Google Calendar - Hide Declined Events Extension

A Chrome extension that adds a toggle button to Google Calendar, allowing you to quickly show/hide declined events by automating the native "Show declined events" setting.

🤖 Built with AI: This extension was collaboratively developed with Claude Sonnet 4.5, showcasing the power of AI-assisted development for solving real workflow problems.

Features

• ✅ One-click toggle - Changes Google Calendar's native "Show declined events" setting
• 🎯 Native integration - Works with Google's actual setting, not cosmetic hiding
• 🎨 Seamless design - Matches Google Calendar's design language
• 🔄 Auto-sync - Syncs with manual setting changes
• 💾 Persistent - Remembers your preference across sessions and devices
• 🌙 Dark mode support - Automatically adapts to your theme
• ♿ Accessible - Keyboard navigation and screen reader support

Installation

From Source (Development)

1. Download the extension files:

   • manifest.json
   • content.js
   • styles.css

2. Create extension folder:

   mkdir calendar-declined-toggle
   cd calendar-declined-toggle

3. Place the three files in the folder

4. Load in Chrome:

   • Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top-right)
   • Click "Load unpacked"
   • Select your extension folder

Chrome Web Store (Future)

Not yet published

Usage

1. Open Google Calendar at calendar.google.com

2. Find the toggle button:

   • Look for "Declined Events" toggle next to the month/year dropdown
   • The toggle reflects the current state of Google Calendar's native setting

3. Toggle visibility:

   • Click the toggle to change the setting
   • The extension opens the "Filter and view" menu, clicks the native checkbox, and closes the menu automatically
   • Takes approximately 1 second to complete
   • The setting persists across all your devices via Google's sync
   • Page refreshes automatically to apply the change

4. Manual changes sync automatically:

   • If you change the setting manually via Settings → View options → "Show declined events"
   • The toggle will sync when you return to the calendar view

How It Works

Version 2.0 - Native Menu Automation

The extension automates Google Calendar's native "Show declined events" setting:

1. Finds the "Filter and view" menu (funnel icon in the toolbar)
2. Opens the menu programmatically by simulating a click
3. Locates the "Show declined events" checkbox in the menu
4. Clicks the checkbox if it needs to change state
5. Closes the menu cleanly using Escape key and backdrop cleanup
6. Syncs automatically when you return from Settings page

Why Native Menu Automation?

We evaluated multiple approaches:

1. Google Calendar API ❌

   • The Calendar API doesn't expose "Show declined events" as a writable setting
   • Would require OAuth and complex authentication

2. DOM Manipulation (v1.0) ❌

   • Only cosmetically hides events with CSS
   • Breaks when Google updates their HTML structure
   • Events still load and consume resources

3. Native Menu Automation (v2.0) ✅ (Current approach)

   • Uses Google's actual setting system
   • More robust than pure DOM manipulation
   • Setting syncs across devices via Google
   • Proper page refresh applies changes correctly

Trade-off: This approach requires ~1 second to open the menu, click the checkbox, and close it. The menu briefly flashes open, but this ensures we're using Google's official setting mechanism.

Performance

• ✅ Minimal resource usage (only active during toggle operation)
• ✅ ~1 second per toggle operation
• ✅ State syncs via Chrome storage (no polling)
• ✅ Button recreation check only every 5 seconds
• ✅ Auto-sync detects Settings page navigation

Troubleshooting

Toggle button doesn't appear

1. Refresh the page - The extension might load before Calendar is ready
2. Check Developer mode - Make sure the extension is enabled in chrome://extensions/
3. Check console - Open DevTools (F12) and look for errors

Toggle takes a moment / brief menu flash

This is normal! The extension needs to:

1. Open the "Filter and view" menu (~200ms)
2. Find and click the checkbox (~300ms)
3. Close the menu cleanly (~400ms)

The brief menu flash ensures we're using Google's native setting system.

Toggle doesn't sync with manual changes

If you change the setting in Settings and the toggle doesn't update:

1. Make sure you're returning to the main calendar view (not staying in Settings)
2. The sync happens automatically when the URL changes from /settings back to calendar
3. Try refreshing the page if sync doesn't occur

Extension stopped working after a Google Calendar update

Google may update Calendar's menu structure, breaking the extension temporarily:

1. Check for extension updates - Look for a newer version
2. Report the issue - Create a bug report
3. Help fix it - See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to update selectors

For developers: The most common breakage points are:

• "Filter and view" button selector
• Menu item structure for "Show declined events" checkbox
• Date navigation structure for button placement

Known Limitations

By Design

• ~1 second operation time - Opening/closing menus takes time
• Brief menu flash - You'll see the "Filter and view" menu briefly
• Requires menu automation - Depends on Google's menu structure
• Chrome only - Not compatible with Firefox/Edge (different APIs)

Current Limitations

• No keyboard shortcut - Currently only accessible via mouse click
• Single account - Extension works with the primary Google account only (u/0)

Maintenance Notes

⚠️ This extension automates Google Calendar's menu interactions, which can break during Google's UI updates:

• Menu selectors may need updating
• Toggle button placement may change
• Menu item structure may be modified

When this happens:

1. Check GitHub for updates or open issues
2. If no issue exists, create one
3. Pull requests welcome! Fixing selector updates helps everyone

Browser Support

• ✅ Google Chrome (v88+)
• ✅ Chromium-based browsers (Edge, Brave, etc.)
• ❌ Firefox (requires different extension format)
• ❌ Safari (requires different extension format)

Privacy

• ✅ No data collection
• ✅ No external network requests
• ✅ Only accesses calendar.google.com
• ✅ Settings stored locally in Chrome sync storage
• ✅ Open source - inspect the code yourself

Development

File Structure

calendar-declined-toggle/
├── manifest.json       # Extension configuration
├── content.js          # Main logic (menu automation, sync)
├── styles.css          # Toggle button styling
└── README.md          # This file

Making Changes

1. Edit files in your extension folder
2. Go to chrome://extensions/
3. Click the refresh icon on your extension
4. Refresh Google Calendar to test

Debugging

Open Chrome DevTools (F12) while on Google Calendar. The extension logs errors to help with debugging.

Contributing

Found a bug or have an improvement?

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

Quick links:

• Report a bug
• Request a feature
• View open issues

License

MIT License - Feel free to modify and distribute

See LICENSE for details.

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial extension not affiliated with Google. Google Calendar is a trademark of Google LLC.

The extension may stop working if Google updates their Calendar interface. Maintenance and updates depend on community support.

Version History

v2.0.1 (Current)

• Improved selector stability - Prioritize semantic selectors over obfuscated class names
• Added date pattern matching for button placement
• Removed unnecessary obfuscated selector fallbacks
• Optimized search performance for faster button appearance
• Filter button now uses only ARIA label (more stable)

v2.0.0

• Complete rewrite - Now automates native "Show declined events" setting
• Added automatic sync when returning from Settings page
• Improved reliability with native menu interaction
• Better backdrop cleanup to prevent screen dimming issues
• Added error handling for Chrome extension context
• Removed all DOM manipulation and CSS hiding

v1.0.0

• Initial release with DOM manipulation approach
• Basic show/hide functionality using CSS
• Dark mode support
• Responsive design

Support

Issues? Questions?

• Check the Troubleshooting section above
• Inspect browser console for errors (F12)
• Open an issue on GitHub

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