Fantastical Calendar Not Showing Google Events on Mac: The Token Revocation + Re-Auth That Finally Synced Everything

When it comes to calendar management on macOS, Fantastical has long been a favorite among productivity enthusiasts. Its clean interface, natural language input, and seamless integration with various calendar services make it stand out. But what happens when that very seamless experience suddenly breaks down? That’s exactly what happened when I noticed that my Google Calendar events were no longer showing up in Fantastical.

TL;DR

If your Google Calendar events aren’t appearing in Fantastical on Mac, the issue could be due to a revoked Google token, even if no warning is displayed. The solution that worked was revoking the old access token from your Google account settings and re-authorizing Fantastical. This reestablished a clean connection and allowed full syncing again. It’s a quick fix—but one that’s easily overlooked without clear error messages.

The Confusing Disappearance of Events

One morning, I opened up Fantastical only to notice an odd silence where there should have been a flurry of colored events populating my week. My first assumption was that maybe I had accidentally toggled a filter or hidden the calendar. But after confirming that everything looked normal in the app, I logged into Google Calendar on the web—where all my meetings and appointments were perfectly intact.

This led me to the immediate conclusion: Fantastical wasn’t syncing properly with my Google account. But there was no clear error message, no red exclamation icon—just a deceptive kind of calm that hid the chaos underneath.

After digging around forums and speaking with a colleague who’d recently faced a similar issue, I found the culprit: most likely, the authentication token Fantastical had been using to connect to Google had been quietly revoked or expired.

Understanding Google Token Revocation

Google uses OAuth tokens to manage access to third-party applications like Fantastical. These tokens aren’t forever—they can expire or be manually revoked via your Google account’s security settings. Google sometimes revokes these tokens automatically if it suspects any unusual behavior or if there are updates to its security protocols.

Here’s the key issue: when a token is revoked or expires, Fantastical may not immediately warn you. Instead, the app just quietly stops syncing, creating confusion without indicating that anything is wrong.

The Fix: Token Revocation and Re-Authorization

After confirming that other calendars were syncing properly—and only Google Calendar was affected—it was time to intervene. Here’s the exact process that fixed it:

Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Fantastical Not Showing Google Events

1. Open Google Account Settings: Go to Google’s Security Settings from a browser logged into the same Google account used in Fantastical.
2. Review Third-Party Access: Scroll down to the section labeled ‘Third-party apps with account access’ and click on ‘Manage third-party access’.
3. Find and Remove Fantastical: Locate “Fantastical” in the list of connected apps, click it, and select ‘Remove Access’. This revokes the token Fantastical has been using.
4. Reopen Fantastical on Your Mac: Open the Fantastical app. You’ll likely be prompted to log in to your Google account again. Follow the re-authentication process carefully.
5. Grant Permissions: When Fantastical asks for permissions, make sure you approve full access to your Google Calendar.
6. Wait for Syncing: Give Fantastical a few moments to refresh. Within a few minutes, all your Google Calendar events should flood back in.

Voila—events reappear, and the calendar is now functioning as it should.

Why This Happens Suddenly

While technical hiccups are always frustrating, there are a few possible triggers that can cause Google’s access tokens to be revoked or expire:

• Password Changes: If you’ve recently changed your Google account password, some connected apps might require reauthorization.
• Security Tightening by Google: Occasionally, Google retroactively tightens third-party app access and may invalidate old tokens as a precaution.
• Inactivity: If Fantastical hasn’t accessed your Google account for a while (perhaps due to app sleep or travel), Google may automatically invalidate the token.

Regardless of the cause, the key takeaway is: the app itself may offer zero visible errors. It’s up to you to dig into the settings and manually refresh the access.

Preventative Tips for the Future

After reestablishing sync, I decided to explore preventive measures and ways to avoid this issue popping up again in a critical moment—like right before a meeting.

Here are a few tips:

• Enable Calendar Alerts: In Fantastical, turn on sync error alerts under Preferences so you’re notified if syncing silently fails.
• Regularly Check Access Tokens: Make it a habit to review your connected apps in your Google Account every few months.
• Use Multiple Devices: Using Fantastical on both iOS and macOS can offer warning signs. One device might display a sync error even if the other doesn’t.

What If Re-Auth Still Doesn’t Work?

In rare cases, even after reauthorizing, sync issues may persist. Here are some advanced troubleshooting steps:

• Reset Account Integration in Fantastical: Go to Preferences → Accounts, remove the Google account entirely, and re-add it from scratch.
• Check Internet and macOS Keychain: Ensure your Mac’s keychain isn’t corrupted and still has the credentials needed for secure login.
• Review Google API Status: Check if there are outages affecting Google Calendar by visiting the Google Workspace Status Dashboard.

Conclusion: A Small Fix with Big Impact

It’s easy to take smooth syncing for granted—until it stops working. In the case of Fantastical and Google Calendar on macOS, the lack of visible errors can make the problem more frustrating. But once you understand that OAuth tokens can silently expire or be revoked, the solution becomes clear: remove and reauthorize.

With just a few clicks in the Google Account settings and a re-login in Fantastical, I had everything back on track. No data lost. No calendar chaos. Sometimes, fixing modern tech problems comes down to working slightly outside the app and understanding how web services communicate behind the scenes.

Happy scheduling–may your meetings always appear where and when they should!