Getting Started

What is webcal and how does it work?

A webcal link is an ordinary ICS address with a prefix that tells your device to subscribe instead of downloading. Here is what to do with one in each calendar app.

webcal is a link type that tells your computer to treat a web address as a calendar subscription rather than as a page to download. A webcal link looks like a normal web address with a different prefix, for example webcal://example.com/calendar.ics.

What it actually does

There is no separate webcal protocol on the server side. The address serves an ordinary ICS file over https. The webcal:// prefix exists purely as a hint to your operating system: when you click it, open the default calendar app and subscribe, instead of saving a file.

That is the whole trick. Swap webcal:// for https:// and you have the plain file address. Swap https:// for webcal:// and clicking it prompts a subscription.

Which apps handle it

Apple Calendar on Mac, iPhone and iPad handles webcal links well. Clicking one opens a subscribe prompt directly.
Outlook on desktop generally handles them.
Google Calendar does not. Google Calendar has no desktop app to hand the link to, so you need to paste the address into the web interface instead, and it wants https:// rather than webcal://.

So if a webcal link does nothing when you click it, that is usually not a broken link. It means nothing on your device claimed the link type.

What to do with a webcal link

On iPhone, iPad or Mac, click it and accept the subscribe prompt. See how to add a calendar to Apple Calendar if you want the manual route.
On Google Calendar, copy the link, change webcal:// to https://, then follow how to add a calendar to Google Calendar.
Not sure what the file behind the link is? See what is an ICS file.

Sync2Cal gives you the right link for the app you pick, so you do not normally have to think about this. If you would rather skip the manual step entirely, subscribe from any calendar page and choose your app.