Temporal.io MCP Server

MCP server for the Temporal HTTP API. Manage workflows, namespaces, schedules, and more directly from Cursor, Claude Code, or any MCP-compatible IDE.

Disclaimer: This is an independent, community-built MCP server and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially supported by Temporal Technologies, Inc.

36 tools covering the full Temporal HTTP API surface. By default, only the 11 most essential tools are exposed to keep the LLM context lean — see Tool tiers.

Tools

Cluster

Tool	What it does
get_cluster_info	Server version, cluster ID, and enabled capabilities

Namespaces

Tool	What it does
list_namespaces	List all namespaces in the cluster
describe_namespace	Config, retention period, replication info

Workflows

Tool	What it does
count_workflows	Count executions matching a visibility query
list_workflows	List or search executions using visibility query syntax
describe_workflow	Status, type, task queue, start/close time
start_workflow	Start a new workflow execution
signal_workflow	Send a signal to a running workflow
signal_with_start_workflow	Start + signal in one atomic call (or signal if already running)
query_workflow	Query workflow state via a registered query handler
cancel_workflow	Request graceful cancellation
terminate_workflow	Force-terminate immediately (no cleanup)
pause_workflow	Pause execution (stops scheduling new tasks)
unpause_workflow	Resume a paused workflow
get_workflow_history	Event history with human-readable summaries

Schedules

Tool	What it does
list_schedules	List all schedules in a namespace
describe_schedule	Spec, state, recent actions, next run times
create_schedule	Create a cron or interval-based schedule
delete_schedule	Delete a schedule

Activities

Tool	What it does
list_activities	List activity executions (filter by workflow, type, status)
describe_activity	State, attempt count, heartbeat, failure details

Batch Operations

Tool	What it does
list_batch_operations	List bulk signal/cancel/terminate jobs
describe_batch_operation	Progress, state, success/failure counts
stop_batch_operation	Stop a running batch job

Worker Deployments

Tool	What it does
list_worker_deployments	List all versioned worker deployments
describe_worker_deployment	Current/ramping version, version history

Nexus Endpoints

Tool	What it does
list_nexus_endpoints	List all Nexus endpoints in the cluster
get_nexus_endpoint	Endpoint target namespace and task queue
create_nexus_endpoint	Register a new Nexus endpoint
delete_nexus_endpoint	Remove a Nexus endpoint

Workflow Rules

Tool	What it does
list_workflow_rules	List auto-action rules for matching workflows
describe_workflow_rule	Rule query, action, and creation time
create_workflow_rule	Create a TERMINATE or PAUSE rule with a visibility query
delete_workflow_rule	Delete a rule

Task Queues & Search Attributes

Tool	What it does
describe_task_queue	Active pollers, task ID block
list_search_attributes	Custom and system search attributes

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• A running Temporal server (local or remote)

Add to Cursor

Open or create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root (or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "temporal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@alisaitteke/temporal-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPORAL_ADDRESS": "http://localhost:8080",
        "TEMPORAL_NAMESPACE": "default",
        "TEMPORAL_TOOLS": "essential"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Cursor. The Temporal tools will appear in the MCP tool list.

Add to Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "temporal": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@alisaitteke/temporal-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPORAL_ADDRESS": "http://localhost:8080",
        "TEMPORAL_NAMESPACE": "default",
        "TEMPORAL_TOOLS": "essential"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop.

Add to Claude Code

claude mcp add temporal \
  --command "npx" \
  --args "-y,@alisaitteke/temporal-mcp" \
  --env "TEMPORAL_ADDRESS=http://localhost:8080" \
  --env "TEMPORAL_NAMESPACE=default" \
  --env "TEMPORAL_TOOLS=essential"

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
TEMPORAL_ADDRESS	Yes	—	Temporal server base URL
TEMPORAL_NAMESPACE	No	default	Default namespace for all tools
TEMPORAL_API_KEY	No	—	Bearer token for authenticated clusters
TEMPORAL_TOOLS	No	essential	Tool set: essential, standard, or all

Tool tiers

TEMPORAL_TOOLS	#	Role
essential	11	Default. Cluster + namespaces + everyday workflow run/debug (list, describe, start, signal, query, cancel, terminate, history). Smallest tool list for the LLM.
standard	23	essential plus counts, pause/unpause, signal-with-start, schedules, activities, task queue description, and search attributes.
all	36	standard plus batch operations, worker deployments, Nexus endpoints, and workflow rules.

Set	Tools
essential only (11)	get_cluster_info, list_namespaces, describe_namespace, list_workflows, describe_workflow, start_workflow, signal_workflow, query_workflow, cancel_workflow, terminate_workflow, get_workflow_history
Also enabled with standard (+12, 23 total with essential)	count_workflows, pause_workflow, unpause_workflow, signal_with_start_workflow, list_schedules, describe_schedule, create_schedule, delete_schedule, list_activities, describe_activity, describe_task_queue, list_search_attributes
Also enabled with all (+13, 36 total with standard)	list_batch_operations, describe_batch_operation, stop_batch_operation, list_worker_deployments, describe_worker_deployment, list_nexus_endpoints, get_nexus_endpoint, create_nexus_endpoint, delete_nexus_endpoint, list_workflow_rules, describe_workflow_rule, create_workflow_rule, delete_workflow_rule

Structured Output

Key tools return both a human-readable text summary and a machine-readable structuredContent JSON object. Clients that support MCP structured output (e.g. Claude) can use the structured data for further processing without parsing text.

Tools with structured output: get_cluster_info, list_namespaces, list_workflows, describe_workflow, count_workflows, list_schedules, list_activities.

Local Development

git clone https://github.com/alisaitteke/temporal-mcp
cd temporal-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Use local path instead of npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "temporal": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/temporal-mcp/bin/temporal-mcp.js"],
      "env": {
        "TEMPORAL_ADDRESS": "http://localhost:8080"
      }
    }
  }
}

License

MIT

Contributors

Ali Sait Teke Creator & Maintainer

Thanks to everyone who helps improve this project!