TimeCamp MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates TimeCamp time tracking directly into AI assistants like Claude, Cline, and Continue.

Features

• ⏱️ Real-time Timer Control - Start, stop, and check timer status
• 📊 Time Entry Management - Create manual time entries for past work
• 🔍 Smart Search - Fuzzy search across projects and tasks
• 📈 Reporting - Daily summaries, weekly reports, and time tracking insights
• 🚀 Intelligent Caching - Fast response times with built-in cache management
• 📝 Rich Prompts - Pre-built prompts for standup reports and analytics

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• TimeCamp account with API access
• MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cline, Continue, etc.)
• uv installed (required by MCP clients)

Get your TimeCamp API token

1. Log into TimeCamp
2. Navigate to Profile
3. Scroll down to Your programming API token
4. Copy your API token

Installation

Simply add the TimeCamp MCP server to your client configuration. The server will be automatically downloaded from PyPI when needed.

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS/Linux) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "timecamp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["timecamp-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "TIMECAMP_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code (Cline, Continue, etc.)

For VS Code extensions that support MCP, add to your settings:

{
  "cline.mcp.servers": {
    "timecamp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["timecamp-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "TIMECAMP_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternative: Manual Installation

If you prefer to install from source:

git clone https://github.com/kkeeling/timecamp-mcp-server.git
cd timecamp-mcp-server

Then use this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "timecamp": {
      "command": "/path/to/uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/timecamp-mcp-server",
        "run",
        "python",
        "timecamp-server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TIMECAMP_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Resources

Resources provide read-only access to TimeCamp data:

timecamp://projects

Lists all available projects with task counts and status.

Example response:

{
  "projects": [
    {
      "id": 12345,
      "name": "Website Development",
      "color": "#4CAF50",
      "tasks_count": 15,
      "archived": false
    }
  ],
  "total_count": 8,
  "include_archived": true
}

timecamp://tasks

Lists all tasks with their associated projects.

Example response:

[
  {
    "id": 67890,
    "name": "Frontend Development",
    "project_id": 12345,
    "project_name": "Website Development",
    "archived": false
  }
]

timecamp://timer

Shows current timer status.

Example response:

{
  "is_running": true,
  "task_name": "Code Review",
  "task_id": 67890,
  "timer_id": 11111,
  "project_name": "Website Development",
  "elapsed_time": "1h 23m",
  "elapsed_seconds": 4980,
  "start_time": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

timecamp://time-entries/{date}

Retrieves time entries for a specific date (format: YYYY-MM-DD).

Example: timecamp://time-entries/2024-01-15

Example response:

{
  "date": "2024-01-15",
  "total_time": "6h 45m",
  "total_seconds": 24300,
  "entries": [
    {
      "task_name": "Code Review",
      "task_id": 67890,
      "project_name": "Website Development",
      "duration": "2h 30m",
      "duration_seconds": 9000,
      "notes": ["Reviewed PR #123", "Fixed merge conflicts"]
    }
  ],
  "entry_count": 4,
  "is_timer_running": true,
  "current_task": "Documentation",
  "current_task_id": 67891
}

timecamp://changes

Tracks recent state changes (timer starts/stops, entries created).

Example response:

{
  "changes": [
    {
      "type": "timer_started",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:30:00Z",
      "details": {
        "task_id": 67890,
        "task_name": "Code Review",
        "timer_id": 11111
      }
    }
  ],
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:35:00Z"
}

timecamp://search/{query}

Fuzzy search for projects and tasks by name.

Example: timecamp://search/frontend

Response:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "type": "task",
      "id": 67890,
      "name": "Frontend Development",
      "match_score": 0.95,
      "project_name": "Website Development"
    },
    {
      "type": "project",
      "id": 12345,
      "name": "Frontend Redesign",
      "match_score": 0.85
    }
  ],
  "total_results": 2,
  "query": "frontend"
}

Tools

Tools allow you to perform actions in TimeCamp:

start_timer

Starts a timer for a specific task.

Parameters:

• task_id (required): The ID of the task to track
• note (optional): A note to attach to the timer

Example:

{
  "task_id": 67890,
  "note": "Working on authentication feature"
}

Response:

{
  "message": "Timer started for task 'Frontend Development'",
  "timer_id": 11111,
  "task_id": 67890,
  "task_name": "Frontend Development",
  "started_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "project_name": "Website Development"
}

stop_timer

Stops the currently running timer.

Parameters: None

Response:

{
  "message": "Timer stopped",
  "duration": "2h 15m",
  "duration_seconds": 8100,
  "task_name": "Frontend Development",
  "task_id": 67890,
  "timer_id": 11111
}

create_time_entry

Creates a manual time entry for past work.

