Check Availability

Check if you are free during a specific time period. Quickly determine if a time slot is available before scheduling.

Overview

The Check Availability tool verifies if a specific time slot is free in your calendar. It:

• Checks for conflicting events during the requested time
• Returns availability status (free or busy)
• Lists all conflicting events if busy
• Respects event transparency (transparent events don't block)
• Works with any calendar you have access to

Prerequisites

• A connected Google Account with OAuth authentication
• Google Calendar API enabled in your Google Cloud project
• Setup Guide

Usage

Basic Check

Check if a time slot is available:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-15T14:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-15T15:00:00"
  }
}

Check with Timezone

Specify times with timezone information:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-15T15:00:00-08:00",
    "calendar_id": "primary"
  }
}

Check Specific Calendar

Check availability on a work calendar:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-15T10:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-15T11:30:00",
    "calendar_id": "work@company.com"
  }
}

Check Lunch Time

Verify lunch slot is free:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-15T12:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-15T13:00:00"
  }
}

Check Short Meeting Slot

Verify a 30-minute slot:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-15T09:30:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-15T10:00:00"
  }
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
start_time	string	Yes	-	Start datetime in ISO 8601 format (e.g., "2024-01-15T10:00:00" or "2024-01-15T10:00:00-08:00")
end_time	string	Yes	-	End datetime in ISO 8601 format. Must be after start_time.
calendar_id	string	No	"primary"	Calendar identifier. Use "primary" for main calendar.

Date/Time Format

With timezone:

• "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00" - Pacific time
• "2024-01-15T22:00:00Z" - UTC time

Without timezone:

• "2024-01-15T14:00:00" - Interpreted in calendar's timezone

Response Format

Available (No Conflicts)

{
  "success": true,
  "is_available": true,
  "requested_time": {
    "start": "2024-01-15T16:00:00-08:00",
    "end": "2024-01-15T17:00:00-08:00",
    "duration_minutes": 60
  },
  "conflicting_events": [],
  "conflict_count": 0,
  "calendar_id": "primary",
  "calendar_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
}

Busy (Has Conflicts)

{
  "success": true,
  "is_available": false,
  "requested_time": {
    "start": "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00",
    "end": "2024-01-15T15:00:00-08:00",
    "duration_minutes": 60
  },
  "conflicting_events": [
    {
      "id": "abc123xyz",
      "calendar_id": "primary",
      "status": "confirmed",
      "summary": "Team Meeting",
      "description": "Weekly sync",
      "location": "Conference Room A",
      "start": "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00",
      "end": "2024-01-15T15:00:00-08:00",
      "start_datetime": "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00",
      "end_datetime": "2024-01-15T15:00:00-08:00",
      "start_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
      "end_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
      "all_day": false,
      "attendees_count": 3,
      "organizer": {
        "email": "you@gmail.com",
        "self": true
      },
      "html_link": "https://www.google.com/calendar/event?eid=abc123xyz",
      "visibility": "default",
      "transparency": "opaque"
    }
  ],
  "conflict_count": 1,
  "calendar_id": "primary",
  "calendar_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
}

Multiple Conflicts

{
  "success": true,
  "is_available": false,
  "requested_time": {
    "start": "2024-01-15T09:00:00-08:00",
    "end": "2024-01-15T17:00:00-08:00",
    "duration_minutes": 480
  },
  "conflicting_events": [
    {
      "id": "event1",
      "summary": "Morning Standup",
      "start": "2024-01-15T09:00:00-08:00",
      "end": "2024-01-15T09:30:00-08:00"
    },
    {
      "id": "event2",
      "summary": "Team Meeting",
      "start": "2024-01-15T14:00:00-08:00",
      "end": "2024-01-15T15:00:00-08:00"
    }
  ],
  "conflict_count": 2,
  "calendar_id": "primary",
  "calendar_timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
is_available	boolean	true if time slot is free, false if busy
Requested Time
requested_time.start	string	Start time that was checked (ISO 8601)
requested_time.end	string	End time that was checked (ISO 8601)
requested_time.duration_minutes	integer	Duration of the requested slot
Conflicts
conflicting_events	array	List of events that overlap (empty if available)
conflict_count	integer	Number of conflicting events
Calendar Info
calendar_id	string	Which calendar was checked
calendar_timezone	string	Calendar's timezone

