A line for the current minute, from literature, copyright-free books, or an original voice.
Literature Clock MCP (io.github.markusvankempen/literature-clock-mcp)
This MCP server provides “a line for the current minute” drawn from literature, copyright-free books, or an original voice. It is exposed under the slug io-github-markusvankempen-literature-clock-mcp and is focused on generating a time-based text line rather than broader content retrieval.
🛠️ Key Features
Produces a line corresponding to the current minute
Sources text from literature
Supports copyright-free books
Can use an original voice
🚀 Use Cases
Get a minute-specific literary line for display or study
Build apps that refresh content on a per-minute schedule
Provide lightweight, time-based text snippets for user interfaces
⚡ Developer Benefits
Clear, deterministic purpose: line per minute
Simple integration target: retrieve the current-minute line
⚠️ Limitations
Server data provided does not specify additional tools, endpoints, or configuration options beyond the minute-based line behavior
clients/ is a set of HTML pages for Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop, a browser that calls get_quote, a page that subscribes to the quote push on GET /events, and a page that reads and changes settings. Open clients/index.html, or serve the folder on localhost so those pages can reach the server.
This repository is the project home. It does not contain the server source. Install the published package with the npx blocks above.
Add a hosted server
The same configs work for Render, IBM Code Engine, or any host that serves this app over HTTPS. The MCP URL is the site plus /mcp. The live Render server is https://literature-clock-mcp.onrender.com/mcp. A Code Engine app looks like https://<app>.<region>.codeengine.appdomain.cloud/mcp.
The host must run MCP_MODE=http HOST=0.0.0.0 npx -y literature-clock-mcp@1.6.5 and leave PORT for the platform. Deploy steps for Render are under Render.
When auth mode is write or all, add a header Authorization: Bearer <key>. Auth is off on a fresh server, so the blocks below need no key.
Cursor — this project: .cursor/mcp.json. Every project: ~/.cursor/mcp.json.
Save the file. Open Cursor Settings → MCP and turn literature-clock-mcp on. A green dot means the handshake worked. In Agent chat, ask: ask literature-clock-mcp for the current quote.
VS Code — workspace .vscode/mcp.json, or Command Palette → MCP: Open User Configuration.
Command Palette → MCP: List Servers → start literature-clock-mcp. In Copilot Chat, confirm the server is selected in the tools list, then ask for the current quote.
Claude Desktop — the desktop file only starts a local process. mcp-remote opens the hosted URL. Config path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows. Quit Claude and open it again after you save.
The first call after a free Render instance has been idle can take a moment while the process wakes. The clock on the server is that machine’s clock. On Render that is UTC, so “now” is four hours ahead of Toronto.
An MCP server that tells the time the way a literature clock does: one sentence that names that exact minute.
The default source is Literature, Johannes Enevoldsen's literature-clock collection (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). Books are copyright-free lines bundled with the server. The other sources are original voices written for this clock, not quotations from films or living authors.
No account and no analytics. Books and voices stay on the machine. Literature tries those bundled exact-minute lines first, then the public collection, and falls back to copyright-free books if the library does not answer.
The HTTP clock, with Literature selected for 11:11.
An original voice, not a book quotation.
Settings (laptop sign-in demo / demo). Default source, time zone, 12-hour or 24-hour clock, users and passwords, auth, and rate limit.
Sign-in before Settings on a fresh session.
Features
Feature
Where
Clock page
/ — Show, Another line, Random, Read aloud. ?source=literature&time=09:05
Literature, books, mix, surprise, voices
Default source is literature. list_sources
Clock, settings, keys, users, log
Each Settings form is a tool: set_clock, set_auth_mode, set_audit, set_rate_limit, set_protocols, set_ui_auth, set_tool_gate, set_tool_lock, set_push. Backup is export_settings then import_settings. The log is set_audit, then generate_traffic, then export_log. Those need the admin scope even when auth mode is off.
JSON Schema
list_schemas then get_schema, or tools/list on the Tools page
Run a tool
Tools page. Copy JSON, or open the result in a new tab
stdio, Streamable HTTP (/mcp), legacy SSE (/sse). Settings → Protocols. One stays on
Hide pages until sign-in
Settings → Protocols. JSON and MCP stay available
Health, smoke, traffic
/health, /test. Traffic needs a sign-in or an API key. It fills the log with reads, a bad time, an unknown schema, and a rejected key
Settings
Clock, security, protocols, push, tool gates, API keys, users, backup
Quote push
Every 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or one line immediately with push_quote
Event stream
GET /events. The Events client subscribes and can push one line
Log
Counters, errors, call trace, audit trail. Export names the caller (user, API key, or anonymous)
Auth
off, write, or all. Keys and users on Settings. describe_server stays open
Client pages
clients/ for Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop, a browser, the event stream, and settings
Quote sources
Source
What you get
literature (default)
Johannes Enevoldsen's collection. Exact-minute bundled copyright-free lines first. If that minute has none, the public JSON feed (safer passages). If the feed does not answer, a copyright-free line, marked as a library fallback.
