How to Sync Other Calendars with Skylight Calendar

The short version

This is how to sync other calendars with Skylight Calendar when Skylight doesn't have a button for yours.

You got the frame so the week is on the wall. The calendar that never shows up is usually from somewhere else: Zoho, Fastmail, Nextcloud, or another calendar Skylight doesn't list.

A public link can put those events on the wall. It's free, and it's the place to start if your calendar can make one and you don't mind handing the link out. If you'd rather not publish a link, or your calendar can't make one, CalDAV Bridge copies that calendar into Google and keeps checking for changes. Then you add it on the Skylight the same way you add any Google calendar. No new app on the frame.

This is about getting your other calendar onto the Skylight. It's not about sending the frame's chores or lists out to your phone.

Sold already? Skip ahead.

Have your calendar's username and password ready. On Zoho with multi-factor authentication, that's a Zoho app password. See what you need.

Get started with Google

Calendars Skylight already syncs

Skylight connects to a short list. The What does Skylight Calendar sync with page names Google Calendar, Apple iCloud, Microsoft Outlook, Cozi, and Yahoo. It can also subscribe to a calendar's export link. TeamSnap is on the one-way list there.

Two-way means a change on the Skylight goes back to that calendar. One-way means the frame can show the events, but a change on the frame does not go back.

Zoho, Fastmail, Nextcloud, and other calendars that aren't on that list have no button. That's the gap.

Already on iCloud? Use Skylight's own iCloud sync. It's on the list. You don't need Bridge for that.

Paste a public calendar link

Try this first if your calendar can give you a public share link.

In the Skylight app, the subscribed calendars help page uses these labels:

Open the Skylight App. You can use the mobile app or the desktop app.
Select the My Skylight Menu button in the upper right corner.
Select Synced Calendars.
Select Sync new calendar.
Select Calendar URL.
Paste a calendar URL into the Calendar public share URL textbox.
Select Done.

The box is labeled Calendar public share URL. That's a public link. Skip it if you don't want to hand that link out. If your calendar can't make one, Bridge is the other way.

Skylight's set up guide also says: "Make sure your calendar link allows permissions for an external sync." And: "You must be the direct owner of the calendar, not just a viewer of a shared calendar."

Copy the calendar into Google

This is the path when a public link isn't a fit. Bridge does one job. It copies the missing calendar into Google, and it keeps checking. Skylight never has to learn Zoho or Fastmail. It reads the Google calendar Bridge creates.

Here's what you get:

No public link. Your calendar password is encrypted before it's stored. Bridge does store the event details it needs to keep the copies in sync. That's in the privacy policy.
It keeps checking: roughly every hour on the Free plan, roughly every five minutes on Pro. Those are targets, not promises. Both plans have Sync now, for when you want an update before you look at the wall.
It adds one Google calendar, named Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge). It doesn't change your other Google calendars.
The Free plan covers one calendar, and it's $0. Pro is $2.99 a month or $12 a year if you connect more than one. Code FOUNDER at checkout makes Pro free for life, first come first served, limited spots. Details are on the pricing page.
If an invite was sent to the same address you sign in to that calendar with, the Google copy includes a link to answer. Accept, Maybe, or Decline. The answer goes back to the original calendar.

What you need

The Google account you'll add to the Skylight.
Your calendar's server address. Zoho has a button, so you can skip this one.
The username and password for that calendar. Some calendars want an app password here instead of your normal one, especially with two-factor sign-in turned on. Your calendar's help pages say which. For Zoho, see create a Zoho app password.

To connect it:

Sign in with Google. Bridge creates Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge).
Connect the calendar that's missing. Zoho has a button. Those steps are in how to sync Zoho Calendar with Google Calendar. For Fastmail, Nextcloud, or another calendar, paste the server address.
Pick the one calendar you want on the wall. If there's only one, it connects on its own.
Let the first sync run. A big calendar can take more than one run. Sync now starts a run. It doesn't finish a huge import in that one run.

Worth knowing, so you're not surprised later:

You'll see events from the last 30 days and the next 365 days. An older deleted event can stick around on the Google copy.
Repeating events are copied. If you move, edit, or delete one occurrence, the wall may keep showing the old time. That happens when the calendar saves the change as a one-off. Those one-off changes aren't synced yet, so the Google copy stays as it was. If the calendar saves the change on the repeating series instead, the copy updates on the next sync.
Events show as Busy unless the original calendar marked them Free.
Every calendar you connect lands in that same Google calendar. On the wall, they show up together.

A change on the Skylight does not change the original calendar. Answering in Google Calendar itself doesn't send an invite reply back, either. An invite sent to a different address, like an alias, gets no response link. The link also sits in the Google event description as plain text.

Add the Google calendar to Skylight

Once the calendar is in Google, use Skylight's own Google steps. Pick one-way. The Google copy follows your original calendar, so there's nothing useful to send back from the frame. That's what the one-way Google help page is for.

Open the Skylight App. You can use the mobile app or the desktop app.
Select the My Skylight Menu button in the upper right corner.
Select Synced Calendars.
Select Sync new calendar.
Select Google.
Type the Google email into the Google email address textbox. Use the same Google account you used for Bridge.
Select One-way sync.
Select Approve access.
On Google's login page, select the account, then select Continue.
On the next page, select Continue.
Select the calendars you want on the frame. Look for Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge). If the list isn't what you expect, select Reload.
Select Done.

That page says it may take a few minutes for the events to show up.

If you've set a custom color for Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge) in Google Calendar, Skylight puts the events on a profile named with the color code, like #ab58e4. You can merge that into a profile you already have.

Why not two-way?

Skylight also has a two-way Google sync. With the Bridge calendar, it doesn't get you much. An edit on the frame changes the Google copy, never the original Zoho, Fastmail, or Nextcloud calendar. When that event changes in the original, the Google copy is updated from it, and your edit on the frame is replaced. Delete a copied event on the frame, and it comes back on the next sync. Make your changes in the original calendar.

If the calendar does not show up

If you don't see Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge), select Reload. Use the same Google account you used for Bridge. A different Google account won't have that calendar.

If you selected it and the events aren't on the wall yet, Skylight says it may take a few minutes.

If you pasted a public link and nothing shows up, check the link's sharing settings and that you own the calendar. Those are the two rules from the set up guide quoted above.

Common questions

Can I add my other calendar straight to the Skylight?

Not if it isn't on Skylight's list. The What does Skylight Calendar sync with page doesn't list calendars such as Zoho, Fastmail, or Nextcloud. Use a public share link, or let Bridge copy it into Google.

Why would I use Bridge instead of a public link?

A public link is a link you hand out. Bridge signs in to the calendar and copies it into Google, then keeps checking. That's the fit when you don't want a public link, or your calendar can't make one.

Why do I only see one new calendar in Google?

Bridge makes one Google calendar, Synced Calendar (CalDAV Bridge). Every calendar you connect goes into it. Your other Google calendars stay put. On the wall, those calendars show up together.

Will a change on the Skylight change my original calendar?

No. A change on the frame doesn't change the original Zoho, Fastmail, or Nextcloud calendar. With two-way Google sync, it can change the Google copy, but the next update from the original replaces it.

What if my calendar can't make a public link?

That's what Bridge is for. Sign in with Google, connect your calendar with its server address, then follow the Skylight Google steps above.