Use Cases

1. Pre-Schedule Validation

Check if a time is available before creating an event:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-16T10:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-16T11:00:00"
  }
}

If is_available is true, proceed with Create Event.

2. Find Alternative Times

If busy, check nearby times:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-16T11:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-16T12:00:00"
  }
}

3. Multi-Calendar Check

Check availability across work and personal calendars:

First check work:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-16T14:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-16T15:00:00",
    "calendar_id": "work@company.com"
  }
}

Then check personal:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-16T14:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-16T15:00:00",
    "calendar_id": "primary"
  }
}

Only schedule if both return is_available: true.

4. Conflict Details

When busy, examine conflicts to decide if time can be rescheduled:

Look at conflicting_events[].summary and attendees_count to assess meeting importance.

5. Quick Time Verification

Before proposing a meeting time to others:

{
  "tool": "google_calendar_Check_Availability",
  "arguments": {
    "start_time": "2024-01-17T15:00:00",
    "end_time": "2024-01-17T16:00:00"
  }
}

Error Handling

Missing Required Parameters

Error:

{
  "error": "start_time is required"
}

Solution: Provide both start_time and end_time.

Invalid Time Range

Error:

{
  "error": "end_time must be after start_time"
}

Solution: Ensure end time is chronologically after start time.

Invalid Date Format

Error:

{
  "error": "Invalid datetime format. Use ISO 8601 format: ..."
}

Solution: Use ISO 8601 format like "2024-01-15T10:00:00" or "2024-01-15T10:00:00-08:00".

Calendar Not Found

Error:

{
  "error": "Resource not found: Calendar not found"
}

Solution: Use List Calendars to find valid calendar IDs.

Tips

1. Transparent Events Don't Block - Events marked as "transparent" (free) are ignored. These show on your calendar but don't block scheduling.

2. All-Day Events Block - All-day events are treated as blocking the entire day if the requested time falls on that date.

3. Cancelled Events Ignored - Cancelled events don't count as conflicts.

4. Partial Overlaps Count - Even if the conflict is only 1 minute of overlap, is_available will be false.

5. Check Before Create - Always check availability before calling Create Event to avoid double-booking.

6. Multiple Calendars - Check each calendar separately. If any calendar shows busy, the time is not fully available.

7. Past Times Allowed - You can check past times. Useful for verifying if you were busy at a specific time.

8. Timezone Handling - If you provide times without timezone info, they're interpreted in the calendar's default timezone.

9. Use with Find Slot - For finding available times, use Find Next Available Slot instead. This tool is for checking a specific time.

10. Conflict Details - When busy, examine conflicting_events to understand what's blocking the time.

Limitations

1. Single Calendar - Checks one calendar at a time. Call multiple times for multiple calendars.

2. Authenticated User Only - Cannot check other people's availability. Only checks your own calendars.

3. No Suggestions - Only returns yes/no. Use Find Next Available Slot to get alternative time suggestions.

4. OAuth Only - Requires Google Account with OAuth (App Passwords don't support Calendar API).

5. No Freebusy API - Does not use Google's Freebusy API (which can check multiple calendars at once). For that level of functionality, use Find Next Available Slot.

Related Tools

• Find Next Available Slot - Find free times automatically
• Get Events - See all events in a time range
• Create Event - Schedule after confirming availability
• Get Today's Events - See today's schedule
• List Calendars - Get calendar IDs

Billing

Cost: 1 credit per execution

Fixed cost regardless of whether slot is available or how many conflicts exist.