Parameters:

• task_id (required): The task ID
• date (required): Date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• start_time (required): Start time in HH:MM format
• end_time (required): End time in HH:MM format
• note (optional): Description of work done

Example:

{
  "task_id": 67890,
  "date": "2024-01-14",
  "start_time": "14:00",
  "end_time": "16:30",
  "note": "Implemented user authentication"
}

Response:

{
  "entry_id": 99999,
  "task_id": 67890,
  "task_name": "Frontend Development",
  "project_name": "Website Development",
  "date": "2024-01-14",
  "start_time": "14:00",
  "end_time": "16:30",
  "duration": "2h 30m",
  "duration_seconds": 9000,
  "note": "Implemented user authentication"
}

Prompts

Pre-built prompts for common time tracking workflows:

daily_standup_prompt

Generates a daily standup report from time entries.

Parameters:

• date (optional): Date in YYYY-MM-DD format (defaults to today)

Example output:

Daily Standup for 2024-01-15
==============================
Total time tracked: 6h 45m

What I worked on:
• Frontend Development (Website Development): 2h 30m - Implemented auth flow; Fixed responsive issues
• Code Review (Website Development): 1h 45m - Reviewed PR #123
• Documentation (API Project): 1h 30m - Updated API docs
• Team Meeting (Internal): 1h 0m

Currently working on: Documentation

weekly_report_prompt

Generates a comprehensive weekly time report.

Parameters:

• start_date (optional): Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format (defaults to current week's Monday)

Example output:

Weekly Time Report
Week of 2024-01-08
========================================
Total time tracked: 35h 20m

Time by Day:
• Monday (2024-01-08): 7h 15m
• Tuesday (2024-01-09): 6h 45m
• Wednesday (2024-01-10): 7h 30m
• Thursday (2024-01-11): 8h 0m
• Friday (2024-01-12): 5h 50m

Time by Project:
• Website Development: 22h 15m
• API Project: 8h 30m
• Internal: 4h 35m

Top 5 Tasks:
• Frontend Development (Website Development): 12h 30m
• Backend API (API Project): 6h 45m
• Code Review (Website Development): 5h 15m
• Documentation (API Project): 3h 30m
• Team Meeting (Internal): 2h 45m

time_tracking_insights_prompt

Provides insights and suggestions for better time tracking.

Parameters: None

Example output:

Time Tracking Insights
==============================

Today's tracked time: 4h 30m
Tasks worked on: 3

Timer is running: Documentation
Elapsed time: 45m

Yesterday's total: 7h 15m
Tasks completed: 5
📊 You're tracking less time than yesterday.

Suggestions:
• Review untracked time gaps
• Set reminders to start/stop timers
• Use descriptive notes for better reporting

Usage Examples

Start tracking time

"Start timer for task 67890 with note 'Working on login feature'"
"Begin tracking Frontend Development task"
"Start working on task ID 12345"

Stop tracking

"Stop the timer"
"Stop tracking time"
"End current timer"

Check status

"What's my current timer status?"
"Am I tracking time right now?"
"Show current timer"

Create time entries

"Log 2 hours for task 67890 yesterday from 2pm to 4pm"
"Create time entry for Frontend Development on 2024-01-14 from 09:00 to 11:30"
"Add manual entry for task 12345"

View summaries

"Show me today's time tracking"
"What did I work on today?"
"Generate my daily standup"
"Create weekly report for last week"
"Show time tracking insights"

Advanced Features

Intelligent Caching

• 5-minute TTL cache for projects and tasks
• Automatic cache invalidation on state changes
• ETag support for efficient resource updates

Error Handling

• Graceful handling of API errors
• Clear error messages for common issues
• Rate limit detection and warnings

State Tracking

• Monitors timer starts/stops
• Tracks time entry creation
• Provides change history via timecamp://changes resource

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
TIMECAMP_API_TOKEN	Your TimeCamp API token	Yes

Troubleshooting

"TIMECAMP_API_TOKEN environment variable not set"

Ensure the API token is properly configured in your MCP client's configuration file.

"Invalid API token"

1. Verify your token in TimeCamp: Profile → API Access
2. Check for extra spaces or characters in the token
3. Ensure the token hasn't been regenerated

"Rate limit exceeded"

TimeCamp API has rate limits. Wait 60 seconds before retrying.

Timer not starting

1. Verify the task ID exists
2. Check if a timer is already running (stop it first)
3. Ensure the task isn't archived

Development

The server is implemented as a single file Python script (timecamp-server.py) that uses PEP 723 inline script metadata. Dependencies are automatically handled by UV.

Running locally

# Using UV
uv run timecamp-server.py

Dependencies

• fastmcp - MCP server framework
• httpx - Async HTTP client
• pydantic - Data validation
• rapidfuzz - Fuzzy string matching
• python-dotenv - Environment variable management

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Support

• TimeCamp API Documentation: https://developer.timecamp.com/
• MCP Documentation: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/