Automate Posting New Google Calendar Events to Telegram

Opening Problem Statement

Meet Olivia, a project manager juggling multiple client calendars, team meetings, and deadlines across Google Calendar. Olivia often misses immediate updates because she relies solely on checking her calendar app throughout the day. Important new events can get lost in email notifications or reminders, sometimes causing scheduling conflicts or missed appointments. Olivia wastes up to an hour daily cross-referencing calendars with messaging apps to ensure her team and she stay informed. This manual process introduces errors, delays, and stress.

What Olivia needs is an automated method to instantly broadcast new events from Google Calendar directly into a communication channel she frequently uses — Telegram. This would save her time, reduce human error, and keep everyone aligned in real time without having to jump between apps.

What This Automation Does

When this n8n workflow is active, it listens for new events created in a Google Calendar and automatically posts a message to a specified Telegram chat with the full event details. Here’s exactly what happens:

• Detects new events created in your Google Calendar every minute.
• Extracts key details such as event name, description, creator email, start and end times, and location.
• Formats this information cleanly in a Telegram message.
• Sends the formatted message directly to a Telegram group or individual chat of your choice.
• Keeps you instantly updated on new scheduling without manual calendar checks.
• Reduces communication gaps between calendar users and team chat.

By automating this process, you save potentially hours spent coordinating schedules and chasing updates, letting you focus on work that actually requires your attention.

Prerequisites ⚙️

• Active Google Calendar account with proper OAuth2 credentials setup in n8n.
• Telegram account with a Telegram Bot created; bot token configured in n8n Telegram node.
• n8n account or self-hosted instance running where you can import and activate the workflow.
• Basic familiarity with n8n interface for setting credentials and tweaking node settings.

Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up This Workflow

Step 1: Import the Workflow into n8n

Start by opening your n8n dashboard and import the workflow JSON provided (the one posted above). If new to n8n, you can click Import at the top right and select the file.

You should now see three nodes: Google Calendar Trigger, Telegram, and informative Sticky Notes.

Step 2: Set Up Google Calendar Trigger Node

Click the Google Calendar Trigger node to configure. Under credentials, click Add New for GoogleCalendarOAuth2Api and complete the OAuth consent flow with your Google account.

Set the trigger option to activate “eventCreated”, which means it will only fire when a new event is added. The polling interval is set to every minute, ensuring quick updates without delay.

Common mistake: Forgetting to select the correct Calendar ID can cause the node to never trigger.

Step 3: Configure the Telegram Node

Open the Telegram node. Add your bot’s API token under the node credentials. Enter the chatId where messages should be sent. It could be a group chat ID or your personal chat ID.

The message text is preformatted to include:

Event Name:  {{ $json.summary }}
Description: {{ $json.description }}
Event Location: {{ $json.location }}
Start Date: {{ $json.start.dateTime }}
End Date: {{ $json.end.dateTime }}
Creator: {{ $json.creator.email }}

This ensures a clear and consistent event summary in your Telegram message.

Common mistake: Leaving the chatId empty or incorrect will result in the message never being delivered.

Step 4: Activate the Workflow

Turn the workflow ON in n8n to enable real-time event posting. Test it by creating a new Google Calendar event and verify that it appears immediately in your configured Telegram chat.

Customizations ✏️

• Customize Notification Format: In the Telegram node, edit the text field. For example, to add event duration or custom emojis for better readability, modify the template placeholders following the same syntax.
• Filter by Calendar: Change the calendarId in the Google Calendar Trigger node to watch only a specific calendar instead of all your calendars, ideal for personal vs team events.
• Add Event Reminders: Extend the workflow by adding a delay node and a second Telegram node to send reminders before the event starts (requires additional nodes not in current workflow but easy to add).
• Multi-language Support: Use a Function node to translate event details before sending to Telegram if you have multilingual teams.

Troubleshooting 🔧

Problem: “No events posted to Telegram despite new calendar events.”
Cause: Incorrect Google Calendar credentials or wrong calendar ID.
Solution: Revisit Google Calendar Trigger node, reauthenticate Google account and ensure the correct calendar ID is set.

Problem: “Telegram messages fail to send or error out.”
Cause: Invalid bot token or wrong chatId.
Solution: Double-check Telegram bot API token, regenerate if needed, and confirm chat ID by messaging your bot first and getting the ID.

Pre-Production Checklist ✅

• Verify Google Calendar OAuth2 credentials are authorized and active.
• Confirm Telegram bot token and chatId are properly set.
• Test triggering a new event and watch for message delivery.
• Ensure n8n workflow is active and monitor logs for errors.
• Back up workflow JSON as a restore point.

Deployment Guide

Once tested successfully, keep your n8n system running to continuously monitor new Google Calendar events. Enable workflow activation and set your instance for reliable uptime.

Monitoring logs periodically helps catch unexpected failures. Notifications can be enhanced by pairing this workflow with error alerting mechanisms in n8n.

FAQs

Q: Can I use this with other messaging platforms?
A: This workflow uses Telegram node specifically, but you can swap it out for Slack, Discord, or others by replacing the Telegram node and adjusting message formatting.

Q: Does it use many API calls?
A: It polls Google Calendar every minute and sends a message per event. This is minimal and unlikely to hit API limits in normal usage.

Q: Is my calendar data safe?
A: Yes, using OAuth2 credentials ensures secure access. Messages are only sent to your specified Telegram chat.

Conclusion

By setting up this n8n automation, Olivia – or anyone managing busy schedules – gains an invaluable tool to stay instantly notified of every new Google Calendar event right inside Telegram. This saves hours spent manual coordination and drastically reduces missed meetings or overlapping schedules.

Next, consider expanding this automation by adding event reminders, integrating with task management tools, or supporting multiple calendar feeds for different teams.

Start automating your calendar updates into messaging today and keep your time focused on what truly matters.