fb2cal
Facebook Birthday Events to ICS file converter
Description
Around 20 June 2019, Facebook removed their Facebook Birthday ICS export option.
This change was unannounced and no reason was ever released.
fb2cal is a tool which restores this functionality.
It works by calling various async endpoints that power the https://www.facebook.com/events/birthdays/ page.
After gathering a list of birthdays for all the users friends for a full year, it creates a ICS calendar file. This ICS file can then be imported into third party tools (such as Google Calendar).
This tool does not use the Facebook API.
Requirements
- Facebook account
- Python 3.6+
- pipenv
- Scheduler tool to automatically run script periodically (optional)
Instructions
- Clone repo
git clone [email protected]:mobeigi/fb2cal.git - Rename
config/config-template.initoconfig/config.iniand enter your Facebook email and password (no quotes). - Install required python modules
pipenv install - Run the script manually:
pipenv run python src/fb2cal.py - Import the created
birthdays.icsfile into Calendar applications (i.e. Google Calendar)
Configuration
This tool can be configured by editing the config/config.ini configuration file.
| Section | Key | Valid Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUTH | fb_email | Your Facebook login email | |
| fb_password | Your Facebook login password | ||
| FILESYSTEM | save_to_file | True, False | If tool should save ICS file to the local file system |
| ics_file_path | Path to save ICS file to (including file name) | ||
| LOGGING | level | DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL | Logging level to use. Default: INFO |
Troubleshooting
If you encounter any issues, please open the config/config.ini configuration file and set the LOGGING level to DEBUG (it is INFO by default). Include these logs when asking for help.
Also make sure to check the Caveats section below.
fb2cal Setup Guide for Non-Devs [Windows]
![fb2cal Setup Guide for Non-Devs [Windows]](https://waybackassets.bk21.net/20201111053454/http://img.youtube.com/vi/UnsbV8EJ8-Y/0.jpg)
Scheduled Task Frequency
It is recommended to run the script once every 24 hours to update the ICS file to ensure it is synchronized with the latest Facebook changes (due to friend addition/removal) and to respect the privacy of users who decide to hide their birthday later on. Facebook originally recommended polling for birthday updates once every 12 hours based on the X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT12H header included in their ICS files.
Caveats
- Facebook accounts secured with 2FA are currently not supported (see #9)
- During Facebook authentication, a security checkpoint may trigger that will force you to change your Facebook password.
- Some locales are currently not supported (see #13)
- Some supported locales may fail. Consider changing your Facebook language to English temporarily as a workaround. (see #52)
- Duplicate birthday events may appear if calendar is reimported after Facebook friends change their username due to performance optimizations. (see #65)
Contributions
Contributions are always welcome! Just make a pull request.
Licence
GNU General Public License v3.0
