google-maps

This MCP server exposes a Python-based Google Maps integration built on the googlemaps service package. It provides a set of tools to query directions, distances, geocoding, and place information by leveraging the Google Maps Platform APIs. Typical usage involves running the server locally or in your deployment environment and connecting to it via the MCP client tooling. The included capabilities cover: getting directions (get_directions), calculating distances (get_distance), geocoding lookups (get_geocode), searching for places (find_place, place_nearby), and retrieving detailed place information (place_details). The server expects a valid Google Maps API key (GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY) and will route requests through the corresponding Google Maps APIs to return structured results.

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.8+ installed on your system
• Access to the Google Maps Platform with an API key that has the needed APIs enabled (Directions, Distance Matrix, Geocoding, Places)

Installation steps:

1. Clone or download this MCP server repository.
2. Create and activate a virtual environment (optional but recommended):
   • python -m venv venv
   • source venv/bin/activate # on macOS/Linux
   • venv\Scripts\activate # on Windows
3. Install required Python dependencies (adjust if a requirements.txt is provided):
   • pip install googlemaps
   • pip install fastmcp # if you’ll be using FastMCP tooling to run the server
   • (optional) pip install any other dependencies listed in the project
4. Set your Google Maps API key as an environment variable (see mcp_config for placeholder):
   • export GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY" # macOS/Linux
   • set GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY # Windows
5. Run the MCP server (examples):
   • fastmcp run server.py --transport stdio # if FastMCP is used in this setup
   • or: python server.py # if the script is self-contained for execution
6. Verify the server is running and accessible via your MCP client.

Note: If you are running behind a container or in an orchestrated environment, you can adapt the command to your deployment method (Docker, Kubernetes, etc.).

Tips and caveats:

• Ensure GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY has the necessary API enabled (Directions, Distance Matrix, Geocoding, Places) and is tied to your project with billing enabled.
• Manage API quotas to avoid cost spikes; consider implementing request filtering or tool usage limits.
• The examples show a default tool suite (get_directions, get_distance, get_geocode, find_place, place_nearby, place_details). You can extend or customize the agent prompts to leverage only the tools you need.
• If you encounter transport differences, the README notes that you can switch between stdio, streaming-http, or sse transports depending on deployment; ensure your MCP client uses a compatible transport.
• When running via FastMCP, some main guard logic may be bypassed; include --transport and other settings as needed.
• Keep your API key secure and avoid printing it in logs or error messages.
• Review Google Maps API pricing and quotas to understand potential costs for heavy usage.