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MCP Time Tracker in Claude Desktop

Track billable time without leaving the chat. It keeps a running timer, takes time you forgot to log, applies an hourly rate per project, and turns the log into a report, a CSV or invoice lines. Plain JSON on disk.

Claude Desktop is the client people leave open all day, which is the one that a stopwatch needs: the timer keeps running while the window sits in the background, and stopping it is a sentence, not a form.

What you get in Claude Desktop

You say	Tool
Start a timer for the Acme website project.	`timer_start`
Log 2.5 hours yesterday for Acme, design review, at 90 euros an hour.	`entry_add`
How many hours did I bill this month, grouped by project?	`report`

In the audit run each of those sentences took one tool call, at 7.7 s and 14.6 s including a turn that also logged an expense.

Install it in Claude Desktop

The file is claude_desktop_config.json, and the key inside it is mcpServers.

Scope	Path
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "time-tracker": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-time-tracker"]
    }
  }
}

If node came from nvm, asdf or homebrew, replace "npx" with the absolute path that which npx prints:

"command": "/Users/you/.nvm/versions/node/v22.14.0/bin/npx"

Save, then completely quit Claude Desktop and start it again. A window reload is not enough.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-time-tracker is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

The same server runs at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/time-tracker over MCP streamable HTTP, no install. Mint a free token with curl https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/token, or use a Pro key. It has no filesystem, so a file comes back as a one-hour download link.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "time-tracker": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/time-tracker",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop notes worth knowing first

Two documented facts decide whether the entry works: every path in claude_desktop_config.json must be absolute, and a stdio server started here inherits only a limited, platform-dependent subset of environment variables. If node came from nvm or homebrew, paste what `which npx` prints instead of the bare word. The .mcpb route avoids both: Claude Desktop ships a built-in Node.js environment.

Free: unlimited timers and entries, 7 days of reports, 2 rated projects. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Where is claude_desktop_config.json?

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. There is no published Linux path. Settings, Developer, Edit Config opens the right copy and creates it if it does not exist.

I added it and MCP Time Tracker does not appear.

In order: did you fully quit and restart, not just close the window? Is every path absolute? And is the command resolvable, given the limited environment a stdio server inherits here? If node came from nvm, paste what which npx prints.

Can I install it without editing JSON?

Yes. An .mcpb bundle, the format renamed from .dxt, opens with Claude and shows an installation dialog. One you built yourself goes in through Settings, Extensions, Advanced settings, Install Extension.

MCP Time Tracker in detail · The same server in Cline and Claude Code · Every server in Claude Desktop · Guides · Claude Desktop docs