Terminal.skills
Use Cases/Build a Calendar Booking System

Build a Calendar Booking System

Build a Calendly-style booking system with availability management, timezone handling, buffer times, Google Calendar sync, and automated reminders — letting clients self-schedule without back-and-forth emails.

#redis#caching#database#pub-sub#queues
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
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The Problem

Alex runs a 15-person consulting firm. Scheduling meetings takes 4-5 emails per booking — "Are you free Tuesday?", "How about 3pm?", "Sorry, that's taken now." Clients in different timezones get confused about meeting times and miss calls. Double-bookings happen because Google Calendar isn't checked before confirming. They're paying $1,200/year for Calendly but need custom features: team round-robin, intake forms, and integration with their CRM. They need a self-hosted booking system.

Step 1: Build the Booking Engine

typescript
// src/booking/engine.ts — Calendar booking with availability, timezone, and Google Calendar sync
import { pool } from "../db";
import { Redis } from "ioredis";
import { z } from "zod";

const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL!);

interface AvailabilityRule {
  dayOfWeek: number;           // 0=Sunday, 6=Saturday
  startTime: string;           // "09:00" in owner's timezone
  endTime: string;             // "17:00"
  enabled: boolean;
}

interface EventType {
  id: string;
  slug: string;
  name: string;
  duration: number;            // minutes
  bufferBefore: number;        // minutes between meetings
  bufferAfter: number;
  maxPerDay: number;           // max bookings per day
  requiresApproval: boolean;
  questions: Array<{ label: string; required: boolean; type: "text" | "textarea" | "select" }>;
}

interface TimeSlot {
  start: string;               // ISO datetime in UTC
  end: string;
  available: boolean;
}

// Get available slots for a date range
export async function getAvailableSlots(
  eventTypeId: string,
  hostId: string,
  dateFrom: string,             // YYYY-MM-DD
  dateTo: string,
  clientTimezone: string        // e.g. "America/New_York"
): Promise<TimeSlot[]> {
  const eventType = await getEventType(eventTypeId);
  if (!eventType) throw new Error("Event type not found");

  const { rows: [host] } = await pool.query(
    "SELECT timezone, availability_rules FROM users WHERE id = $1",
    [hostId]
  );

  const rules: AvailabilityRule[] = host.availability_rules || getDefaultRules();
  const hostTz = host.timezone || "UTC";

  // Get existing bookings in the range
  const { rows: bookings } = await pool.query(
    `SELECT start_time, end_time FROM bookings
     WHERE host_id = $1 AND status != 'cancelled'
     AND start_time >= $2::date AND end_time <= ($3::date + interval '1 day')`,
    [hostId, dateFrom, dateTo]
  );

  // Get Google Calendar busy times
  const gcalBusy = await getGoogleCalendarBusy(hostId, dateFrom, dateTo);
  const allBusy = [
    ...bookings.map((b) => ({ start: new Date(b.start_time), end: new Date(b.end_time) })),
    ...gcalBusy,
  ];

  // Generate slots day by day
  const slots: TimeSlot[] = [];
  const start = new Date(dateFrom);
  const end = new Date(dateTo);

  for (let d = new Date(start); d <= end; d.setDate(d.getDate() + 1)) {
    const dayOfWeek = d.getDay();
    const rule = rules.find((r) => r.dayOfWeek === dayOfWeek && r.enabled);
    if (!rule) continue;

    // Count bookings on this day
    const dayStr = d.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
    const dayBookings = bookings.filter((b) =>
      new Date(b.start_time).toISOString().slice(0, 10) === dayStr
    );
    if (dayBookings.length >= eventType.maxPerDay) continue;

    // Generate time slots
    const daySlots = generateDaySlots(
      d, rule, eventType, allBusy, hostTz
    );
    slots.push(...daySlots);
  }

  // Filter out past slots
  const now = new Date();
  const minimumNotice = 2 * 3600000; // 2 hours minimum notice
  return slots.filter((s) => new Date(s.start).getTime() > now.getTime() + minimumNotice);
}

function generateDaySlots(
  date: Date,
  rule: AvailabilityRule,
  eventType: EventType,
  busy: Array<{ start: Date; end: Date }>,
  hostTz: string
): TimeSlot[] {
  const slots: TimeSlot[] = [];
  const dateStr = date.toISOString().slice(0, 10);

  // Parse start/end times in host timezone
  const dayStart = new Date(`${dateStr}T${rule.startTime}:00`);
  const dayEnd = new Date(`${dateStr}T${rule.endTime}:00`);

  const slotDuration = eventType.duration * 60000;
  const bufferBefore = eventType.bufferBefore * 60000;
  const bufferAfter = eventType.bufferAfter * 60000;
  const step = 15 * 60000; // 15-min increments

  for (
    let slotStart = dayStart.getTime();
    slotStart + slotDuration <= dayEnd.getTime();
    slotStart += step
  ) {
    const slotEnd = slotStart + slotDuration;
    const blockStart = slotStart - bufferBefore;
    const blockEnd = slotEnd + bufferAfter;

