Store .ICS Calendar Import (Store Calendar Sync)

This guide explains Store Calendar Sync in My Store, where you connect a public .ics feed and let Guildhall import and maintain store-hosted events from it.

This is different from the personal calendar feed:

• Store .ics import: external calendar -> Guildhall store events
• Personal feed: Guildhall -> your calendar app

For the personal subscription flow, see Personal Calendar Feed (My Events).

What Store Calendar Sync does

When enabled, Guildhall reads your configured .ics source and creates or updates hosted events for your store from that source data.

This works well when another calendar system is already your main event scheduler and you want Guildhall to mirror it for discovery, RSVP, attendance, and store tools.

Prerequisites

• Active store hosting
• A valid public http or https .ics URL
• A completed store profile, especially your registered store address

Your registered store address matters because Guildhall uses it to place hosted events correctly and to validate store-hosted in-person events.

Where to configure it

1. Open My Store.
2. Go to Calendar Sync.
3. Paste your public .ics URL.
4. Optionally expand Advanced exclusions and add filters.
5. Click Save Calendar URL.
6. Click Sync Now to run an import immediately.

The page also shows:

• Last sync
• Last sync error

Use those fields to confirm sync health before promoting new events.

What Guildhall imports

Guildhall reads standard event fields from the feed, including:

• title
• description
• location
• start and end time
• status
• recurrence information when present

For normal one-time items, Guildhall creates one hosted event.

For recurring calendar series, Guildhall imports them as:

• one main Guildhall event
• many event instances under that event

This means recurring store nights stay grouped as a single event in Guildhall instead of becoming a pile of unrelated duplicates.

Recurring event support

Store Calendar Sync supports common recurring calendar patterns, including:

• weekly series
• biweekly series
• monthly series
• exception dates (EXDATE)
• moved or overridden occurrences (RECURRENCE-ID)

If your source feed exposes a recurring series, Guildhall will try to keep that series synchronized as one parent event with managed instances.

How imported events are managed

During sync, Guildhall:

• creates new hosted events for new source items
• updates previously imported events when source details change
• updates recurring series and instance sets when the source changes
• tracks imported identity using source metadata

By default, imported source fields remain source-managed. That includes:

• title
• description
• location details
• schedule
• recurrence shape

Guildhall-specific data is still yours inside Guildhall, including things like:

• RSVPs and attendance
• chat and photos
• public/guild audience settings
• attendee activity and event history

Local overrides for imported events

Imported events can now be customized without breaking sync.

When you edit an event that came from Store Calendar Sync, source-managed fields show a small Override toggle in the top-right of the field label.

When you turn Override on for a field:

• the field unlocks for editing
• Guildhall saves your local value separately
• Guildhall shows your override value instead of the imported source value

When Override is off:

• the field stays read-only
• Guildhall continues to show the latest imported source value

Right now this applies to:

• title
• description
• location name
• location address

Important:

• turning on an override does not detach the event from sync
• later syncs still update the source fields in the background
• your visible override remains in place until you turn it off or clear it

Advanced exclusions

On Calendar Sync, the Advanced exclusions section lets you skip items before they are imported.

You can exclude events when their:

• title contains certain text
• location contains certain text
• description contains certain text

Rules are:

• case-insensitive
• partial-match based
• entered one match per line

Common uses:

• skip staff meetings
• skip internal planning blocks
• skip off-site or Discord-only items mixed into the same feed
• skip private bookings that should not become public event listings

Manual sync and background sync

Store import can run in two ways:

• manual sync from the Sync Now button
• automatic background sync for eligible store-hosted accounts

If you need immediate results after changing your source calendar, exclusions, or overrides, use Sync Now.

What happens when source events change or disappear

Guildhall treats the external calendar as the scheduling source, but it preserves real Guildhall history more carefully than before.

If a future imported event disappears from the source feed:

• Guildhall may remove it or cancel it on the next sync

If a past imported event has already happened:

• Guildhall keeps that past history instead of simply deleting it because it fell out of the source feed

For recurring series:

• past instances are preserved
• future missing instances are the ones that get removed or cancelled

This is especially important for events that already have attendance, discussion, photos, or other activity attached to them.

Imported location behavior

Your registered store address is still the main location Guildhall uses for store-hosted imported events.

If an incoming source item contains a different location string, Guildhall may preserve that information in the description as a source note rather than replacing your store’s registered venue address for the hosted event.

If you need a different public-facing location for a specific imported event, use the event’s Override controls after import.

When to use this

• Your website or POS already publishes a canonical calendar
• You want Guildhall discovery and RSVP flows to mirror that schedule
• You want recurring store events to stay synchronized automatically
• You want to avoid entering the same store events twice

When not to use it

Avoid store .ics import if you need:

• full custom field mapping beyond normal calendar data
• deterministic write workflows from your own integration
• Guildhall to be the only place where event schedule changes are made

For those cases, use Using the Store API or create events directly in Guildhall.

Troubleshooting

• No imported events: verify the .ics URL is public and valid.
• Sync button disabled: confirm active store hosting and a saved calendar URL.
• Wrong events imported: review Advanced exclusions.
• Wrong venue details: review your registered store address, then use event-level Override when needed.
• Recurring events look wrong: confirm your source calendar is publishing recurrence data in the .ics feed.
• Imported updates seem delayed: check Last sync and Last sync error in Calendar Sync.

Related guides

• Store Hosting and Invites
• Timezones and Calendar Feeds
• Using the Store API
• Personal Calendar Feed (My Events)