What is Unix Timestamps Mcp

unix-timestamps-mcp is a lightweight MCP server designed to assist language models in converting ISO 8601 date/time strings into Unix timestamps, addressing the challenges models face with time-related queries due to knowledge cutoffs.

Use cases

Use cases include converting timestamps for logging events, scheduling tasks, or integrating with APIs that require Unix timestamps for date/time representation.

How to use

To use unix-timestamps-mcp, configure your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop) by adding the server’s command and arguments to the settings file. You can then access the conversion tool iso8601_to_unix to convert ISO 8601 formatted date/time strings into Unix timestamps.

Key features

Key features include ISO 8601 to Unix timestamp conversion, input validation to ensure the date string is recognized by JavaScript’s Date parser, and error handling that returns informative messages for invalid inputs.

Where to use

unix-timestamps-mcp can be used in various fields where accurate time conversion is necessary, such as software development, data analysis, and any application that requires timestamp manipulation.

Unix Timestamps MCP Server

A lightweight MCP server for converting ISO 8601 date/time strings to Unix timestamps.

Features

• ISO 8601 to Unix Timestamp Conversion: Provides a tool (iso8601_to_unix) to convert standard ISO 8601 date/time strings into Unix timestamps (seconds since the epoch).
• Input Validation: Basic check to ensure the input string is a valid date recognized by JavaScript’s Date parser.
• Error Handling: Returns an error message if the input string is not a valid ISO 8601 date/time.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 18 or higher recommended)
• npm or npx (usually included with Node.js)

Client Configuration (Claude Desktop)

To use this server with a client like Claude Desktop, add the following configuration to your client’s settings file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unix_timestamps_mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "github:Ivor/unix-timestamps-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Usage

This server provides tools accessible via an MCP client.

Available Tools

Tool: iso8601_to_unix(iso8601: string)

Converts an ISO 8601 formatted date/time string into a Unix timestamp (seconds since epoch).

• Input Parameter: iso8601 (string) - The date/time string in ISO 8601 format (e.g., "2024-07-26T10:00:00Z", "2024-07-26T12:00:00+02:00").

• Output: Text containing the calculated Unix timestamp and confirmation of the parsed date. Example:

  Unix Timestamp: 1721988000
  
  Original ISO8601: 2024-07-26T10:00:00Z
  Parsed as: Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:00:00 GMT
  

• Error Handling: Returns an error message if the input string is not a valid ISO 8601 date/time.

Examples in Claude Desktop

1. Configure the server as shown in the Installation section.
2. Use the iso8601_to_unix tool in your prompts:
   • “Convert ‘2023-03-15T12:00:00Z’ to a Unix timestamp: iso8601_to_unix(iso8601: '2023-03-15T12:00:00Z')”
   • “What is the Unix timestamp for ‘2024-01-01T00:00:00-05:00’? iso8601_to_unix(iso8601: '2024-01-01T00:00:00-05:00')”

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details. (Please create a LICENSE file or update this section if using a different license).