NTP MCP Server

# NTP-MCP Setup Guide ## Quick Start (Automatic Setup) Run the setup script to automatically configure your timezone and install the MCP: ```bash # Using Python (recommended - cross-platform) python3 setup_timezone.py # Or using Bash (Linux/WSL only) ./setup_timezone.sh ``` This will: 1. ✅ Detect your system's current timezone 2. ✅ Configure the NTP-MCP to use your timezone 3. ✅ Set a reliable default NTP server (time.cloudflare.com) 4. ✅ Check if NTP-MCP is already installed 5. ✅ Install or update the MCP safely using `claude mcp add` 6. ✅ Verify the connection is working ## What the Setup Script Does ### Smart Installation Management The script intelligently handles different installation states: - **Not Installed**: Automatically installs NTP-MCP - **Already Working**: Asks if you want to update settings - **Failed Connection**: Automatically reinstalls with correct settings - **No Claude CLI**: Provides manual configuration instructions ### Automatic Timezone Detection The script detects your timezone using multiple methods: - System timezone settings (`timedatectl` on Linux) - `/etc/timezone` file - `TZ` environment variable - `/etc/localtime` symlink ### Safe Configuration Updates The script safely updates: 1. **Claude MCP Registration** (using `claude mcp add`) - Checks for existing installation first - Only updates if you confirm (when already installed) - Automatically fixes failed installations 2. **Launch Script Defaults** (`launch_ntpmcp.sh`) - Updates default timezone - Updates default NTP server - Fixes Windows line endings automatically ## Manual Configuration Options ### Option 1: Use a Different NTP Server Run the setup script with a server name: ```bash # Use Google's time server python3 setup_timezone.py time.google.com # Use NIST time server python3 setup_timezone.py time.nist.gov ``` **Approved NTP Servers:** - `time.cloudflare.com` (default - recommended) - `time.google.com` - `pool.ntp.org` - `time.nist.gov` - `time.windows.com` - `time.apple.com` ### Option 2: Manual Installation with Claude CLI If the setup script doesn't work for you, manually install: ```bash # Add the MCP globally claude mcp add --scope user ntp bash /path/to/ntp-mcp/launch_ntpmcp.sh # Verify it's connected claude mcp list ``` ### Option 3: Edit Claude Configuration Directly Add this to your Claude config file: ```json { "mcpServers": { "ntp": { "command": "bash", "args": ["/path/to/ntp-mcp/launch_ntpmcp.sh"], "env": { "TZ": "America/New_York", "NTP_SERVER": "time.cloudflare.com" } } } } ``` ### Option 4: Set Environment Variables Before starting Claude: ```bash export TZ="America/Los_Angeles" export NTP_SERVER="time.google.com" claude ``` ## Common Timezones | Region | Timezone String | |--------|----------------| | US Eastern | `America/New_York` | | US Central | `America/Chicago` | | US Mountain | `America/Denver` | | US Pacific | `America/Los_Angeles` | | UK | `Europe/London` | | EU Central | `Europe/Berlin` | | Japan | `Asia/Tokyo` | | Australia | `Australia/Sydney` | | UTC | `UTC` | ## Verification After setup, start Claude and test: ``` You: "What time is it?" ``` The response should show: - Your local time - Your configured timezone - The NTP server used Example response: ``` Date:2025-08-29 Time:14:30:45 Timezone:EST NTP Server:time.cloudflare.com Source:NTP ``` ## Troubleshooting ### "Cannot execute: required file not found" Error If you get this error when running the scripts, they may have Windows line endings: ```bash # Fix line endings for both scripts sed -i 's/\r$//' setup_timezone.sh launch_ntpmcp.sh sed -i 's/\r$//' setup_timezone.py # Or if you don't have sed, the Python script will auto-fix launch_ntpmcp.sh python3 setup_timezone.py ``` The setup scripts now automatically fix line endings in launch_ntpmcp.sh. ### Script Can't Find Claude Config If the setup script can't find your Claude configuration: 1. The script creates a local config at `~/.config/ntp-mcp/config.json` 2. Copy the contents to your Claude configuration manually 3. Or set the `CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH` environment variable: ```bash export CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH="/path/to/your/claude/config.json" python3 setup_timezone.py ``` ### Wrong Timezone Detected Override with the TZ environment variable: ```bash export TZ="America/New_York" python3 setup_timezone.py ``` ### NTP Server Blocked If your preferred NTP server is blocked by security filters, use one from the approved list above. ## Advanced Usage ### Using Different Timezones for Different Sessions You can override the configured timezone for a specific Claude session: ```bash # Override just for this session TZ="Europe/London" claude # Or permanently change python3 setup_timezone.py # Re-run to update ``` ### Checking Current Configuration View your current NTP-MCP configuration: ```bash # If using Claude config cat ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json | grep -A5 "ntp-server" # Check launch script defaults grep "export TZ\|export NTP_SERVER" ~/ntp-mcp/launch_ntpmcp.sh ``` ## Security Notes - The NTP-MCP implements geographic security filtering - Direct IP addresses are not allowed as NTP servers - Only approved NTP servers in the whitelist can be used - The setup script only modifies configuration files, never system settings ## Need Help? 1. Run the setup script - it handles 90% of use cases automatically 2. Check the timezone is correct: `timedatectl` (Linux) or `echo $TZ` 3. Verify Claude is using the updated config (restart Claude after changes) 4. Test with "What time is it?" in your conversation The setup script is idempotent - you can run it multiple times safely.