What is the key difference between Time Machine and Lumen?

Time Machine belongs to the Education category with local stdio execution, while Lumen belongs to the Education category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution.

How do I install Time Machine or Lumen in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Time Machine and Lumen free or paid?

Time Machine operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Lumen operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Time Machine lists 0 tools with 0 views and 0 GitHub stars. Lumen lists 0 tools with 1 views and 87 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Time Machine and Lumen together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Time Machine vs Lumen

In-depth architectural comparison of the Time Machine and Lumen MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Time Machine

Education · Local stdio

Quality: 37/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Lumen

Education · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 41/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Time Machine if you need specialized Education tools running via a local process. Choose Lumen if your workspace requires Education integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Time Machine when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Time Machine Details

Choose Lumen when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Lumen Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	T Time Machine Education	Lumen Education
Summary	AI-powered corporate learning platform — manage courses, users, and insights via Claude.	Self-hostable agentic-AI LMS: catalog, RAG tutor, FSRS reviews, AI authoring, ingest.
Category & Scope	Education	Education
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Time Machine Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

Lumen Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Time Machine Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "time-machine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "time-machine"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Lumen Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lumen-2": {
      "url": "https://api.groq.com/openai/v1"
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Time Machine is categorized under Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Lumen belongs to Education using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Time Machine when you need capabilities focused on education and Lumen when you require tools for education.

More alternatives to Time Machine More alternatives to Lumen Education category hub Canonical compare URL