What Is an iCal/ICS Feed (and How to Subscribe)

An iCal feed is a web link that publishes calendar events in a standard format so any calendar app can read them. It's the technology that lets you add someone else's schedule — a sports team, a school, a conference — to your own calendar and have it stay current.

ICS file vs. iCal feed

An .ics file is a plain-text file in the iCalendar format (the standard behind Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook). A feed is simply an .ics file published at a URL that updates over time. The distinction matters:

• Importing an .ics file copies the events in once — a snapshot. Later changes to the source don't reach you.
• Subscribing to a feed keeps a live link, so when the source adds or moves an event, your calendar updates automatically.

How to subscribe to a feed

• Google Calendar: Other calendars → From URL → paste the link.
• Apple Calendar (Mac): File → New Calendar Subscription → paste the link.
• iPhone/iPad: Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar.
• Outlook: Add calendar → Subscribe from web → paste the link.

webcal:// vs https://

You'll sometimes see feed links that start with webcal://. That's just an older scheme that tells your device "this is a calendar." If a tool asks for the link and webcal:// doesn't work, swap it for https:// — it points to the same feed.

Where merging fits in

Subscribing works one feed at a time. When you have several — work, personal, a couple of kids' teams — that's a lot of separate subscriptions to hand out. iCal Merge combines them into a single feed so you (and anyone you share with) only subscribe once.