get_current_timeLABSCO SUMMARY
Four tools, and the timezone argument is on all of them.
The reason to reach for this over a one-line shell call is the timezone handling: every tool takes a timezone, so "what date is it in Tokyo right now" and "render this timestamp as the customer in Los Angeles saw it" are single calls rather than arithmetic the model does badly. The comprehensive info tool is the one worth remembering — it returns the parts already split out, so the model does not have to parse a string it just asked for.
What it is
A small stdio MCP server that answers time and date questions. Models have no clock, so anything involving "now" — a timestamp for a log line, today's date in another timezone, turning a Unix number from a database into something readable — needs a tool. This covers those four cases and nothing else.
What you get
- The current time as ISO, local, UTC or a Unix timestamp, in a named timezone such as
Europe/London—get_current_time - The current date as ISO, local, short, long, or a custom format built from Intl.DateTimeFormat options —
get_current_date - A full picture in one call: ISO, local and UTC strings, the Unix value, and the year, month, day, hour, minute, second, day of week and timezone broken out as fields —
get_datetime_info - Any Unix timestamp in milliseconds rendered into ISO, local, UTC or a custom format, in whichever timezone you name —
format_timestamp
Requirements
Nothing — no account, no key, no network. Clone the repository, run npm install, and point your client at timeserver.js by absolute path; on Linux make it executable first. The package is mcp-time-server (0.1.0 in package.json) and speaks stdio. The README notes that Claude Desktop may not pick the server up until it is reinstalled.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/PierreGode/timeMCP.git
USE CASES
01
Stamping something with the actual current time
Ask for the current time in ISO form so a log line, a commit message or a filename carries a real timestamp rather than an invented one.
02
Answering a date question for another timezone
Request today's date in long form with the target timezone named, instead of reasoning about offsets.
03
Reading a raw timestamp out of a database
Hand over the Unix value in milliseconds and get it back as a readable local or UTC string.
04
Getting every part of the current moment at once
Pull the combined record when you need several pieces — day of week, hour, offset — without three separate calls.
4 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
get_current_dateget_datetime_infoformat_timestampBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
4 tools named in the project's documentation. All four read your machine's clock with a timezone parameter; nothing uses the network. Run it from a clone with timeserver.js, since npx mcp-time-server may resolve to an unrelated package.
Requires
Node.js and npm
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/PierreGode/timeMCP.git
cd timeMCP
npm installMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"time-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_TIME_MCP>/timeserver.js"
],
"env": {}
}
}
}Use the absolute path to timeserver.js inside your clone. The README's own example is a Windows path under C:\Users\youruser\Documents\timeMCP. For other MCP clients the README gives no configuration of its own — the server speaks stdio, so add the same node command and path in that client's format.
