5 Things I Stopped Googling After Adding MCP Tools to Claude

There are certain things I Google multiple times a week. Not because they're hard — because they're forgettable.

"JWT decode online." "Unix timestamp converter." "Cron expression for every 15 minutes." "chmod 755 meaning."

I finally got tired of context-switching to random web tools, so I added MCP servers to Claude Desktop. Now I just ask and get answers inline — no tabs, no copy-paste, no ads.

Here are 5 things I legitimately stopped Googling.

1. Cron Expressions

Before: Google "cron every weekday at 9am", click a cron generator site, fiddle with dropdowns.

Now:

"What does 0 9 * * 1-5 mean?"

Claude uses the cron_explain tool and gives me a plain-English breakdown instantly. I also use it the other way — describe what I want, get the expression back.

2. JWT Decoding

Before: Copy token, open jwt.io, paste, read payload.

Now:

"Decode this JWT: eyJhbG..."

Claude calls jwt_decode and shows me the header, payload, and expiry — right in the conversation. No pasting tokens into random websites (which always felt sketchy anyway).

3. Unix Timestamps

Before: Google "unix timestamp to date", paste number, squint at timezone selector.

Now:

"What's 1711234567 in human time?"

Instant answer with timezone context. Works both directions — I can ask "what's the timestamp for March 25 2026 midnight UTC" just as easily.

4. chmod Calculations

Before: Google "chmod calculator", click a checkbox grid, copy the number.

Now:

"What permissions is chmod 644?"

Claude uses chmod_calc and breaks it down: owner read+write, group read, others read. I can go the other direction too — describe the permissions I want and get the number.

5. Base64 Encoding

Before: Google "base64 encode online", paste text, copy result.

Now:

"Base64 encode this API key: test_key_abc123"

Done in the same window where I're already working. No context switch.

The Setup Takes 30 Seconds

All of these come from a single npm package:

npm install -g mcp-devutils

Add it to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devutils": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-devutils"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. That's it — 44 developer utilities available inline.

The free tier covers all 5 things above plus UUID generation, hashing, HMAC, regex testing, JSON formatting, URL encoding, HTTP status codes, slugify, and HTML escaping.

Why This Actually Matters

It's not about the 30 seconds you save per Google search. It's about staying in flow. Every tab switch is a tiny interruption. Stack enough of them and your afternoon is gone.

MCP tools keep everything in one place — the same conversation where you're already thinking about the problem.

---

mcp-devutils on npm — 15 free tools, 29 pro tools. Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client.