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BusyCal Menu Bar App

BusyCal includes a menu bar extension app that provides instant access to your calendar, allowing you to view and add events with a single click—even when BusyCal isn’t running.

This extension runs as a separate process called BusyCal Menu & Alarms, which, as the name suggests, also manages alarms and snooze options. While you can disable and remove the menu bar icon from BusyCal Settings, the process itself cannot (and should not) be stopped, as doing so would prevent BusyCal from triggering alarms. If you do not wish to see alarms and do not want BusyCal Menu to run separately, uncheck the Show alarms setting as described here.

The BusyCal menu displays a navigable mini month view, a scrolling list of upcoming events and to dos, the weather forecast for today and upcoming days, and a Quick Entry field for creating new events with natural language.

To display the menu, click its icon in the menu bar or press ⌘-Control-B. (You can change that shortcut; see Enabling the BusyCal Menu, just ahead.)

BusyCal Menu

Enabling the BusyCal Menu​

To display the BusyCal Menu in your menu bar, go to BusyCal menu > Settings > Menu and select the Show BusyCal Menu in menu bar checkbox. This opens a background application that loads at login and continues running even when BusyCal has quit.

Show BusyCal Menu preference

You can also set two additional options:

  • Menu is sticky — When this checkbox is selected and you display the BusyCal Menu, it continues to float above all other windows and applications until you explicitly dismiss it by clicking the BusyCal Menu icon again. When this checkbox is deselected, clicking anywhere outside the BusyCal Menu or pressing Esc dismisses the menu.
  • Set Menu Shortcut — By default, you can press ⌘-Control-B to display the BusyCal Menu (as an alternative to clicking the menu bar icon). If you prefer to use a different keyboard shortcut (for example, if you’ve already assigned ⌘-Control-B to something else), click Set Menu Shortcut, click in the field at the top of the dialog that appears, and press the key combination you want to use to open the BusyCal Menu. Then click OK.

Using the BusyCal Menu​

With the BusyCal menu open, you can do the following:

  • Click the left or right arrow button to move to the previous or next month.
  • Scroll the list of daily events and tasks forward or backward using your trackpad, Magic Mouse, or scroll wheel.
  • Click on a date in the mini month to scroll the list of events to that date.
  • Click or use the arrow keys to select an item and view its details.
  • If the item is a task, you can mark it as complete by clicking the done checkbox.
  • Double-click an event, or press Return with an event selected, to open the event in BusyCal.
  • Create new events / tasks using natural language in the Quick Entry field at the top of the menu.
note

The BusyCal Menu app is a lightweight calendar extension that resides in the menu bar, designed for quick access rather than as a full replacement for the main app. To ensure accurate and up-to-date information, it continuously syncs with the main app, which must be running in the dock.

Due to technical constraints, the menu app displays a limited range of events—up to 1 month in the past and 2 months into the future. For full calendar access and advanced features, please use the main BusyCal app.

Upcoming Event Countdown in the BusyCal Menu​

The BusyCal menu bar app not only provides quick access to your calendar but also features a real-time upcoming event countdown. This functionality includes both counting down to upcoming events and counting up from ongoing events.

Upcoming

This ensures you're always on top of your schedule, even when the main application is closed. Whether you're preparing for an upcoming meeting or need to keep track of time during an event, the menu bar app has you covered.

To activate this feature, ensure the BusyCal Menu is enabled in your menu bar. You can customize what to display in the menu bar under BusyCal Settings > Menu.

Excluding Specific Calendars from Upcoming Event Countdown​

The menu app and upcoming event countdown reflect the current calendar set selected in the main app. However, there may be times when you want to permanently exclude specific calendars from appearing in the upcoming event list.

To do this:

  1. Double-click the calendar name in the left Calendar List.
  2. Uncheck the option Show upcoming events in menu bar.
  3. Click OK to save your changes.

This ensures that events from the selected calendar are excluded from the menu bar countdown, while all other calendars continue to display as expected.

⚠️ Troubleshooting​

The BusyCal Menu & Alarms extension process is what triggers and handles alarms in the background (also referred to as the Alarm Helper App). macOS is responsible for keeping the main app connected to this extension app, even though the extension process comes bundled with the main app at install time.

If the BusyCal Menu app is:

  • Not showing / refreshing your selected calendars or events, or appears blank
  • You get an alert such as Uh-oh! Could not communicate with the Alarm app
  • The menu bar app is not visible in the macOS Menu Bar, or
  • The app is not triggering any alarms

Follow these steps to resolve the issue as it seems macOS is unable to pair the main app with its menu bar extension (option 4 below normally always helps if you have followed through all the rest):

🔒 Ensuring BusyCal Has the Correct System Permissions​

important

To function properly, BusyCal requires the Allow in the Background system permissions under Login Items & Extensions

macOS prompts for these permissions when the app is first launched. If you accidentally clicked "Disallow", BusyCal will be unable to launch its alarm helper extension and alarms will fail to trigger.

How to Check and Enable Permissions:​

  1. Open System Settings and navigate to General > Login Items & Extensions.
  2. Scroll to the Allow in the Background section.
  3. Ensure the toggle switch next to BusyCal is enabled. In case you do not see BusyCal listed, please drag BusyCal.app to the Trash from under Applications, and re-download the app - this will force macOS to refresh this list.

If the toggle is disabled, enable it to restore full functionality. Quit and relaunch BusyCal to take effect. Test to see if alarms are not working.

🛠️ Option 1. Force Restart the BusyCal Menu App​

  1. Open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.app).
  2. Search for "BusyCal Menu"—you should see only one instance running named BusyCal Menu & Alarms.
  3. Select it and click the Quit (X) button in the toolbar.
  • The extension app will automatically restart immediately, as macOS manages their lifecycle. A force-quit simply force macOS to quit and relaunch the process, whilst attempt to re-connect to the main app.
  1. Relaunch BusyCal.
  2. Open BusyCal Settings > Menu, uncheck "Show BusyCal Menu in Menu Bar", and wait for about a minute.
  3. Re-enable "Show BusyCal Menu in Menu Bar" and check if the issue is resolved.

🛠️ Option 2. Ensure There Are No Duplicate Copies of BusyCal.app Installed​

  1. Use Spotlight Search (Cmd + Space) and search for "BusyCal.app".
  2. Verify that only one copy exists in /Applications/.
  3. If you find additional copies (e.g., in Downloads or another folder), delete them.
  • macOS may mistakenly launch the menu extension for an outdated or incorrect version if there are more than one copies of the app on disk. We have even witnessed macOS launch an archived copy from Time Machine so anything is possible.

🛠️ Option 3. Restart Your Mac​

Although inconvenient, a simple reboot can often resolve such communication issues between the main app and its menu bar extension process, as macOS may develop background service inconsistencies at times due to external factors.

🛠️ Option 4. Reset macOS Background Tasks (Last Resort)​

If the issue persists, resetting macOS's link to the menu extension may help. Please note, however, that this will reset background task management for other installed apps, forcing them to re-connect, which means that you will be displayed the usual Allow / Disallow prompt for other apps after the reset.

Having said that, this is the only solution that works when the issue persists.

  1. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app).
  2. Enter the following command and press Return:
sfltool resetbtm
  1. Restart your Mac and check if the menu app is now working correctly. Check by creating a test alarm that fires within the next couple of minutes.
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