Setting Up Google Calendar Sync in 60 Seconds

One of Hugo's most popular features is bi-directional Google Calendar sync. Events you create in Hugo appear in Google Calendar, and vice versa — in real time. Here's how to set it up.

Step 1: Navigate to Settings → Integrations → Google Calendar. Click "Connect Google Account" and authorize Hugo to access your calendar. We request read/write access to your primary calendar only.

Step 2: Choose your sync direction. "Two-way sync" is recommended — it means events created or modified in either Hugo or Google Calendar will stay in sync. You can also choose "Google → Hugo only" if you want Hugo to be read-only.

Step 3: Select which calendars to sync. By default, Hugo syncs your primary calendar. You can add additional calendars (work, personal, shared team calendars) from the settings panel.

That's it. Sync begins immediately, and Hugo will pull your existing events. From this point, any change is propagated within seconds via Google's webhook system — no polling, no delays.

A note on timezones: Hugo stores all events in UTC and converts to your local timezone for display. If you travel or change timezones, your events adjust automatically. Recurring events respect the timezone of the original creation, so your "9 AM standup" stays at 9 AM local time even if you're traveling.

If you run into any issues, check our troubleshooting guide in Settings → Integrations → Google Calendar → Help, or ask Hugo AI: "Why isn't my calendar syncing?" It can diagnose common issues like expired tokens or permission changes.