MCP server · Reference servers
Time MCP server
Lets an assistant get the current time in any IANA time zone and convert a time between zones.
- Maintainer
- Model Context Protocol project (official)
- Licence
- MIT
- Runs
- Locally (uvx)
- Sign-in
- None
- Last activity
- 2026-10-11
Overview
What it does
Time is a Python reference server from the MCP project. It has two tools: get_current_time returns the current date and time in a named IANA time zone, with a daylight saving flag, and convert_time turns a 24-hour time from one zone into another. The server detects your system time zone automatically, and you can override it with the --local-timezone argument.
Models often don’t know the current date or get offsets wrong, so this is a small fix for scheduling, deadlines and meeting times across regions. Zone names must be exact IANA keys, case included, so Europe/London works and europe/london is rejected. It runs locally through uvx, pip or Docker and makes no network calls of its own.
Tools
What the assistant can do
- Get the current time in a named IANA time zone
- Convert a time between two time zones
- Report whether daylight saving time applies
- Detect the system time zone, with a --local-timezone override
Install
Install Time MCP server in your app
You need:
- uv (for uvx) or pip, with Python 3.10 or newer
Run in your project. --scope local keeps the servers private to you in this project; use user for every project.
claude mcp add --scope local time -- uvx mcp-server-time
claude mcp add --scope local time -- uvx mcp-server-time
Project root. Commit it to share the servers with your team; each person sets the variables in their own shell.
{
"mcpServers": {
"time": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-server-time"
]
}
}
}
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config). Restart Claude after saving.
{
"mcpServers": {
"time": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-server-time"
]
}
}
}
In your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project.
{
"mcpServers": {
"time": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-server-time"
]
}
}
}
In your workspace. VS Code asks for each secret the first time a server starts and stores it securely.
{
"servers": {
"time": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-server-time"
]
}
}
}
macOS/Linux: ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json. Read by the default Devin Local agent and by the legacy Cascade agent.
{
"mcpServers": {
"time": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-server-time"
]
}
}
}
Want it alongside other servers? Open Time MCP Server in the MCP config generator and add the rest; it writes one file per app. The snippets follow the setup in the server’s README, checked on 2026-10-14.
Before you install
- It reads only the system clock and time zone data; it has no file, shell or network tools.
- It reveals your local time zone to the assistant unless you set --local-timezone.
- A local MCP server runs with your user account’s permissions. Install it only from the source linked above. See how to choose a safe server.
Why it’s listed
Why we list it
A tiny, safe server that fixes a common model weakness with dates and time zones, kept by the MCP project.
Related
More MCP servers
- Filesystem MCP ServerLets an assistant read, write, edit, move and search files, but only inside the folders you allow.
- Git MCP ServerLets an assistant check status, read diffs and logs, stage, commit and switch branches in a local Git repository.
- Fetch MCP ServerLets an assistant fetch a web page and read it as Markdown, in chunks, with private addresses blocked by default.
- Knowledge Graph Memory ServerGives an assistant a persistent local knowledge graph of entities, relations and facts that it can add to and search.
- Sequential Thinking MCP ServerGives an assistant a tool for step-by-step reasoning that it can revise or branch as it works through a problem.
All MCP serversMCP config generatorGuide: MCP servers in Claude CodeGuide: what is MCP?