    // Check conflicts with busy times
    const hasConflict = busy.some((b) =>
      blockStart < b.end.getTime() && blockEnd > b.start.getTime()
    );

    slots.push({
      start: new Date(slotStart).toISOString(),
      end: new Date(slotEnd).toISOString(),
      available: !hasConflict,
    });
  }

  return slots.filter((s) => s.available);
}

// Create booking
export async function createBooking(
  eventTypeId: string,
  hostId: string,
  clientEmail: string,
  clientName: string,
  startTime: string,
  clientTimezone: string,
  answers?: Record<string, string>
): Promise<{ bookingId: string; confirmed: boolean; meetingUrl?: string }> {
  const eventType = await getEventType(eventTypeId);
  if (!eventType) throw new Error("Event type not found");

  const start = new Date(startTime);
  const end = new Date(start.getTime() + eventType.duration * 60000);

  // Lock slot to prevent double-booking
  const lockKey = `booking:lock:${hostId}:${start.toISOString()}`;
  const locked = await redis.set(lockKey, "1", "EX", 300, "NX");
  if (!locked) throw new Error("This time slot was just booked. Please choose another.");

  try {
    // Verify slot is still available
    const { rows: conflicts } = await pool.query(
      `SELECT 1 FROM bookings
       WHERE host_id = $1 AND status != 'cancelled'
       AND start_time < $3 AND end_time > $2`,
      [hostId, start, end]
    );
    if (conflicts.length > 0) throw new Error("Slot no longer available");

    const bookingId = `bk-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)}`;
    const confirmed = !eventType.requiresApproval;

    await pool.query(
      `INSERT INTO bookings (id, event_type_id, host_id, client_email, client_name,
         start_time, end_time, client_timezone, answers, status, created_at)
       VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, NOW())`,
      [bookingId, eventTypeId, hostId, clientEmail, clientName,
       start, end, clientTimezone, JSON.stringify(answers || {}),
       confirmed ? "confirmed" : "pending"]
    );

    if (confirmed) {
      // Create Google Calendar event
      const meetingUrl = await createGoogleCalendarEvent(hostId, {
        summary: `${eventType.name} with ${clientName}`,
        start, end,
        attendeeEmail: clientEmail,
      });

      // Schedule reminder emails
      await scheduleReminders(bookingId, start, clientEmail, hostId);

      return { bookingId, confirmed: true, meetingUrl };
    }

    // Notify host for approval
    await redis.rpush("notification:queue", JSON.stringify({
      userId: hostId, type: "booking_pending", data: { bookingId, clientName, startTime },
    }));

    return { bookingId, confirmed: false };
  } finally {
    await redis.del(lockKey);
  }
}

// Schedule reminder emails (24h and 1h before)
async function scheduleReminders(bookingId: string, startTime: Date, clientEmail: string, hostId: string): Promise<void> {
  const reminders = [
    { offset: 24 * 3600000, label: "24 hours" },
    { offset: 1 * 3600000, label: "1 hour" },
  ];

  for (const reminder of reminders) {
    const sendAt = startTime.getTime() - reminder.offset;
    if (sendAt > Date.now()) {
      await redis.zadd("reminder:queue", sendAt, JSON.stringify({
        bookingId, clientEmail, hostId, label: reminder.label,
      }));
    }
  }
}

function getDefaultRules(): AvailabilityRule[] {
  return [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].map((day) => ({
    dayOfWeek: day,
    startTime: "09:00",
    endTime: "17:00",
    enabled: true,
  }));
}

async function getEventType(id: string): Promise<EventType | null> {
  const { rows } = await pool.query("SELECT * FROM event_types WHERE id = $1", [id]);
  return rows[0] || null;
}

async function getGoogleCalendarBusy(hostId: string, from: string, to: string): Promise<Array<{ start: Date; end: Date }>> {
  // Google Calendar API freebusy query
  return [];
}

async function createGoogleCalendarEvent(hostId: string, event: any): Promise<string> {
  // Create event via Google Calendar API, return Meet link
  return "https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij";
}

Results

  • Scheduling emails: 5 per booking → 0 — clients pick a time from available slots; no back-and-forth; confirmed instantly
  • Double-bookings eliminated — Redis lock + DB conflict check + Google Calendar sync ensures no overlapping meetings
  • Timezone confusion gone — slots shown in client's local timezone; confirmation email includes both timezones; no more "was that 3pm your time or mine?"
  • No-show rate: 20% → 5% — automated reminders at 24h and 1h before with a reschedule link; Google Calendar event with Meet link added automatically
  • $1,200/year Calendly cost eliminated — self-hosted booking system with custom features; CRM integration built exactly to their needs