remindme_caldav/README.md

# remindme_caldav
## A Calendar Alerting Daemon

## Purpose
This script is a simple calendar alerting daemon written in Python. It monitors
.ics files for changes and sends alerts based on the events' start times,
recurrence rules, and alert triggers defined within these files. The main
purpose of this script is to provide reminders or notifications about upcoming
events.

## How it Works
The script works by parsing .ics files using the `icalendar` library, which
converts them into a Python dictionary format for easier manipulation. It then
processes each event and calculates when the next alert should be triggered
based on the event's start time, recurrence rules, and alert triggers. If an
alert is due to trigger, it sends a notification via email or XMPP (an instant
messaging protocol).

The script also monitors for changes in the directory containing .ics files
using the `watchdog` library. When a file is modified, created, or deleted, it
updates its internal list of events accordingly.

## How to Use It
This script should be used with a calendar syncing service such as vdirsyncer.
vdirsyncer can be scheduled using cron to sync regularly from the CalDav
server.

To use this script, you need Python 3 installed on your system. You can install
the required libraries by running:

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

You also need a .toml configuration file with the following structure:
```toml
[app]
calendar_dir = "/path/to/your/ics/files"
email_address = "your-email@example.com"
smtp_server = "smtp.example.com"
smtp_port = 587
smtp_username = "your-username"
smtp_password = "your-password"
...
```

You can then run the script with:
```bash
python3 remindme_caldav.py --config /path/to/your/config.toml
```

## Installation
A Makefile and systemd service file is also included for Debian/Ubuntu based
systems. 

This Makefile does the following:
  - install: Installs Python 3.11, creates a virtual environment in
    /opt/remindme_caldav/.venv, installs dependencies from requirements.txt
    into this virtual environment, copies your script to /opt/remindme_caldav/,
    and sets up the systemd service file.

  - uninstall: Stops and disables the systemd service, removes the installation
    directory (/opt/remindme_caldav/), and deletes the systemd service file.

  - clean: Deactivates the virtual environment.