clockify-mcp
A Model Context Protocol server for the Clockify time-tracking API.
Give your AI assistant access to your Clockify data — query workspaces, projects, and time entries, generate reports, log hours, and manage clients, invoices, and more — all through natural language.
112 tools across 18 domains. Read-only by default, with optional write operations behind explicit opt-in.
Install in one click
The easiest way to use this server with Claude Desktop (and other MCPB-compatible clients) is the prebuilt bundle:
➡️ Download clockify-mcp.mcpb — then double-click it. Claude Desktop opens the installer, prompts for your Clockify API key, and you're done. No Python, no npx/uvx, no config files.
The .mcpb is attached to every GitHub Release and mirrored on Smithery. Prefer a package manager or container? See Quick start below.
What can it do?
48 read-only tools are available today (Phase 0–8b — 18 domains). 64 write tools (create/update/delete across clients, projects, tasks, tags, time entries, holidays, expenses, and expense categories, plus time-off policy/request management, approval submit/resubmit/update, custom-field create/update/delete and project assignment, scheduling assignment management, invoice and payment management, shared-report management, and webhook create/update/delete/token) register when you set CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE=full (or the back-compat CLOCKIFY_ENABLE_WRITES=true). A middle time-tracking mode exposes only the time-entry writes for logging hours — see Access modes.
| Domain | Tools | Tool names |
|---|
| Workspaces | 3 | get_current_user, list_workspaces, get_workspace |
| Users | 3 | list_users, get_user_member_profile, find_user_team_manager |
| Groups | 1 | list_user_groups |
| Clients | 2 | list_clients, get_client |
| Projects | 2 | list_projects, get_project |
| Tasks | 2 | list_tasks, get_task |
| Tags | 2 | list_tags, get_tag |
| Time entries | 2 | list_time_entries, get_time_entry |
| Reports | 6 | generate_detailed_report, generate_summary_report, generate_weekly_report, generate_attendance_report‡, generate_expense_report‡, export_report (PDF/CSV/XLSX to a file) |
| Shared reports | 2 | list_shared_reports, get_shared_report |
| Time off† | 5 | list_time_off_policies, get_time_off_policy, list_time_off_balances_by_policy, list_time_off_balances_by_user, list_time_off_requests |
| Holidays† | 2 | list_holidays, list_holidays_in_period |
| Expenses† | 4 | list_expenses, get_expense, list_expense_categories, download_expense_receipt |
| Approvals† | 1 | list_approval_requests |
| Custom fields† | 2 | list_workspace_custom_fields, list_project_custom_fields |
| Scheduling† | 3 | list_scheduled_assignments, get_project_scheduling_totals, get_user_scheduling_totals |
| Invoices† | 3 | list_invoices, get_invoice, get_invoice_payments |
| Webhooks† | 3 | list_webhooks, get_webhook, get_webhook_logs |
† Time off, Holidays, Expenses, Approvals, Custom fields, Scheduling, Invoices, and Webhooks are paid Clockify features — these tools error (HTTP 402/403/404) on plans without them.
‡ generate_attendance_report and generate_expense_report (and export_report for those two types) need the workspace's attendance/Expenses add-ons; the time-based reports (detailed/summary/weekly) and shared reports work on the free plan.
