Integrations

Connecting to Google Calendar

Real availability rather than a guess, conflicts spotted early, and events created for approval.

"What does my calendar say" and "when am I actually free" are different questions, and in most calendars they have different answers. Gini answers the second one.

One connection covers four products

Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Drive and Google Docs share a single Google Workspace grant, so connecting any one of them connects all four. Google Sheets is separate.

What it can do

  • Read your calendars. Events, and the calendars you have access to.
  • Query free/busy. Real availability, including across several accounts.
  • Create and update events.
  • Delete events.
  • Manage sharing on a calendar.

How to connect

1

Open Integrations

app.ginicomputer.com → Integrations → Google Workspace.

2

Authorise with Google

Google's consent screen lists what is granted.

3

Come back

Gini can now work from your calendar.

What changes anything

OperationWhat it doesChanges anything?
List eventsRead what is scheduledNo
Get eventRead one event in fullNo
List calendarsSee what you have access toNo
Query free/busyReal availabilityNo
List sharing rulesSee who can see a calendarNo
Create eventPuts time in a dayYes, and invites stop for approval
Update or patch eventChange time, title, attendeesYes
Quick-add eventCreate from a phraseYes
Delete eventRemove it from calendarsYes
Create calendarAdd a new calendarYes
Change sharing rulesGrant or revoke accessYes

An event with attendees sends invitations, which reach people outside the conversation. That waits for a person. An event with only you on it does not.

What it's great for

  • Availability that is actually true. "When am I genuinely free for a 90-minute block this week?" That is a different question from "what does my calendar say", and in most calendars it has a different answer.
  • Prep. "What is on tomorrow, and what do I need to have read for each?" Pair it with Granola and it can tell you what happened last time too.
  • Finding the slot for a group. Free/busy across several people beats a thread of "does Tuesday work?"
  • Spotting the week early. "Is next week overloaded? What would you move?"
  • Fixing a clash. "I double-booked Thursday at 2. Sort it out and tell me what you moved."

Example routine

An end-of-day look at tomorrow:

  1. Every weekday at 17:00, read tomorrow's calendar.
  2. Flag anything without an agenda, and anything back-to-back with no gap.
  3. Pull context for each meeting from recent mail and past calls.
  4. Post it as a DM, so the day starts prepared rather than reactive.

Good to know

  • Deleting is the one to be careful with. It removes the event from everyone's calendar, and unlike a document it has no version history. Ask Gini to list before it deletes anything in bulk.
  • Timezones are the usual source of surprise. Say the timezone when scheduling across one, and check the read-back before approving.
  • Several calendars behave as one. "Am I free" means all of them unless you say otherwise.
  • It uses your access. A colleague's calendar is visible to Gini exactly as far as it is visible to you, which is usually free/busy rather than detail.

Troubleshooting

The availability looks wrong

Almost always a calendar Gini did not include, or a timezone. Ask it which calendars it checked and in what zone.

An invite did not go out

It is waiting on an approval. An event with attendees always stops first.

It cannot see a shared calendar

Check that your own Google account has it added, not merely that someone shared it with you. A calendar you have not accepted is not on your list.