WorldTime MCP Server

Overview

The WorldTime MCP Server is a lightweight, purpose‑built service that exposes time‑related data to AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol. By wrapping two widely used public APIs—WorldTimeAPI for basic time zone information and TimezoneDB for a more comprehensive list of zones—the server provides instant, reliable access to current local times anywhere in the world. This solves a common pain point for developers building conversational agents: obtaining accurate, timezone‑aware timestamps without having to manage the complexities of time zone databases or external services themselves.

For developers integrating Claude or other MCP‑compatible assistants, the server offers a single endpoint that returns structured JSON containing the current time, UTC offset, daylight‑saving status, and optional additional fields such as ISO 8601 timestamps. Because the service is stateless and runs locally, latency is minimal and the assistant can query it on demand during a conversation. This makes it ideal for use cases like scheduling assistants, travel planners, or any application that needs to display local times in different regions.

Key features include:

• Dual‑API fallback: If WorldTimeAPI is unavailable or missing a zone, the server automatically queries TimezoneDB using an API key supplied in the environment.
• Timezone resolution: Accepts common identifiers such as IANA names, ISO country codes, or even latitude/longitude pairs to determine the appropriate zone.
• Human‑readable output: The response includes both machine‑friendly timestamps and formatted strings suitable for direct display.
• Secure key management: The TimezoneDB API key is injected via environment variables, keeping secrets out of source code and configuration files.

Typical real‑world scenarios benefit from this MCP server. A travel chatbot can ask a user for their destination and instantly provide the current local time, helping travelers plan activities. A scheduling assistant can suggest meeting times across multiple participants in different time zones by querying the server for each participant’s local clock. Developers building international e‑commerce platforms can display checkout times in the customer’s region, improving transparency and trust.

Integration is straightforward: once the server is registered in a Claude Desktop configuration, any prompt that needs the current time can invoke the “worldtime” MCP command. The assistant sends a request with the desired location, receives a JSON payload, and can embed the time directly into its response. This tight coupling between the assistant’s language model and real‑time data enhances conversational relevance, reduces hallucination around time facts, and provides a seamless developer experience for building globally aware applications.