Write tools (opt-in — set CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE=full):
| Domain | Tools | Tool names |
|---|
| Clients | 3 | create_client, update_client, delete_client |
| Projects | 3 | create_project, update_project, delete_project |
| Tasks | 3 | create_task, update_task, delete_task |
| Tags | 3 | create_tag, update_tag, delete_tag |
| Time entries | 7 | create_time_entry, update_time_entry, delete_time_entry, duplicate_time_entry, bulk_update_time_entries, create_time_entry_for_user, stop_running_timer |
| Shared reports | 3 | create_shared_report, update_shared_report, delete_shared_report |
| Time off† | 5 | create_time_off_policy, create_time_off_request, approve_time_off_request, reject_time_off_request, withdraw_time_off_request |
| Holidays† | 3 | create_holiday, update_holiday, delete_holiday |
| Expenses† | 7 | create_expense, update_expense, delete_expense, create_expense_category, update_expense_category, delete_expense_category, archive_expense_category |
| Approvals† | 4 | submit_approval_request, submit_approval_request_for_user, resubmit_approval_entries, update_approval_request |
| Custom fields† | 5 | create_workspace_custom_field, update_workspace_custom_field, delete_workspace_custom_field, set_project_custom_field, remove_project_custom_field |
| Scheduling† | 5 | create_scheduled_assignment, update_scheduled_assignment, delete_scheduled_assignment, publish_scheduled_assignment, copy_scheduled_assignment |
| Invoices† | 9 | create_invoice, update_invoice, change_invoice_status, duplicate_invoice, delete_invoice, create_invoice_item, update_invoice_item, delete_invoice_item, create_invoice_payment |
| Webhooks† | 4 | create_webhook, update_webhook, delete_webhook, generate_webhook_token |
† Time off, Holidays, Expenses, Approvals, Custom fields, Scheduling, Invoices, and Webhooks are paid Clockify features — these tools error (HTTP 402/403/404) on plans without them.
create_expense and update_expense accept an optional local receipt file, uploaded via multipart.
Quick start
1. Install
Or run without installing (requires uv):
Or use the container image (published to GHCR on every release):
docker run --rm -i -e CLOCKIFY_API_KEY=your-key ghcr.io/tracegazer/clockify-mcp:latest
2. Connect to Claude Desktop
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"clockify": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["clockify-mcp"],
"env": {
"CLOCKIFY_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
Restart Claude Desktop. Ask: "What workspaces do I have in Clockify?"
Using pip install instead of uvx
{
"mcpServers": {
"clockify": {
"command": "clockify-mcp",
"env": {
"CLOCKIFY_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
Enabling write operations
By default the server is read-only. Opt into writes with CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE:
| Mode | Reads | Writes |
|---|
read (default) | everything | nothing |
time-tracking | everything | time-entry writes only (log & edit hours) |
full | everything | all write tools (clients, projects, invoices, …) |
{
"mcpServers": {
"clockify": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["clockify-mcp"],
"env": {
"CLOCKIFY_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
"CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE": "full"
}
}
}
}
Compatibility: the legacy CLOCKIFY_ENABLE_WRITES=true still works and maps to full.
If both are set, CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE wins. In time-tracking mode, duplicate/bulk
always act on the authenticated user; for update/delete by id the assistant is told to
confirm before touching an entry that may belong to someone else.
Warning: write mode lets the connected agent create, modify, and delete real data through
your Clockify credential. delete_* tools and withdraw_time_off_request are irreversible.
3. Get your API key
Log into Clockify → Profile Settings → API → copy your API key.
Configuration
Configuration resolves in this order (highest priority first):
- Environment variables (always win)
- TOML config at
~/.config/clockify-mcp/config.toml
| Env var | TOML key | Description |
|---|
CLOCKIFY_API_KEY | api_key | Your Clockify API key (required) |
CLOCKIFY_REGION | region | global (default) | euc1 (EU) | use2 (USA) | euw2 (UK) | apse2 (AU) |
CLOCKIFY_BASE_URL | base_url | Override for subdomain workspaces, e.g. https://acme.clockify.me |
CLOCKIFY_DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_ID | default_workspace_id | Fallback workspace when a tool call omits workspace_id |
CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE | access_mode | read (default) | time-tracking (read + log hours) | full (all writes) |
CLOCKIFY_ENABLE_WRITES | enable_writes | Back-compat alias: true = access_mode=full. CLOCKIFY_ACCESS_MODE takes precedence. |
CLOCKIFY_TELEMETRY | telemetry_enabled | Enable OpenTelemetry — default false |
CLOCKIFY_TELEMETRY_DETAIL | telemetry_detail | Span detail: metadata (default), ids, or full |
Access modes: read exposes only read tools. time-tracking adds the time-entry write tools (create/update/delete/duplicate/bulk) for logging hours and nothing else — duplicate/bulk always act on the authenticated user, and for update/delete by id the assistant is told to confirm before touching an entry that may belong to someone else. full exposes all write tools. This gates which MCP tools the server registers; it is not a replacement for the API key's own permissions.
