Date Math – Business Days, Holidays & Time Zones

Current date and time (free)

current_time

Read-only

Retrieve the current date, time, weekday, and UTC offset for up to 10 time zones, plus UTC and Unix time, to anchor date-sensitive tasks to today.

Instructions

Free: the current date, time, weekday and UTC offset in up to 10 time zones, plus UTC and Unix time. Call this first whenever you need today's date; models do not know it. Does not use the daily free calls.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "current_time"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`timezone`	No	IANA time zone, e.g. Asia/Manila
`timezones`	No	Up to 10 IANA time zones (default UTC)

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`utc`	Yes
`times`	Yes
`unix_ms`	Yes
`unix_seconds`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Addedv1.7.0Nov 8, 2026

TDQS

A4.2/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already establish readOnly and closed-world, but the description adds behavior the annotations cannot express: it is free, and it does not consume the daily free call quota — a meaningful cost consideration on a rate-limited server. It says nothing about accuracy source, latency, or partial failures in mixed valid/invalid zone lists.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three short sentences: what it returns, when to call it, what it costs. The value proposition is front-loaded with the "Free" marker and nothing is redundant.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

An output schema exists, so return-shape explanation is unnecessary, and the description covers scope, cost, and trigger adequately for a two-parameter read tool. The only real omission is guidance on choosing between the two overlapping time-zone parameters.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so both parameters are already documented, and the description's "up to 10 time zones" restates the maxItems constraint. The real ambiguity it leaves untouched is why both a singular `timezone` and a plural `timezones` array exist and which one to prefer; that is the one piece of semantic guidance the schema does not supply.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description names the resource and the exact payload: current date, time, weekday, UTC offset, UTC and Unix time, across up to 10 zones. That is concrete enough to distinguish it from conversion-oriented siblings like timezone_convert or city_time without opening a schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives an explicit trigger — "Call this first whenever you need today's date; models do not know it" — which is real routing guidance. What it lacks is named alternatives: it never says to use timezone_convert or city_time instead when the task is conversion rather than 'now', so the agent must infer the boundary.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.