MCP Simple Timeserver

Give Claude temporal awareness in 60 seconds

Claude can write complex code, analyze data, and solve problems—but ask it what time it is and you'll get an apologetic "I don't have access to current time information." This MCP server fixes that fundamental limitation with two simple tools that connect Claude to real-world time.

The Problem: Time-Blind AI

Claude operates in a temporal vacuum. It can't tell you if it's morning or evening, can't calculate how long since your last conversation, and can't help with time-sensitive tasks that require current timestamps. For an AI assistant that's supposed to help with productivity, this is a glaring blind spot.

Why This Matters

Scheduling and Planning: Claude can now suggest meeting times based on your local timezone, calculate deadlines, and help plan time-sensitive workflows.

Development Context: When discussing logs, debugging time-sensitive issues, or planning deployments, Claude knows exactly when conversations are happening.

Session Continuity: Claude can calculate elapsed time between conversations, making it more contextually aware of your workflow patterns.

Time-Sensitive Analysis: Whether you're analyzing server logs, planning releases, or coordinating across timezones, Claude now has the temporal context it needs.

Two Simple Tools

• get_time: Returns your local time and timezone—perfect for Claude to understand your working hours and local context
• get_utc: Provides UTC time via NTP servers—essential for coordinating across timezones and precise timestamping

Real-World Use Cases

Code Review Timing: "Claude, how long ago did I submit this PR?" Now it can tell you exactly, helping track review cycles and development velocity.

Meeting Coordination: "Schedule a review session for tomorrow morning" becomes actionable when Claude knows what timezone you're in and what "tomorrow morning" actually means.

Log Analysis: When debugging issues, Claude can correlate timestamps in logs with real-world events, making troubleshooting conversations much more productive.

Sprint Planning: Claude can now factor in weekends, holidays, and working hours when helping estimate delivery dates and sprint capacity.

Installation

One command via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install mcp-simple-timeserver --client claude

Or manual installation:

pip install mcp-simple-timeserver

Then add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

"mcpServers": {
  "simple-timeserver": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": ["-m", "mcp_simple_timeserver"]
  }
}

Integration Notes

This server is stateless and requires no authentication—it's just providing time information. The NTP integration ensures accuracy even if your system clock drifts, making it reliable for precise timing needs.

The local time tool respects your system timezone settings, so Claude automatically understands your temporal context without any additional configuration.

Bottom line: If you use Claude for anything involving schedules, deadlines, or time-sensitive coordination, this server belongs in your toolkit. It's the kind of fundamental capability that should have been built-in from day one.