Read absences, time entries and balances; run the time clock and request absences in Timebutler. For employees and managers who request absence and track time in Timebutler. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"timebutler": {
"url": "https://timebutler.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"timebutler": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://timebutler.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
Read your vacation and sickness balance for the year. Then list your own absence requests and their status.
timebutler_get_time_off_summary timebutler_list_my_absence_requests
List the absence types, then submit an absence request for your user. The request stays pending if the type needs approval.
Changes data · timebutler_list_absence_types timebutler_create_absence_request
Start the time clock, then stop it to save the time entry. Read the clock status at any time.
Changes data · timebutler_clock_start timebutler_clock_stop timebutler_get_time_clock_status
List the projects and categories. Then submit a finished entry with a start and end time on the same day.
Changes data · timebutler_list_projects timebutler_list_categories timebutler_submit_clock_entry
Read today's work summary and the time entries of the current month, with their project and status.
timebutler_get_work_summary timebutler_list_my_time_entries
Managers and admins can list the team's absence requests and count the pending ones. The server does not approve or reject requests.
timebutler_list_team_absence_requests timebutler_get_absence_pending_count
The login page asks for your Timebutler personal access token.
Create it in Timebutler → your account settings → personal access tokens. We never ask for your password or a 2FA code. The token acts as your user only; it is used just to call the API for you and to derive a private account id.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Timebutler personal access token. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the Timebutler connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
timebutler_get_profile | read | Get my profile Get the profile of the user behind the token: id, name, email, role (USER, MANAGER or ADMIN), department, branch office, and whether business trips and time tracking are enabled. Timebutler API: GET /user/profile. |
timebutler_list_employees | read | List employees List the employees the caller can see (manager or admin only), with ids, names, role, department, manager ids and active flag. Use the ids in other tools. Timebutler API: GET /employees. |
timebutler_list_absence_types | read | List absence types List the absence types the company configured (vacation, sickness and others), with whether each needs approval, a medical certificate, or allows half days. Use the id in timebutler_create_absence_request. Timebutler API: GET /absence-types. |
timebutler_list_categories | read | List time categories List the time-tracking categories and the default category id. Use an id in the clock and time-entry tools. Timebutler API: GET /categories. |
timebutler_list_projects | read | List projects List the time-tracking projects, the default project id, and whether a project is mandatory. Use an id in the clock and time-entry tools. Timebutler API: GET /projects. |
timebutler_list_my_absence_requests | read | List my absence requests List the caller's own absence requests with dates, days or hours, half-day setting, and status (pending, approved or rejected). Timebutler API: GET /absence-requests/my. |
timebutler_list_team_absence_requests | read | List team absence requests List absence requests of the employees the caller manages (manager or admin only). Shows status and employee names. Timebutler API: GET /absence-requests/team. |
timebutler_get_absence_pending_count | read | Count pending absence requests Count the open absence requests and open cancellation requests for the caller's team (manager or admin only). Timebutler API: GET /absence-requests/pending-count. |
timebutler_list_my_time_entries | read | List my time entries List the caller's recorded time entries, sorted by date and start time. Without year and month it returns the current month; year alone returns a whole year. Optional filters: project, category and status. Timebutler API: GET /time-entries/my. |
timebutler_get_time_entry_pending_count | read | Count pending time entries Count the time entries of the caller's team that wait for approval (manager or admin only). Timebutler API: GET /time-entries/pending-count. |
timebutler_list_time_entry_requests | read | List time entry requests List the pending time entry requests of the caller's team with date, start and end time, worked minutes, project and remarks (manager or admin only). Timebutler API: GET /time-entry-requests. |
timebutler_get_time_clock_status | read | Get time clock status Get the caller's time clock state: idle, running, paused or waiting, with the start time, elapsed work seconds and break seconds. Timebutler API: GET /time-clock/status. |
timebutler_get_work_summary | read | Get today's work summary Get today's working-time summary for the caller: commitment, worked, remaining minutes, percent done and break minutes. Timebutler API: GET /time-tracking/work-summary. |
timebutler_get_time_off_summary | read | Get time-off summary Get the caller's vacation and sickness balance: vacation days total, remaining, approved and pending, and illness days taken. Timebutler API: GET /time-tracking/time-off-summary. |
timebutler_clock_start | write | Start time clock Start the caller's time clock. Fails with HTTP 409 when the clock already runs. The clock can enter the waiting state first if the company sets a minimum start interval. Timebutler API: POST /time-clock/start. |
timebutler_clock_pause | write | Pause time clock Pause the running time clock of the caller (starts a break). Timebutler API: POST /time-clock/pause. |
timebutler_clock_resume | write | Resume time clock Resume the paused time clock of the caller (ends the break). Timebutler API: POST /time-clock/resume. |
timebutler_clock_stop | write | Stop time clock and save Stop the running or paused time clock and save the resulting time entry. Optional project id, category id and remarks. A waiting clock is discarded (HTTP 204). Timebutler API: POST /time-clock/stop. |
timebutler_submit_clock_entry | write | Submit a finished time entry Create a finished time entry from a start and end time on the same calendar day. Timestamps are Unix milliseconds. If the company needs manager approval, the entry starts as pending. Timebutler API: POST /time-tracking/clock-entry. |
timebutler_create_absence_request | write | Request absence Submit an absence or vacation request for the caller. The status is pending when the absence type needs manager approval, otherwise approved. Timebutler API: POST /absence-requests. |
timebutler_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
timebutler_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the Timebutler tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
timebutler_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on Timebutler (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $39/month or $390/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
timebutler_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's Timebutler Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run timebutler_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper user | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this Timebutler server only. Subscribe with timebutler_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with timebutler_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running timebutler_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Check my vacation balance. Request vacation days. Start and stop the time clock. Add a finished time entry. Review today's work and my time entries. See the team's absence requests. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Timebutler. The server calls the Timebutler API with your own Timebutler access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your Timebutler personal access token. See Before you connect for where to find it.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your Timebutler personal access token. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the Timebutler API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in Timebutler.
Yes, if you approve it. 6 of the 20 Timebutler tools can create or change data. The other 14 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this Timebutler server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run timebutler_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run timebutler_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run timebutler_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with timebutler_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.