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google-maps-grounding-lite-mcp

Google Maps Grounding Lite

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Grounding Lite

Google Maps Grounding Lite MCP provides AI-grounded location data. Experimental (pre-GA), free during preview.

Setup

  1. Enable the API: gcloud beta services enable mapstools.googleapis.com
  2. Get an API key from Cloud Console
  3. Set env: export GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY"
  4. Configure mcporter:
    mcporter config add grounding-lite \
  --url https://mapstools.googleapis.com/mcp \
  --header "X-Goog-Api-Key=$GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY" \
  --system

Tools

  • search_places: Find places, businesses, addresses. Returns AI summaries with Google Maps links.
  • lookup_weather: Current conditions and forecasts (hourly 48h, daily 7 days).
  • compute_routes: Travel distance and duration (no turn-by-turn directions).

Commands

# Search places
mcporter call grounding-lite.search_places textQuery="pizza near Times Square NYC"

# Weather
mcporter call grounding-lite.lookup_weather location='{"address":"San Francisco, CA"}' unitsSystem=IMPERIAL

# Routes
mcporter call grounding-lite.compute_routes origin='{"address":"SF"}' destination='{"address":"LA"}' travelMode=DRIVE

# List tools
mcporter list grounding-lite --schema

Parameters

search_places: textQuery (required), locationBias, languageCode, regionCode

lookup_weather: location (required: address/latLng/placeId), unitsSystem, date, hour

compute_routes: origin, destination (required), travelMode (DRIVE/WALK)

Notes

  • Rate limits: search_places 100 QPM (1k/day), lookup_weather 300 QPM, compute_routes 300 QPM
  • Include Google Maps links in user-facing output (attribution required)
  • Only use with models that don't train on input data