You're reading the open-source Community docs. Plakar also offers Control Plane, the enterprise version. It's a virtual appliance with a web-based interface for centralized backup management across your infrastructure. View Control Plane docs →

CalDAV

#

The CalDAV integration enables backup and restoration of calendar data from any CalDAV-compliant server. Calendar events are captured as .ics files and stored in a Kloset store with encryption and deduplication.

Supported providers include Nextcloud, Fastmail, Google, Apple, and any CalDAV-compliant server.

The CalDAV integration provides two connectors:

Connector type Description
Source connector Back up calendar events from a CalDAV server into a Kloset store.
Destination connector Restore calendar events from a Kloset store to a CalDAV server.

Installation

#

The CalDAV package can be installed using pre-built binaries or compiled from source.

Pre-compiled packages are available for common platforms and provide the simplest installation method.

Logging In

Pre-built packages require Plakar authentication. See Logging in to Plakar for details.

Install the CalDAV package:

$ plakar pkg add caldav

Verify installation:

$ plakar pkg list

Source builds are useful when pre-built packages are unavailable or when customization is required.

Prerequisites:

  • Go toolchain compatible with your Plakar version

Build the package:

$ plakar pkg build caldav

A package archive will be created in the current directory (e.g., caldav_v1.0.0_darwin_arm64.ptar).

Install the package:

$ plakar pkg add ./caldav_v1.0.0_darwin_arm64.ptar

Verify installation:

$ plakar pkg list

To list, upgrade, or remove the package, see managing packages guide.

Configuration

#

Configuration options

#
Option Description
location Required. CalDAV server URL, for example caldav://cal.example.org.
username Required for most providers. Username to authenticate with.
password Required for most providers. Password or app-specific token to authenticate with.
name OAuth2 provider name, for example google, microsoft, or apple.
client_id OAuth2 client ID. Required when using OAuth2 authentication.
client_secret OAuth2 client secret. Required when using OAuth2 authentication.

Providers that support basic authentication (Nextcloud, Fastmail, and most self-hosted servers) only require username and password. Providers that require OAuth2 (Google, Microsoft, Apple) require name, client_id, and client_secret instead.

Source connector

#

The source connector retrieves calendar events from a CalDAV server and stores them as .ics files in a Kloset store with encryption and deduplication.

flowchart LR

subgraph Source["CalDAV Server"]
  FS["Calendar Events"]
end

subgraph Plakar["Plakar"]
  Connector["Retrieve events via
CalDAV"]
  Transform["Encrypt & deduplicate"]
  Connector --> Transform
end

Source --> Connector

Store["Kloset Store"]
Transform --> Store

Register the source and run a backup:

$ plakar source add my-caldav \
  caldav://cal.example.org \
  username=<YOUR_USERNAME> \
  password=<YOUR_PASSWORD>

$ plakar at /var/backups backup "@my-caldav"

Destination connector

#

Restores calendar events from a Kloset store back to a CalDAV server.

flowchart LR

Store["Kloset Store"]

subgraph Plakar["Plakar"]
  Transform["Decrypt & reconstruct"]
  Connector["Restore via
CalDAV"]
  Transform --> Connector
end

Store --> Transform

subgraph Destination["CalDAV Server"]
  FS["Calendar Events"]
end

Connector --> Destination

Register the destination and restore a snapshot:

$ plakar destination add my-caldav-restore \
  caldav://cal.example.org \
  username=<YOUR_USERNAME> \
  password=<YOUR_PASSWORD>

$ plakar at /var/backups restore -to "@my-caldav-restore" <snapshot_id>

Notes

#
  • Calendar data is stored as standard .ics files, making snapshots portable across any CalDAV-compatible provider.
  • For Google, Microsoft, and Apple, OAuth2 credentials must be configured when adding the source or destination.
  • App-specific passwords are recommended over account passwords where supported by the provider.

Pages

Solutions

Resources

Newsletter