FAQ & Support

Answers to common questions — especially about how syncing works differently on iPhone/iPad versus Mac.

Which calendars does ReciproCal work with?

Any that your device already syncs in its system settings — iCloud, Google, Microsoft 365/Exchange, other CalDAV accounts, and local “On My Device” calendars. ReciproCal never asks for credentials; it only reads what iOS or macOS already knows about.

Is ReciproCal free? What does Pro cost?

The download is free and lets you run one active rule — enough to try everything out. ReciproCal Pro unlocks unlimited rules: €2.99/month, €19.99/year (with a 7-day free trial), or €49.99 once as a lifetime licence. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac and can be shared via Family Sharing.

Does ReciproCal need an internet connection?

No. Syncing between your calendars runs entirely on-device through Apple's EventKit and works offline. A connection is only needed by your calendar provider itself (e.g. iCloud or Google) to fetch its events onto the device in the first place — and, optionally, by iCloud rule sync if you enable it.

Why doesn't ReciproCal sync automatically on iPhone/iPad?

iOS does not allow apps to run continuously in the background the way a Mac app can. Background refresh is opportunistic — the system decides when (or whether) to grant it, and it can be delayed by hours, disabled by Low Power Mode, or turned off entirely in Settings.

More importantly: ReciproCal has no server of its own — that's the whole point of its privacy promise. A calendar app with a server could send a silent push notification the moment something changes and wake itself up to sync. Without a server, that channel doesn't exist. So on iOS, ReciproCal syncs only when you explicitly ask it to — never silently in the background.

How do I trigger a sync on iOS?

Any of the following runs every enabled rule once, immediately:

• Tap the Sync Now button in the app's toolbar.
• Long-press the ReciproCal app icon on your Home Screen and tap Sync Now — this opens the app and runs the sync immediately.
• Ask Siri: "Sync ReciproCal" — or add the built-in Sync Now action to any Shortcut.

Can I make it sync automatically on a schedule anyway?

Yes — the Shortcuts app can trigger ReciproCal's sync action for you on a schedule, using a Personal Automation. This isn't a true background process (it's still Apple's automation system doing the tapping for you), but it gets you close to "automatic":

1. Open the Shortcuts app and go to the Automation tab.
2. Tap + → Create Personal Automation.
3. Choose a trigger — e.g. Time of Day, repeating every morning, or When I open an app.
4. Tap Add Action, search for ReciproCal, and choose Sync Now.
5. Turn off Ask Before Running so it fires silently, then tap Done.

The automation still needs your device unlocked or the Shortcuts app given permission to run without confirmation, and iOS can still delay it slightly — but in practice this covers most "check a few times a day" needs.

Does this apply to the Mac app too?

No — on macOS, apps aren't suspended the way iOS apps are, so ReciproCal can genuinely run continuously in the background:

• The first time you grant calendar access, you'll be asked whether ReciproCal may launch automatically when you log in.
• A ReciproCal icon stays in your menu bar for as long as it's running.
• Click it to Sync Now, change how often it syncs automatically (every 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes), or toggle Launch at Login at any time.

Is my calendar data ever sent anywhere?

No, never — not your events, titles, notes, locations or attendees. All of the sync mechanisms above — the button, the quick action, the widget, Siri, Shortcuts, and the Mac's background loop — run entirely on your device through Apple's EventKit. The only optional exception is iCloud rule sync (see below), which syncs your rule settings, never your events. See the privacy policy for details.

Can I keep the same rules on all my devices?

Yes, optionally. Turn on Sync Rules via iCloud in Settings — on any device, during onboarding or later — and your rules (source/target calendars, criteria, masking) stay identical on every device signed into the same Apple ID. It's off by default and stores data only in your own private iCloud account, never on a ReciproCal server, because there isn't one.

If you turn it on for the first time on a device that already has different local rules than what's already in iCloud, ReciproCal asks you how to reconcile them: keep this device's rules, use iCloud's rules, or merge both. You can also fully reset the iCloud data at any time (your local rules are never affected by a reset).

Sync order/priority is intentionally not synced — each device keeps its own local ordering of rules.

Can I back up my rules or share them with someone?

Yes — use Export Rules in the app to save all your rules as a plain JSON file, and Import Rules to load them back in (on this device or any other). This is a point-in-time snapshot, independent of iCloud sync — handy as a manual backup or for sharing a rule set with someone else.

What does the Calendars tab show?

A real Day/Week/Month/Year calendar view — but it only ever shows events ReciproCal has actually synced, never a calendar's full contents. Each synced entry appears as a single block split into two colors: the source calendar's color and the target calendar's color, so it's immediately clear that one event exists identically in both places. A sidebar lets you show or hide individual calendars, just like Apple's Calendar app.

Can I organize, duplicate, or manage several rules at once?

Rules can be tagged with a group name for organization, duplicated with one swipe, and reordered by dragging — order also doubles as priority (see the next question). Tap Select in the rules list to enable multiple rules at once and enable, disable, or delete them together.

What happens if two rules could match the same event?

By default, every matching rule syncs the event independently. If you want only the first matching rule to act, turn on Stop processing further rules on it — rules further down the list will then skip any event it already claimed. The rule editor also warns you when two active rules target the same calendar with overlapping criteria, so conflicts are easy to spot before they happen.

Will I know if a sync fails?

Each rule shows its last sync result, and a full history of recent runs is available from its context menu ("View Sync History") — useful for troubleshooting "why didn't this sync". If a rule fails several times in a row (e.g. its target calendar was deleted, or permission was revoked), ReciproCal sends a local notification so you don't have to notice it by accident.

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