Apple Reminders

Use remindctl to manage Apple Reminders directly from the terminal. Tasks sync across all Apple devices via iCloud.

Prerequisites

• macOS with Reminders.app
• Install: brew install steipete/tap/remindctl
• Grant Reminders permission when prompted
• Check: remindctl status / Request: remindctl authorize
• If macOS reports Full Access but remindctl status still says Not determined or Denied, test AppleScript instead:

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to return name of every list'

If AppleScript works, use Reminders AppleScript as a fallback for list/read/create operations; the TCC grant may apply to Terminal/Python but not the remindctl binary context.

When to Use

• User mentions "reminder" or "Reminders app"
• Creating personal to-dos with due dates that sync to iOS
• Managing Apple Reminders lists
• User wants tasks to appear on their iPhone/iPad

When NOT to Use

• Scheduling agent alerts → use the cronjob tool instead
• Calendar events → use Apple Calendar or Google Calendar
• Project task management → use GitHub Issues, Notion, etc.
• If user says "remind me" but means an agent alert → clarify first
• Things 3 — if the user's primary task manager is Things 3, note it has no terminal CLI; it exposes data only via URL scheme (things://...) or manual export (File → Export → JSON/HTML).

Quick Reference

View Reminders

remindctl # Today's reminders
remindctl today # Today
remindctl tomorrow # Tomorrow
remindctl week # This week
remindctl overdue # Past due
remindctl all # Everything
remindctl 2026-01-04 # Specific date

Pitfall — remindctl list can hang: remindctl list --all timed out after 180s in testing. Use remindctl today, remindctl week, or date-specific queries instead of broad list commands. If you must see everything, pipe through a timeout:

timeout 30 remindctl all 2>&1

Manage Lists

remindctl list # List all lists
remindctl list Work # Show specific list
remindctl list Projects --create # Create list
remindctl list Work --delete # Delete list

Create Reminders

remindctl add "Buy milk"
remindctl add --title "Call mom" --list Personal --due tomorrow
remindctl add --title "Meeting prep" --due "2026-02-15 09:00"

Due Time vs Alarm / Early Nudge

--due and --alarm are different fields:

• --due sets the reminder's due date/time.
• --alarm sets the EventKit alarm/notification trigger. Timed due reminders may default to an alarm at the due time, but pass --alarm explicitly when the user asks for an earlier nudge.

For a reminder due at 2:00 PM with a notification 30 minutes earlier:

remindctl add --title "Hairdresser" --due "2026-05-15 14:00" --alarm "2026-05-15 13:30"

To edit an existing reminder:

remindctl edit 87354 --due "2026-05-15 14:00" --alarm "2026-05-15 13:30"

The Reminders UI may show or group the item by the alarm time because that is when the notification fires. Verify with JSON instead of assuming the due time moved:

remindctl today --json

Expected shape:

• dueDate: actual due time
• alarmDate: notification / early nudge time

Apple's public EKReminder docs list only reminder-specific properties. Alarm support comes from inherited EKCalendarItem behavior exposed by remindctl's --alarm flag.

Complete / Delete

remindctl complete 1 2 3 # Complete by ID
remindctl delete 4A83 --force # Delete by ID

Subtasks / Parent Reminders

remindctl 0.1.1 does not expose subtask/parent operations in add or edit. It can create and edit flat reminders only. If the user asks to reorganize existing reminders as subtasks, first verify whether a supported AppleScript/ReminderKit path exists on the current macOS version; do not assume remindctl can do it.

Fallback options, in order:

1. Use the Reminders UI manually/with computer-use if accessible.
2. If UI automation is not accessible and the user expects direct action, the local Reminders SQLite store contains ZREMCDREMINDER.ZPARENTREMINDER and ZCKPARENTREMINDERIDENTIFIER, but direct DB edits are fragile. Back up the active store first and verify with a read-only query afterward. Prefer this only for narrow, reversible edits.

Output Formats

remindctl today --json # JSON for scripting
remindctl today --plain # TSV format
remindctl today --quiet # Counts only

Date Formats

Accepted by --due and date filters:

• today, tomorrow, yesterday
• YYYY-MM-DD
• YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm
• ISO 8601 (2026-01-04T12:34:56Z)

Rules

1. When user says "remind me", clarify: Apple Reminders (syncs to phone) vs agent cronjob alert
2. Always confirm reminder content and due date before creating
3. Use --json for programmatic parsing