books
Bundled copyright-free corpus only. An empty minute uses the nearest earlier readable line and says so.
mix
Exact minute from books and every voice.
surprise
One random source, then a line from it.
voices
Original lines: Yoda, Teacher, Pirate, Aussie, Canadian, Cat, Chef, Comedian, Cowboy, Detective, English, French, Hitchhiker, Hockey, Librarian, New Yorker, Pilot, Robot, Scottish, Soccer, Sports, Star Trek, Star Wars, Vampire.
list_sources returns the live catalog, including each voice id.
Tools
Tool
Scope
When to use
describe_server
read
First call, and again after any denial. Version, auth mode, tools, and how time and source work.
list_sources
read
literature, books, mix, surprise, and each voice id.
get_quote
read
One or more lines for HH:MM or now. Omit source to use the saved default.
count_lines
read
How many local lines each source has for one minute
get_settings
read
Clock defaults, auth, rate limit, protocols, tool gates, and the quote schedule, including clientPush.
update_settings
write
The same values as Settings, including clientPush, one tool gate, and one tool lock.
list_schemas
read
Names for the line, source, settings, and tool schemas.
get_schema
read
JSON Schema for one of those names. A tool name includes inputSchema and outputSchema.
push_quote
write
Send the current quote to open GET /events clients now. Off until clientPush is on. HTTP only.
list_users
admin
Settings → Users. Names and scopes. Passwords are not returned.
create_user
admin
Settings → Users → Save user.
delete_user
admin
Settings → Users → Remove. The built-in admin stays.
list_api_keys
admin
Settings → API keys. The secret is not returned.
issue_api_key
admin
Settings → API keys → Issue key. The secret is returned once.
revoke_api_key
admin
Settings → API keys → Revoke. Pass the id from list_api_keys.
export_settings
admin
Settings → Backup → Export. Includes saved-user password hashes. Omits API keys and the MQTT password.
import_settings
admin
Settings → Backup → Import. Pass the export object.
export_log
admin
Log → Export log and trace.
push_quote_now
admin
Settings → Push → Push a quote now. Uses the saved destinations.
generate_traffic
read
Test → Generate traffic. Needs any credential, even when auth mode is off. Then call export_log.
set_clock
admin
Settings → Clock. Then get_quote with no source.
set_auth_mode
admin
Settings → Security → Apply mode. Then describe_server.
set_audit
admin
Settings → Security → Call trace. Then generate_traffic and export_log.
set_rate_limit
admin
Settings → Security → Rate limit. Then describe_server.
set_protocols
admin
Settings → Protocols. Send all three; at least one stays on. Then describe_server.
set_ui_auth
admin
Hide HTML pages until sign-in. Then get_settings.
set_tool_gate
admin
Enable or disable one tool. describe_server stays available. Then describe_server.
set_tool_lock
admin
Lock a tool so it needs a credential even when auth mode is off. Then describe_server.
set_push
admin
Settings → Push → Save schedule. Then push_quote_now, or push_quote when client push is on.
get_schema for a tool includes inputSchema, outputSchema, and the next call. Follow that next field once. describe_server returns server.version and server.description. The same version is in the page header, on Health, in get_settings, and in the server schema.
get_quote is read-only. Pass avoid with the previous line text to get a different line for the same minute. count is 1–8. Failures set isError: true. An empty lines array means that minute has no row — try literature, books, or mix. Do not invent a quotation.
Example:
json
{"time":"09:05","source":"literature"}
Quote push
The schedule is off until an interval and a destination are saved. The HTTP process sends the current quote from the saved source and time zone. A matching minute is :00, :05, :10, and so on. stdio does not run the schedule. A chat client does not print a push. Call get_quote for a line in the reply.
Destination
What receives the line
Event stream
GET /events. SSE event name quote. The first frame on connect is event: ready.
Legacy SSE
Open GET /sse sessions. Notification notifications/literature-clock/quote.
Streamable HTTP
Open POST /mcp sessions. The same notification.
