Outlook works, and so do most Microsoft 365 work or school accounts, though some workplaces need IT approval first. The short form is in the FAQ.
Can I add a school or team calendar?
Yes, by its subscription link. That feed is read-only: you see their dates, and you do not write back to their calendar. HouseChief refreshes the feed in the background. Put rides and notes on a calendar you control. Those stay yours.
What is the difference between sync and a subscription?
Sync with Google, iCloud or Outlook is two-way for the calendars you connect. A subscription link, in or out, is one-way and view-only. Use sync for calendars you edit. Use a subscription to follow a school or team, or to show HouseChief events in another app without letting that app edit them.