Time MCP server

The Time MCP Server integrates with LLMs to provide accurate time information and timezone conversion capabilities. This server uses IANA timezone names and can automatically detect your system's timezone, allowing AI models to work with real-time temporal data.

Installation Options

Using uv (Recommended)

The easiest way to run the Time MCP Server is with uv:

# No specific installation needed - you'll run directly with uvx

Using PIP

Alternatively, install using pip:

pip install mcp-server-time

To run the server after pip installation:

python -m mcp_server_time

Configuration

For Claude.app

Add one of these configurations to your Claude settings:

Using uvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "time": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-time"]
    }
  }
}

Using pip installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "time": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_time"]
    }
  }
}

For Zed Editor

Add to your Zed settings.json:

Using uvx:

"context_servers": [
  "mcp-server-time": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-server-time"]
  }
],

Using pip installation:

"context_servers": {
  "mcp-server-time": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_time"]
  }
},

For VS Code

For manual installation, add this to your VS Code User Settings (JSON) file:

Using uvx:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "time": {
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": ["mcp-server-time"]
      }
    }
  }
}

You can also add the configuration to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace to share with others.

Timezone Customization

Override the automatic system timezone detection:

{
  "command": "python",
  "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_time", "--local-timezone=America/New_York"]
}

Available Tools and Usage

Get Current Time

This tool provides the current time in a specified timezone or your system timezone.

Example Usage:

{
  "name": "get_current_time",
  "arguments": {
    "timezone": "Europe/Warsaw"
  }
}

Response:

{
  "timezone": "Europe/Warsaw",
  "datetime": "2024-01-01T13:00:00+01:00",
  "is_dst": false
}

Convert Time Between Timezones

This tool converts time between different IANA timezones.

Example Usage:

{
  "name": "convert_time",
  "arguments": {
    "source_timezone": "America/New_York",
    "time": "16:30",
    "target_timezone": "Asia/Tokyo"
  }
}

Response:

{
  "source": {
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "datetime": "2024-01-01T12:30:00-05:00",
    "is_dst": false
  },
  "target": {
    "timezone": "Asia/Tokyo",
    "datetime": "2024-01-01T12:30:00+09:00",
    "is_dst": false
  },
  "time_difference": "+13.0h",
}

Debugging

Debug the server using the MCP inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx mcp-server-time

Example Questions for Claude

• "What time is it now?" (uses system timezone)
• "What time is it in Tokyo?"
• "When it's 4 PM in New York, what time is it in London?"
• "Convert 9:30 AM Tokyo time to New York time"

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.