MQTT
The saved broker and topic. The password is stored and is not returned by get_settings.
clientPush lets a client call push_quote without waiting for the minute. That call always includes the event stream, plus any other saved destination. Turn it on under Settings → Push, or with update_settings and "clientPush": true. The Events page has Push a quote now, which calls push_quote. Subscribe first, then press it.
Settings → Push → Push a quote now uses the saved destinations only. Save the schedule before that button. It does not turn clientPush on.
The clock on a host is that machine’s time zone setting. timeZonedevice is the process zone. On Render that is UTC.
Resources and prompts
Kind
Name
Resource
sources://list
Resource
quote://{source}/{hhmm} — quote://literature/09-05, quote://pirate/14-30, or quote://books/now
Clock. ?source=literature&time=09:05. Another line skips the line on screen. Random picks a different source. Read speaks the line.
/admin
Settings. Laptop sign-in demo / demo unless ADMIN_USER and ADMIN_PASSWORD are set. On a public bind the laptop password is off until ADMIN_PASSWORD is set. Backup exports and imports settings.
/health
Process is up. cwd only on localhost.
/test
Read-only smoke, plus Generate traffic after a sign-in or Authorization: Bearer key (reads, a bad time, an unknown schema, a rejected key).
/tools
Tool list. Run list_schemas and get_schema, or load tools/list.
/help
Feature list, author, pages, and tools.
/sse
Legacy SSE
/mcp
Streamable HTTP
/events
Plain SSE. Event ready on connect, then quote when a push runs
/log
Call trace, after sign-in, when audit is on
The same settings are get_settings / update_settings, and GET or POST /api/settings.
The browser UI is HTTP only. stdio does not open a page. MCP_MODE=http npx literature-clock-mcp@1.6.5 serves the clock. The local desk port in development is http://127.0.0.1:8788/.
Render
render.yaml starts the published npm package. This repository does not contain the server source. Leave PORT unset so Render can set it. Bind 0.0.0.0.
a password you choose. Required on this public address
Health check path: /health.
The clock is https://<your-service>.onrender.com/. The MCP URL is that host plus /mcp. Settings sign-in uses ADMIN_USER (default demo) and ADMIN_PASSWORD. The laptop password demo is off on that public address. IDE setup for that URL, and for Code Engine, is under Add a hosted server.
The Literature Clock on Render answered for 16:01, the clock on that server. That is 12:01 PM in Toronto.
A little after four o’clock, Pippa meandered over to Dot’s house carrying a bottle of wine she had been keeping in reserve and wondering if she could possibly be pregnant in spite of the vestigial coil still lodged in her uterus like astronaut litter abandoned on the moon.
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, by Rebecca Miller. The time phrase is “A little after four o’clock.” The source was Literature.
Auth
Auth defaults to off. Settings and Log show a lock because they need a sign-in.
Mode
Behaviour
off
No credential for quote tools. Admin tools and generate_traffic still need a credential. A tool can still be locked on its own under Settings → Tool gates.
write
update_settings and push_quote need a key. Read tools stay open. Admin tools need the admin scope.
all
Every tool except describe_server needs Authorization: Bearer <key> or MCP_API_KEY. Admin tools need the admin scope.
Variable
What it does
ADMIN_USER
Settings sign-in name. Default demo.
ADMIN_PASSWORD
Settings sign-in password. Default demo on this laptop. On a public bind (HOST=0.0.0.0, Render, or a container) there is no default: set this before the process starts, then restart. It is not stored in Settings and is not part of an export.
RATE_LIMIT
Max tool calls per minute. Default 60.
Issue and revoke keys on /admin. /health only means the process is up; /test runs the quote checks.
Settings → Backup downloads the clock, auth, protocols, schedule (including client push), tool gates, and saved users (password hashes). Import restores that file. API keys and the MQTT password are not in it. Log → Export log and trace downloads counters, errors, the call trace, and the audit trail.
Settings → Tool gates can disable a tool or lock it so it needs a credential even when auth is off. describe_server stays available and stays open.
Settings → Users adds a name and password with scopes read, write, or admin. The built-in admin name comes from ADMIN_USER and is not replaced here. Settings → API keys issues a bearer key. The secret is shown once.
Settings → Protocols turns stdio, Streamable HTTP, and SSE on or off. At least one stays on. The same tab can hide the HTML pages until sign-in. describe_server and update_settings still answer on a protocol that is on, so a turned-off transport can be turned back on.
Publish
Publish from the package that contains src/ and data/, not from this git tree. See docs/PUBLISHING.md. The npm tarball ships src/, data/ (books and voices), the README, docs/screenshots/, docs/icon.png, docs/icon.svg, server.json, clients/, LICENSE, and NOTICE.
