MAY 2020 UPDATE:

Facebook has radically changed their data formatting along with other big changes which effectively renders this script useless. Unfortunately, I'm busy with some other projects and can't keep up with further maintenance of this one.

This repo was my first publication and knowing that it helped people in many ways makes me happy - I still have some old emails from people thanking me or the ones who seeked help - which I'll be archiving soon, just like this one.

If you're visiting this page looking to extract birthdays info from facebook, you might want to checkout this chrome extension from Peter Pshenichny, which is hopefully maintained by the time you're reading this.

Best,\ Hardeep.

#

fb2ics

Facebook Birthdays to ICS (Calendar) File

Description

Around 20 June 2019, Facebook removed their Facebook Birthday ics export option.
This change was unannounced and no reason was ever released.

fb2ics is a workaround tool to restore this functionality. It requires a saved copy (same day) of facebook birthdays webpage. After gathering a list of birthdays for all the user's friends for a full year, it generates an ICS (calendar) file.

ICS file can be used with Google Calendar or Apple Calendar to import birthday events.

This tool does not require facebook credentials.

Requirements

• python3.6+ (and all required python3 modules) (Download Python 3.7.4)
• Saved facebook birthdays page.
• pip modules: Although still required, packages are automatically handled by 'Installer_Windows.bat' (in Windows) and 'Installer_Linux.sh' (in Linux) and specified in 'requirements.txt' file.
  • python-dateutil
  • ics
  • xeger

Instructions

(Make sure you have python installed on your system) Check 'Add Python 3.x to PATH' during installation.

1. Clone repo
   git clone https://github.com/hardeepnarang10/fb2ics.git

   Or simply click here to download zip file. Extract it's content.

2. Save Facebook Birthdays page:

   • Visit facebook birthdays page.
     • Facebook figured out the exploit - They've put up request filters to ensure the referrer page must be their own. Follow these steps instead:
     • Go to facebook events page (Events page doesn't have a filter yet).
     • Click on 'Birthdays' option in the top-left panel.
   • Scroll till the end (must reach the current month of next year).
   • Save page (Press Ctrl + S or Command +S).

3. Copy the saved HTML file to 'resources' folder in the project directory. (HTML file must be saved the same day this script is executed).

4. Windows users run Installer_Windows.bat file. Linux (and Mac) users run Installer_Linux.sh file. (Linux users may need to issue chmod +x Installer_Linux.sh command first).

5. Check 'output' folder for .ical file.

Note: If you run into an issue during the procedure, write me @hardeepnarang10@gmail.com. I will assist you resolve the issue and it'll help other people who've run into same problem as yourself by keeping me updated on what I need to simplify.

Version

Version update: v2.2.0 release:

• Nickname(s) identification.
• Bad input classification.
• Resolved: Issue #6.
• Resolved: Issue #5.

Version update: v2.1.0 release:

• Extended locale support.
• Resolved: Issue #4.
• Resolved: Issue #1.

Version update: v2.0.0 release:

• Crossplatform support (Mac, Linux, Windows).
• Resolved: Issue #3.

Version update: v1.1.0 release:

• Resolved: Issue #1
  • September 7, 2019 Update: Issue wasn't completely resolved - as pointed out here.
  • Resolved in v2.1.0: Commit (ef1f296).

Contributions

Contributions are welcome. Make a pull request.

Licence

MIT License.