See config.toml.example for a copy-paste template.
api_key = "your-clockify-api-key"
Tip: create the config directory first: mkdir -p ~/.config/clockify-mcp
Running the server
clockify-mcp
clockify-mcp --transport sse
Security note: STDIO (the default) keeps everything local. The sse and streamable-http transports have no built-in authentication — only use them bound to loopback or behind an authenticated reverse proxy.
Notes
- Workspace scope: Almost every Clockify operation is scoped to a workspace (
/workspaces/{workspaceId}/...). Tools accept an optional workspace_id; when omitted they fall back to CLOCKIFY_DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_ID. If neither is set, the tool asks you to resolve one first via list_workspaces.
- Pagination: list tools take optional
page/page_size and return one page. The high-volume lists (list_time_entries, list_projects, list_clients, list_tasks, list_tags, list_users) also accept fetch_all=true to follow pagination and return every page concatenated (may make several API calls).
- Errors: failures carry a category —
PLAN_REQUIRED, ACCESS_DENIED, or AUTH — so the assistant knows whether to ask you to upgrade the plan, enable a module, or fix the key. See Paid features.
Paid features & enabling them in Clockify
Many domains are gated by two independent things — both must be true for the tools to work:
1. The workspace plan must include the feature. Otherwise the API returns 402 (or a "subscription" message) and the server raises ClockifyAPIError with category PLAN_REQUIRED.
| Feature | Minimum plan |
|---|
| Reports (detailed/summary/weekly), Shared reports | Free |
| Webhooks | Free (up to 3) — paid for more |
| Time off, Holidays, Invoices, Approvals | Standard |
| Expenses (incl. expense report), Custom fields, Scheduling | Pro |
| Attendance report | Pro (attendance/time-tracking add-on) |
2. The module must be enabled in the workspace. Even on the right plan, an admin must turn these on in Clockify → Workspace Settings: Time off, Expenses, Approval, Invoicing, Scheduling. Until enabled, the API returns 403 "Access Denied" and the server raises ClockifyAPIError with category ACCESS_DENIED. (Custom fields, webhooks, and reports need no separate toggle.)
When an operation fails, the error category says what to do:
PLAN_REQUIRED — upgrade the workspace plan (Standard/Pro).ACCESS_DENIED — enable the feature in Workspace Settings, or check the API key user's role/permission.AUTH — the API key is missing, invalid, or revoked.
Observability (optional)
The server can emit OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs — completely opt-in and vendor-neutral. Export to any OTLP-compatible backend (Dynatrace, Grafana, Datadog, Jaeger, etc.). When disabled, opentelemetry is never imported.
pip install "clockify-mcp[telemetry]"
export CLOCKIFY_TELEMETRY=1
OTLP endpoint and headers are configured via standard OpenTelemetry env vars (not in the TOML file). CLOCKIFY_TELEMETRY_DETAIL controls how much argument/payload data is attached (metadata default → ids → full); the API key is always redacted.
Dynatrace setup
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="https://<your-env>.live.dynatrace.com/api/v2/otlp"
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_HEADERS="Authorization=Api-Token <YOUR_DT_TOKEN>"
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_TEMPORALITY_PREFERENCE=delta
export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=clockify-mcp
Token scopes needed: openTelemetryTrace.ingest, metrics.ingest, logs.ingest. Dynatrace's OTLP metrics ingest requires delta temporality — without that env var, metric export fails with 400 Bad Request.
Generic OTLP collector
export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:4318"
export OTEL_SERVICE_NAME=clockify-mcp
Signals emitted:
- Traces — a span per MCP tool call (
execute_tool <name>) and per Clockify API request
- Metrics —
mcp.tool.duration, mcp.tool.errors, and Clockify client request durations
- Logs — tool errors and unexpected API response shapes, correlated to traces (OTLP only, never stdout)
Development
git clone https://github.com/tracegazer/clockify-mcp
cd clockify-mcp
uv sync --extra dev
CLOCKIFY_API_KEY=dummy uv run clockify-mcp --help
uv run pytest -q
uv run ruff check src/ tests/
License
MIT