calculate_time_distance
Calculate the duration/distance between two dates or datetimes. Use this tool for countdowns, elapsed time calculations, or scheduling queries.
LABSCO SUMMARY
It fixes the two time problems a model actually has.
The first is not knowing what time it is now: get_local_time answers from the machine and get_utc from an NTP server for when the machine's clock is not to be trusted. The second is date arithmetic, and calculate_time_distance is where the business_days and exclude_holidays arguments earn their place — "how many working days until the deadline" is a question that gets answered wrongly far more often than it looks. The location handling states its own precedence, timezone over city over country, so an ambiguous request resolves predictably rather than by guess.
What it is
A time and calendar server covering local time, NTP-backed UTC, localisation, date arithmetic and public holidays.
What you get
- get_local_time, the current local time and timezone from the machine the server runs on
- get_utc, accurate UTC from an NTP server, with the server selectable
- get_current_time, localised by timezone, city or country — timezone takes priority over city, and city over country — with optional conversion into other calendar systems
- calculate_time_distance between two dates or datetimes in a chosen unit, optionally counting business days only and excluding holidays
- get_holidays for a country and year, optionally including school holidays
- is_holiday, checking a single date against a country or city
Requirements
Nothing — no account, no key. get_utc reaches an NTP server, so that one needs network access; the others do not.
Setup effort
One command — uvx mcp-simple-timeserver
USE CASES
01
Setting a call time for someone three timezones away
The current time resolves from a timezone, a city or a country, with timezone taking priority over city and city over country. Local time and NTP-sourced UTC give the two fixed points to reason between.
02
Counting the working days left before a deadline
The distance between two dates comes back in a chosen unit, and the business-days mode can drop holidays as well as weekends. The holiday check settles the individual dates that decide whether the count is right.
03
Planning around a country's holiday calendar
Pull the year's public holidays for the country, school holidays included when the plan has to survive the school calendar, then confirm any single date that matters.
6 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
get_current_time
Returns current time, optionally localized to a specific location or timezone, with optional conversion to additional calendar systems.
get_holidays
Get a list of public holidays (and optionally school holidays) for a country and year. Use this tool when the user asks about holidays, days off, or vacation periods.
get_local_time
Returns the current local time and timezone information from your local machine. This helps you understand what time it is for the user you're assisting.
get_utc
Returns accurate UTC time from an NTP server. This provides a universal time reference regardless of local timezone.
is_holiday
Check if a specific date is a holiday in a given country or city. Use this tool to quickly verify if a particular day is a public or school holiday.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
6 tools when we connected.
Requires
uvx on PATH
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 6 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Add the block to your client, or run the command directly.
Server setup
Configuration file
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-simple-timeserver": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-simple-timeserver"
]
}
}
}uvx
TERMINAL
uvx mcp-simple-timeserver
