Getting Started

Install

Temporal Cortex runs as a local binary — no account required, no cloud dependency.

npx @temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp

This downloads the platform-appropriate binary (macOS ARM/x64, Linux ARM/x64, Windows) and starts the MCP server.

Authenticate with a calendar provider

Connect at least one calendar to use calendar-connected tools (Layers 2–4). Layer 1 temporal tools work immediately without any authentication.

# Google Calendar
npx @temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp auth google

# Microsoft Outlook
npx @temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp auth outlook

# CalDAV (iCloud, Fastmail, Nextcloud)
npx @temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp auth caldav

OAuth opens in your browser. One-time consent, credentials stored locally.

Add to your AI agent

Claude Desktop

// ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "temporal-cortex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code / Cursor / Windsurf

// .vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "temporal-cortex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Zed

// ~/.config/zed/settings.json
{
  "context_servers": {
    "temporal-cortex": {
      "command": { "path": "npx", "args": ["@temporal-cortex/cortex-mcp"] }
    }
  }
}

Your first scheduling workflow

Once connected, your agent has 18 tools. The typical workflow:

1. Orient — get_temporal_context() → learn current time, timezone, week boundaries
2. Resolve — resolve_datetime("next Tuesday at 3pm") → exact ISO 8601 timestamp
3. Query — find_free_slots({ date: "2026-03-03", duration_minutes: 60 }) → available slots
4. Book — book_slot({ calendar_id: "primary", title: "Team Sync", start: "...", end: "..." }) → atomic booking

Layer 1 tools (temporal context) work immediately. Calendar tools require OAuth authentication (step 2 above).

3 integration paths

Temporal Cortex supports 4 protocols — choose the one that fits your architecture:

Next steps

• Architecture — Understand the 5-layer tool model
• Tool Reference — All 18 tools with parameters and examples
• Configuration — Environment variables and settings
• Protocols — MCP, A2A, REST, and browser integration