Launch price: $14 instead of $19 until 30 November, with code BLIPLAUNCH
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Getting started with Blipcal

Install the menu bar calendar, grant calendar access, learn the shortcut and add your first event.

The short version

  • Blipcal lives in the menu bar and shows today's date.
  • Allow calendar access so it can show and edit the events you already have.
  • Press ⌃⇧C anywhere, or click the date, for the month and your agenda.
  1. 1

    Install it

    Download Blipcal, open the disk image and drag it into your Applications folder. It has no Dock icon; it lives in the menu bar.

  2. 2

    Open it

    Double-click it in Applications. The first time, macOS asks you to confirm an app from outside the App Store: use Open Anyway in System Settings > Privacy & Security, or on macOS 14 right-click it and choose Open. Once per Mac. More on the first open.

  3. 3

    Allow calendar access

    The Welcome panel asks for calendar access, and macOS shows its own prompt. Choose Allow Full Access: that is what lets Blipcal show your events and write the ones you add or edit. Why Full Access.

  4. 4

    Choose your calendars

    Open Settings > Calendars and tick the calendars to show. Every account your Mac has (iCloud, Google, Exchange and the rest) is listed. Turn on Show reminders here too if you want them in the agenda.

  5. 5

    Press ⌃⇧C

    Press ⌃⇧C in any app, or click the date in the menu bar. The panel opens under the icon with today selected. Press Esc or click anywhere else to close it. Change the shortcut in Settings > General.

  6. 6

    A tour of the panel

    Top to bottom: the quick-entry field, the trial pill and the gear menu; the month header with the previous and next arrows, the month title, Today when another day is selected, the pin and the new-event button; the month grid with event dots; the agenda for the days ahead; and the time-zone strip once you add a zone. Hover a day for its events, press W for week numbers.

    Add an eventTrial · 9d
    November 2026
    MonTueWedThuFriSatSun262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930123456
    Today · Thu 5 Nov
    09:3010:00StandupZoom · Room 4Join
    15:0015:45Dentist12 High Street
    London09:18ThuNew York04:18-5hTokyo18:18+9h
  7. 7

    Add an event

    Click the field at the top, or press Return while the grid has focus, and type Lunch with Sam tomorrow 1pm 45m /Work. The chips under the field show what was understood. Press Return to add it, or ⇧Return for the full form. ⌘N opens the full form straight away.

  8. 8

    Edit an event

    Click any event in the agenda for its details, then Edit to change the title, time, calendar, alert, location, URL or notes. Delete removes it, this occurrence or all future ones, and ⌘Z undoes.

  9. 9

    Set the menu bar look

    In Settings > Menu bar, choose the icon style, add the month or weekday, write a clock pattern, and turn on Show the next event for a countdown next to the icon. The preview updates as you type.

What quick entry understands

You type It understands
Lunch with Sam The title: whatever is left once the rest is read
tomorrow, next Tue, 12 Nov, in 3 days The day. Relative words count from the selected day
20-22 Dec Several days
1pm, at 3, 15:30, noon The start time. No time makes an all-day event
9-10am, from 9 to 10 The start and end times
in 30m, in 2 hours Starts that long from now
45m, 2h, for 90 minutes The length. Otherwise your default, 60 minutes to begin with
all day An all-day event
at Café Nero, @ the office The location, when what follows is not a time
alert 10m, remind 1d before An alert that long before the start
/Work The calendar: its name, or the start of it

The chips under the field show what was understood before anything is saved; dim chips are the defaults from Settings > Calendars.

Start with remind me to or todo (for example remind me to call Sam Friday 3pm), or end with the name of a reminder list such as /Groceries, and quick entry makes a reminder instead. Anything else makes a single event. For a repeat, open the full form (⇧Return or ⌘N) and use Repeat; the full form’s Event | Reminder switch (⌃Tab) makes a reminder with a list, a due time and notes.

Where things live

  • General: the shortcut to open the calendar, open at login, where the panel opens, updates, and the Export and Import buttons for your settings file.
  • Calendars: which calendars and reminder lists to show, how many days the agenda covers, and the defaults for new events.
  • Appearance: theme, accent, size, first weekday, shaded days, week numbers, rows, event dots, and your time zones.
  • Menu bar: the icon style, the clock pattern, the second clock and the next-event text.
  • License: your trial or license status, the license key field, the date free updates run until, and Deactivate this Mac.

Updates and the trial

Blipcal checks for a new version when it opens and once a day, and asks before installing anything. Right-click the menu bar icon, or open the gear menu in the panel, for Check for Updates…. Turn off Check for updates automatically in Settings > General to check only when you choose.

The pill in the panel header counts down your 14-day trial. When it ends, the month grid, the date icon in the menu bar and the keyboard keep working free; event dots, the agenda, editing, quick entry, the menu bar text, time zones and reminders ask for a license. Activate your license when you are ready, or see pricing.

Next: calendar and reminders access, the menu bar pattern reference, or every keyboard shortcut.

Still stuck? Email support@blipcal.com and we will help.