Time Date MCP For Claude

A native macOS MCP server that gives Claude the current date, time, and timezone. Built in Objective-C with zero dependencies — a single compiled binary that communicates over stdio.

Why

Claude doesn't always know what time it is. This MCP server fixes that by exposing a get_current_datetime tool that returns the local date, time, timezone, and day of week from the user's Mac.

Install

Option 1: Download the .mcpb bundle

1. Download ESTimeDateMCP.mcpb from Releases
2. Open Claude Desktop settings
3. Drag the .mcpb file onto "Drag .MCPB or .DXT files here to install"

Option 2: Build from source

Requires Xcode.

git clone https://github.com/apocryphx/Time-Date-MCP-for-Claude.git
cd Time-Date-MCP-for-Claude
xcodebuild -scheme ESTimeDateMCP -configuration Release build

The build automatically packages ESTimeDateMCP.mcpb in the project root via a custom build phase.

To install manually without the .mcpb, add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "datetime": {
      "command": "/path/to/ESTimeDateMCP"
    }
  }
}

Tool

get_current_datetime

Returns the current date and time from the local machine. No arguments.

Example response:

{
  "iso8601": "2026-04-13T16:00:49-07:00",
  "date": "2026-04-13",
  "time": "16:00:49",
  "day_of_week": "Monday",
  "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
  "timezone_abbreviation": "PDT",
  "utc_offset": "-07:00",
  "utc_offset_seconds": -25200,
  "unix_timestamp": 1776121249
}

How It Works

The server is a standalone Objective-C command-line tool that implements the Model Context Protocol over stdio (JSON-RPC 2.0). Claude Desktop launches it as a subprocess, sends requests on stdin, and reads responses from stdout.

No HTTP server, no Node.js, no Python — just a ~74KB native binary.

Project Structure

ESTimeDateMCP/
├── ESTimeDateMCP/
│   ├── main.m                    # MCP server implementation
│   ├── Info.plist                # Bundle metadata
│   └── ESTimeDateMCP.entitlements
├── ESTimeDateMCP.xcodeproj/      # Xcode project
├── bundle/
│   ├── manifest.json             # MCPB manifest (v0.3)
│   ├── icon.png                  # Extension icon
│   └── server/                   # Binary copied here by build phase
└── ESTimeDateMCP.mcpb            # Packaged bundle (built automatically)

Requirements

• macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
• Xcode (to build from source)
• Claude Desktop (to use the extension)

Privacy Policy

This extension collects no data. It reads your Mac's system clock and returns the result to Claude over a local pipe. No network requests, no analytics, no data leaves your machine. For complete privacy information, see our privacy policy.

Data Collection

• No personal information is collected or stored
• No network requests are made — fully offline
• No data is shared with third parties
• No data is retained between calls

License

MIT