Import ICS into Apple Calendar
A downloaded .ics file is a snapshot: open it once and the events sit there. A live webcal:// or https://…ics URL is what CalCollapse reads and copies into an iCloud calendar you already have — every 15 minutes, one way.
Import a file, once
If someone mailed you an .ics file, or you downloaded one from a website, Apple Calendar will take it. That is the whole of a file import:
- On iPhone.Open the file in Files or in Mail and add it to Calendar. Pick which calendar should receive the events when the prompt asks.
- On Mac.Calendar → File → Import, then choose the .ics file.
- It will not stay current.A file is a snapshot of the calendar at the moment it was saved. If the publisher later moves a game, the copy in Apple Calendar does not find out. There is no refresh, because there is no URL left to refresh.
A live URL is a different thing
Most publishers that offer a download also offer a subscription link — a webcal:// or https://…ics address that still points at a calendar they keep updating. That is the feed CalCollapse reads. It does not accept an uploaded file.
- Apple can subscribe to the URL.Each feed then becomes its own subscribed calendar, refreshing on Apple’s schedule, none of them the family calendar you already share. Fine for one holidays feed; a pile of teams and school calendars is a pile of extra calendars.
- CalCollapse copies the feed into iCloud.Paste the URL, pick an iCloud calendar you already have, and the events are written into it. Several feeds can share that destination. Apple Calendar, the Watch, and everything else reading EventKit then sees them as your own iCloud data.
What it does
Reads the feeds you paste
A TeamSnap team, a ParentSquare school calendar, a secret Google iCal address, or any other publisher that offers a webcal or HTTPS .ics URL. Several feeds can share one destination. Not a file you upload.
Writes them into a calendar you already own
You choose an existing iCloud calendar as the destination. CalCollapse never creates, renames or deletes an iCloud calendar, and it only edits the events it wrote itself — anything you added by hand is invisible to it.
Goes one way, every 15 minutes
Changes reach iCloud every 15 minutes. You can trigger a run yourself too; every run is logged with what it moved. The publisher of the feed is never written to.
What it will not do. CalCollapse does not import uploaded .ics files. Events flow one way, feed into iCloud. An event that exists only in iCloud stays there. Editing a synced event in Apple Calendar will be overwritten on the next run — the feed is the source of truth for anything this copies.
How it works
Sign in with Apple
This only identifies you. It grants no calendar access of any kind — that comes later, and separately.
Connect iCloud with an app-specific password
Generated at account.apple.com and revocable there at any time, without telling us. Apple offers no calendar-only credential to third parties, so this is the narrowest grant available.
Paste the webcal URL
Copy it from the publisher — TeamSnap’s Schedule → Settings → Sync Calendar / Export, ParentSquare’s calendar subscribe link, or any other iCal URL. A downloaded file is the wrong thing; the live address is the right one. Google is not required.
Pick an iCloud calendar you already have
Several feeds can share that destination. Each keeps its own label so you can still tell a soccer practice from a school early-release once they sit in the same calendar. The first sync runs immediately, and every 15 minutes after that.
What it costs
One calendar syncing into iCloud is free, which is enough if the scattering is only between one feed and your phone. Collapsing several feeds at once, or connecting Google accounts as well, needs the unlimited plan. Billing is handled by Stripe; card details never reach this app.
Questions
How do I import an ICS file into Apple Calendar on iPhone?
Open the .ics attachment in Files or Mail and choose to add it to Calendar. The events land in whichever calendar you pick at that prompt. It is a one-shot copy: if the publisher later moves a practice, the phone will not find out.
How do I import an ICS file on a Mac?
In Calendar, choose File → Import and select the .ics file. Same limitation as on the phone: the events are pasted in once and then sit there, even if the source calendar changes.
Will the imported events stay up to date?
No. A downloaded .ics file is a snapshot. Apple Calendar will not go back to the publisher for updates. For a calendar that still changes — a team schedule, a school feed, a secret Google iCal address — you need a live URL, not a file.
Can CalCollapse import an uploaded ICS file?
No. There is no file upload. CalCollapse reads a live webcal:// or https://…ics URL and copies those events into an iCloud calendar you already have. If all you have is a file, import it in Apple Calendar; if you have the feed URL, paste that here.
What is the difference between a file and a webcal URL?
A file is a download: open it once, the events appear, and that is the end of it. A webcal:// or https://…ics URL is a live feed the publisher keeps updating. Apple Calendar can subscribe to that URL as its own calendar; CalCollapse reads the same URL and writes the events into an iCloud calendar you already own.
Do I have to create a new iCloud calendar?
No. You choose one from the calendars you already have. CalCollapse never creates, renames or deletes an iCloud calendar, and it only ever edits the events it wrote itself, so anything you added to that calendar by hand is invisible to it.
Which way do events flow?
One way, from the feed into iCloud. Editing a synced event in Apple Calendar does not push back to TeamSnap, ParentSquare or whoever publishes the feed; it is overwritten on the next run. The publisher remains the source of truth.
How current does the iCloud copy stay?
Changes reach iCloud every 15 minutes. You can also trigger a run yourself at any time from the dashboard. Every run is logged with what it moved, so a sync that fails is visible rather than silent. Apple's own subscribed calendars often lag hours behind the same feed.
What does it cost?
One calendar syncing into iCloud is free, whether that calendar is a webcal or a Google calendar. Collapsing several feeds at once, or connecting Google accounts as well, needs the unlimited plan. Billing is handled by Stripe; card details never reach this app.
Copying a live webcal into iCloud — the product job this how-to is circling — has a page of its own. If the feed is a team schedule, TeamSnap has a page of its own. A school calendar? ParentSquare works the same way. The setup walkthrough shows every screen before you hand over anything, and what we store and for how long is in the privacy policy.