Google Maps MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY | Yes | Your Google Maps API key |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| maps_geocodeA | Convert a street address or place name into geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) |
| maps_reverse_geocodeA | Convert geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) into a human-readable address |
| maps_search_placesA | Search for places (restaurants, businesses, landmarks, etc.) using a free-text query, optionally biased to a location |
| maps_place_detailsA | Get detailed information about a specific place by its place_id (contact info, hours, reviews, etc.) |
| maps_directionsA | Get turn-by-turn directions between an origin and destination |
| maps_distance_matrixA | Get travel distances and durations between multiple origins and destinations |
| maps_elevationA | Get elevation data (in meters) for one or more geographic coordinates |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 7 tools
Each tool targets a distinct Maps operation: address-to-coordinates, coordinates-to-address, place lookup by ID, free-text place search, directions, distance matrix, and elevation. The only mild overlap is between geocode and search_places, but their inputs and outputs are clearly different enough to avoid confusion.
All tools follow a consistent maps_ prefix with snake_case action-based naming (maps_geocode, maps_search_places, maps_distance_matrix). The naming pattern is uniform, predictable, and instantly communicates the tool's purpose.
Seven tools is a well-scoped size for a Google Maps MCP server. Each tool covers a major Maps API use case without unnecessary redundancy or feature bloat.
The core map workflows are covered: location lookup, place search and details, routing, distance calculation, and elevation. Minor gaps like place autocomplete or timezone lookups exist, but they do not create dead ends for most common use cases.