What you need
- ✓ A Muse account (the free tier is enough for this)
- ✓ A Gmail account
- ✓ A Google Calendar
That is the whole list. No coding, no third-party tools, no Zapier. Muse connects directly to Google accounts.
The 5-minute setup
Connect Gmail
In Muse, connect your Gmail account. You will tap through Google's sign-in and approve access. Read access is all this setup needs.
Connect Google Calendar
Same thing: sign in with Google inside Muse and approve calendar access. Tell it which calendar approved events should go on.
Paste the master prompt
Open a fresh chat with Muse and paste the master prompt from the free pack. From here, Muse does the work: it interviews you, configures the recurring check, and proves it works on the first run.
The master prompt (in the free pack)
The heart of the setup is a single master prompt: the exact instructions your Muse follows to interview you, build the recurring check, and handle the edge cases. It is the part people get wrong when they try to wing it, which is why it lives in the free pack instead of on this page. Every rule in it earned its place in a live setup.
What the prompt covers
- The outcome: exactly what counts as a calendar event, and the long list of mail that must never be flagged
- The interview: the four questions Muse asks you in one round before building anything
- The build: the recurring check schedule, the never-report-twice rule, the proposal format, and the hard ask-first rule
- The proof: Muse runs the first check immediately and shows you what a proposal looks like
- The troubleshooting scripts: word-for-word what to say when it misses one, gets noisy, or pulls wrong details
Get the free pack with the prompt
What happens next
Muse asks you the four interview questions, sets up a recurring check every 2 to 3 hours, and keeps track of which messages it has already processed so nothing is ever reported twice. Within a day you should see your first proposal, looking like this:
- Event
- Dentist: Dr. Chen checkup
- When
- Tuesday, Oct 6 at 2:30 PM
- Where
- 123 Main St, Kanata
- Notes
- Confirmation #A4815, bring insurance card
Reply "yes" and it is on your calendar. Reply "no" and it is gone. Most days you will hear nothing at all, because most mail is not an event.
The ground rules
- Ask-first, always. Muse proposes, you approve with one word. The guardrails are part of the setup, not an afterthought.
- Reschedules and cancellations are ask-first too. A "your appointment has been moved" email becomes a proposal to update the event. No exceptions.
- Ambiguous mail gets flagged, never auto-handled. If Muse is not sure an email is an event, it asks you instead of guessing.
- Noise is never flagged. Newsletters, promotions, receipts, shipping notices, and bills stay silent.
When something goes wrong
Just tell your Muse what happened in plain words. The prompt already knows how to handle the common cases:
| Symptom | What to say |
|---|---|
| Missed an event | "You missed one." Forward the email and Muse figures out why the triage missed it, then tightens the rule. |
| Too noisy | "Too noisy." Muse looks at the false positives and proposes ignore-rules for your approval. |
| Wrong details | "Wrong details." Muse shows you what the email actually said versus what it extracted, and fixes the parsing. |
| Nothing is showing up | Check the Gmail connection in Muse first (permissions can lapse). Then ask Muse to run a check right now and report what it scanned. |
Frequently asked questions
Can Muse check my email?
Yes. Once you connect your Gmail account in Muse, it can read new messages on a schedule, identify the ones that describe calendar events, and propose them to you for approval.
Will Muse add events to my calendar automatically?
Not with this setup. Every event arrives as a proposal with the date, time, location, and notes. You reply yes to add it or no to dismiss it. Nothing is ever created, updated, or deleted without your explicit approval of that specific event.
Does this work with Outlook or iCloud mail?
This setup was built and tested with Gmail. The same prompt pattern applies to other providers, but the connection steps differ and have not been tested yet.
How much does it cost to have Muse check my inbox?
Muse has a free tier that covers this kind of scheduled check. The setup guide on this page is free, and the full Inbox-to-Calendar pack PDF is free until October 3, 2026.
Is it safe to connect my Gmail to Muse?
Start with read-only access, which is all this setup needs. Muse only proposes events; it never sends mail or edits your calendar without your approval. You can remove the connection at any time.
What happens when an appointment is rescheduled?
A reschedule or cancellation email becomes a proposal to update or remove the existing event, still ask-first. Reschedules and cancellations are never handled automatically.