Google Maps Grounding MCP

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](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials)

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