Time MCP server

The Time MCP Server provides time and timezone conversion capabilities for LLMs, enabling them to get current time information and perform timezone conversions using IANA timezone names. It automatically detects your system's timezone and can be used in Claude.app, Zed, and other compatible platforms.

Installation Options

Using uv (Recommended)

No specific installation is needed when using uv. You can run the server directly with uvx:

uvx mcp-server-time

Using PIP

Install via pip:

pip install mcp-server-time

After installation, run it as a script:

python -m mcp_server_time

Configuration

For Claude.app

Add 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

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"]
  }
},

Customizing the System Timezone

By default, the server automatically detects your system's timezone. Override this by adding the --local-timezone argument:

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

Available Tools

get_current_time

Gets the current time in a specific timezone or system timezone.

Required arguments:

• timezone (string): IANA timezone name (e.g., 'America/New_York', 'Europe/London')

convert_time

Converts time between timezones.

Required arguments:

• source_timezone (string): Source IANA timezone name
• time (string): Time in 24-hour format (HH:MM)
• target_timezone (string): Target IANA timezone name

Usage Examples

Getting Current Time

Request:

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

Response:

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

Converting Time Between Timezones

Request:

{
  "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

Use the MCP inspector to debug the server:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx mcp-server-time

Example Questions to Ask 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.