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Geocoding MCP Server

Geocoding MCP Server

by geocoding-ai

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Geocoding MCP Server

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides geocoding services by integrating with the Nominatim API.

Installation

Requirements

  • Node.js >= 18.0.0

  • Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, Trae or another MCP Client

Related MCP server: GeoServer MCP Server

Install in Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json file. See Claude Desktop MCP docs for more info.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "geocoding": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@geocoding-ai/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

License

Codebase: MIT

Documentation: GPLv2 / Nominatim developer community / Nominatim Manual

Available Tools

2 tools
geocodeA

Geocoding generates a coordinate from an address.

The search API allows to look up a location from a textual description or address. Nominatim supports structured and free-form search queries. The search query may also contain special phrases which are translated into specific OpenStreetMap (OSM) tags (e.g. Pub => amenity=pub). This can be used to narrow down the kind of objects to be returned. Note: Special phrases are not suitable to query all objects of a certain type in an area. Nominatim will always just return a collection of the best matches.

Input:

  • query: Free-form string to search for. In this form, the query can be unstructured. Free-form queries are processed first left-to-right and then right-to-left if that fails. Commas are optional, but improve performance by reducing the complexity of the search. The free-form may also contain special phrases to describe the type of place to be returned or a coordinate to search close to a position.

  • format: Format of the response. One of: xml, json, jsonv2, geojson, geocodejson. Default: jsonv2

  • addressdetails: When set to 1, include a breakdown of the address into elements. The exact content of the address breakdown depends on the output format.

  • extratags: When set to 1, the response include any additional information in the result that is available in the Nominatim database.

  • namedetails: When set to 1, include a full list of names for the result. These may include language variants, older names, references and brand.

  • countrycodes: Filter that limits the search results to one or more countries. The country code must be the ISO 3166-1alpha2 code of the country. Each place in Nominatim is assigned to one country code based on OSM country boundaries. In rare cases a place may not be in any country at all, for example, when it is in international waters. These places are also excluded when the filter is set.

  • layer: The layer filter allows to select places by themes. Comma-separated list of: address, poi, railway, natural, manmade address: The address layer contains all places that make up an address: address points with house numbers, streets, inhabited places (suburbs, villages, cities, states etc.) and administrative boundaries. poi: The poi layer selects all point of interest. This includes classic points of interest like restaurants, shops, hotels but also less obvious features like recycling bins, guideposts or benches. railway: The railway layer includes railway infrastructure like tracks. Note that in Nominatim's standard configuration, only very few railway features are imported into the database. natural: The natural layer collects features like rivers, lakes and mountains while the manmade layer functions as a catch-all for features not covered by the other layers. manmade: The manmade layer collects features that are man-made.

  • featureType: Allows to have a more fine-grained selection for places from the address layer. Results can be restricted to places that make up the 'state', 'country' or 'city' part of an address. A featureType of settlement selects any human inhabited feature from 'state' down to 'neighbourhood'. When featureType is set, then results are automatically restricted to the address layer.

  • polygon_geojson: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_kml: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_svg: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_text: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_threshold: When one of the polygon_* outputs is chosen, return a simplified version of the output geometry. The parameter describes the tolerance in degrees with which the geometry may differ from the original geometry. Topology is preserved in the geometry.

Output: See https://nominatim.org/release-docs/latest/api/Output/ for the output format.

License: Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. http://osm.org/copyright

Inputs: q (required), format, addressdetails, extratags, +9 more.

reverse_geocodeA

Reverse geocoding generates an address from a coordinate given as latitude and longitude.

This tool finds the closest suitable OpenStreetMap (OSM) object and returns its address information. The tool uses the Nominatim API to perform the reverse geocoding and returns the address information in a JSON object.

Input:

  • lat: Latitude of the coordinate in WGS84 projection.

  • lon: Longitude of the coordinate in WGS84 projection.

  • zoom: Level of detail required for the address. This is a number that corresponds roughly to the zoom level used in XYZ tile sources in frameworks like Leaflet.js, Openlayers etc. In terms of address details the zoom levels are as follows: 3: country 5: state 8: county 10: city 12: town / borough 13: village / suburb 14: neighbourhood 15: any settlement 16: major streets 17: major and minor streets 18: buildings

  • format: Format of the response. One of: xml, json, jsonv2, geojson, geocodejson. Default: jsonv2

  • addressdetails: When set to 1, include a breakdown of the address into elements. The exact content of the address breakdown depends on the output format.

  • extratags: When set to 1, the response include any additional information in the result that is available in the Nominatim database.

  • namedetails: When set to 1, include a full list of names for the result. These may include language variants, older names, references and brand.

  • layer: The layer filter allows to select places by themes. Comma-separated list of: address, poi, railway, natural, manmade address: The address layer contains all places that make up an address: address points with house numbers, streets, inhabited places (suburbs, villages, cities, states etc.) and administrative boundaries. poi: The poi layer selects all point of interest. This includes classic points of interest like restaurants, shops, hotels but also less obvious features like recycling bins, guideposts or benches. railway: The railway layer includes railway infrastructure like tracks. Note that in Nominatim's standard configuration, only very few railway features are imported into the database. natural: The natural layer collects features like rivers, lakes and mountains while the manmade layer functions as a catch-all for features not covered by the other layers. manmade: The manmade layer collects features that are man-made.

  • polygon_geojson: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_kml: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_svg: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_text: Add the full geometry of the place to the result output. Output formats in GeoJSON, KML, SVG or WKT are supported. Only one of these options can be used at a time.

  • polygon_threshold: When one of the polygon_* outputs is chosen, return a simplified version of the output geometry. The parameter describes the tolerance in degrees with which the geometry may differ from the original geometry. Topology is preserved in the geometry.

Output: See https://nominatim.org/release-docs/latest/api/Output/ for the output format.

License: Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. http://osm.org/copyright

Inputs: lat (required), lon (required), zoom, format, +9 more.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    A4.3/5.0

    Scored across 2 tools

    Disambiguation5/5

    The two tools have completely distinct purposes: geocode converts address to coordinates, reverse_geocode does the opposite. There is no overlap or ambiguity.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    Both tool names use a clear and consistent verb_noun pattern (geocode, reverse_geocode) with lowercase snake_case, making them predictable.

    Tool Count4/5

    With only 2 tools, the server is minimal but still adequate for core geocoding needs. It could benefit from additional tools like batch or autocomplete, but the current count is reasonable for a basic service.

    Completeness4/5

    The server covers forward and reverse geocoding, which are the essential operations. However, it lacks structured search or batch processing, which are minor gaps that might require workarounds.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessOutdated data

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