macOS Reminders

Manage Apple Reminders via $SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh. All date handling uses relative math (current date + N * days) to avoid locale issues (FR/EN/DE date formats).

Quick start

List reminder lists

Always list reminder lists first to find the correct list name:

"$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" list-lists

Create a reminder

echo '<json>' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder

JSON fields:

| Field | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | name | yes | - | Reminder title | | list | no | default list | Reminder list name (from list-lists) | | body | no | "" | Notes/details | | offset_days | no | - | Due date as days from today (0=today, 1=tomorrow) | | iso_date | no | - | Absolute due date YYYY-MM-DD (overrides offset_days) | | hour | no | 9 | Due time hour (0-23) | | minute | no | 0 | Due time minute (0-59) | | priority | no | 0 | Priority: 0=none, 1=high, 5=medium, 9=low | | flagged | no | false | Mark as flagged |

List reminders

echo '<json>' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" list-reminders

JSON fields:

| Field | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | list | no | all lists | Filter by list name | | include_completed | no | false | Include completed reminders |

Interpreting natural language

Map user requests to JSON fields:

| User says | JSON | |---|---| | "remind me tomorrow at 2pm" | offset_days: 1, hour: 14 | | "remind me in 3 days" | offset_days: 3 | | "add to my shopping list" | list: "Shopping" (match closest list name) | | "high priority" or "important" | priority: 1, flagged: true | | "remind me on February 25 at 3:30pm" | iso_date: "2026-02-25", hour: 15, minute: 30 | | "remind me next Monday" | Calculate offset_days from today to next Monday | | "flag this" | flagged: true |

For "next Monday", "next Friday" etc: compute the day offset using the current date. Use date command if needed:

# Days until next Monday (1=Monday)
target=1; today=$(date +%u); echo $(( (target - today + 7) % 7 ))

Example prompts

These are real user prompts and the commands you should run:

"Remind me to buy milk"

"$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" list-lists

Then:

echo '{"name":"Buy milk","list":"Reminders"}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder

"Add a to-do to call the dentist tomorrow at 10am"

echo '{"name":"Call the dentist","offset_days":1,"hour":10}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder

"Remind me to submit the report on February 28 — high priority"

echo '{"name":"Submit the report","iso_date":"2026-02-28","hour":9,"priority":1,"flagged":true}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder

"Add eggs, bread, and butter to my shopping list"

echo '{"name":"Eggs","list":"Shopping"}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder
echo '{"name":"Bread","list":"Shopping"}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder
echo '{"name":"Butter","list":"Shopping"}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" create-reminder

"What's on my reminders?"

echo '{}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" list-reminders

"Show my work to-dos"

echo '{"list":"Work"}' | "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/reminders.sh" list-reminders

Critical rules

Always list reminder lists first if the user hasn't specified one — use the closest matching list name
Never use hardcoded date strings in AppleScript — always use offset_days or iso_date
Confirm the list name with the user if the intended list is ambiguous
Pass JSON via stdin — never as a CLI argument (avoids leaking data in process list)
All fields are validated by the script (type coercion, range checks, format validation) — invalid input is rejected with an error message
All actions are logged to logs/reminders.log with timestamp, command, list, and name
Due date is optional — reminders without a due date are valid (undated tasks)
Multiple items: when the user lists several items, create one reminder per item