CalDAV / CardDAV not working with Apple Contacts & Calendar

[b3nd1k]

Hi! I’m trying to sync Bonds with Apple Contacts and Apple Calendar using the built-in CalDAV and CardDAV support, but I can’t get it to work.

What I tried
• Using the URLs shown in DAV Sync settings
• Using both the full DAV URLs and the domain root
• Manual setup in Apple Contacts (Advanced CardDAV)
• Different server paths (/dav, /dav/addressbooks/..., etc.)

What happens
• Apple always returns:
“Unable to verify account name or password.”
• Authentication itself seems to work, because opening https://people.mydomain.com/dav in a browser prompts for login.
• After logging in there, I get:
“404 Not Found: address object not found.”

So it looks like:
• Basic Auth works
• The DAV endpoint exists
• But Apple clients fail during DAV discovery.

Has anyone successfully connected Bonds → Apple Contacts / Calendar using CardDAV or CalDAV?
If so, what exact server URL / path did you use?

[naiba]

Thanks for reporting.

I tested the full DAV discovery flow (well-known redirects, PROPFIND at each level) and everything works correctly at the code level:

• /.well-known/carddav → 301 to /dav/ ✅
• /.well-known/caldav → 301 to /dav/ ✅
• PROPFIND /dav/ → 207 Multi-Status with current-user-principal ✅
• PROPFIND /dav/principals/{userID}/ → 207 with addressbook-home-set ✅
• PROPFIND /dav/addressbooks/{userID}/ → 207 with address books listed ✅

The issue is most likely in the reverse proxy configuration. Apple DAV clients use HTTP methods like PROPFIND, REPORT, MKCALENDAR that many reverse proxies block by default.

For nginx, make sure your config allows WebDAV methods:

location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

    # Required for WebDAV/CardDAV/CalDAV
    proxy_pass_request_headers on;
    proxy_set_header Destination $http_destination;
}

Also check:

1. HTTPS is required — Apple clients refuse non-HTTPS DAV connections (except localhost).
2. Correct URL in Apple — Use https://people.mydomain.com/dav/ as the server URL in Apple Contacts (Advanced → Manual CardDAV setup).
3. Authentication — Use your Bonds email and password (not a token). If you're an OAuth-only user without a password, create a Personal Access Token (Settings → Personal Access Tokens) and use it as the password.
4. If behind Cloudflare — Cloudflare's proxy can strip/modify WebDAV headers. Try setting the DNS record to "DNS only" (gray cloud) for the DAV subdomain.

If you share your reverse proxy config, I can help pinpoint the exact issue.