# JSON Calendar [JSON Calendar](https://jsoncalendar.org) is a new open data format for calendars. ## Calendar Representation in the Past The dominant file format for calendars today is [iCalendar](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5545.txt). It allows you to easily move your calendar from one application to another. It is a shining example of the [file over app](https://stephango.com/file-over-app) philosophy and the internet is a better place for it. iCalendar's file format is plain text but the design is heavily influenced by XML which at the time of it's inception was the popular representation of sending data across the internet. Some year's later in 2014, [jCal](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7265.txt) was created to bring the iCalendar specification to the new dominant data interchange of the internet, JSON. jCal was created to maintain backwards compatibility with iCalendar, for better or worse. ## Why a Data Format for Calendars? [JSON Calendar](https://jsoncalendar.org) takes a step back and looks at the current state of the internet, the set of tools available, and the future of how humans will interact with machines. JSON Calendar removes the cruft of the iCalendar specification by forgetting about components such as `VTODO` and `VJOURNAL`, which made sense when calendar applications were the primary interface for your digital life and work. Today people and businesses have separate applications for those things such as Trello, Jira, Notion or Obsidian, and they serve a much better purpose. JSON Calendar does not maintain 100% backwards compatibility with iCalendar and will require developers to write tooling if they want to go from a `.jsoncalendar` file to a `.ical`. JSON Calendar is specified with [JSON Schema](https://json-schema.org/), making a `.jsoncalendar` file parsable and verifiable by a large range programming languages. This schema lives in a Git repository, enabling revision history and public collaboration rather than an RFC process. JSON Calendar is JSON, the primary data representation of the internet. It is built with human and machine readability in mind.