GeoWire

Add real-world places to any AI agent in 5 minutes — no API key required.

One place-search interface for every AI and map provider.

GeoWire is an open-source geo search gateway that sits between AI agents and map/place data providers (OpenStreetMap, Google, your own data) and exposes them through a single MCP server, REST API, and SDK — with provider fallback, multi-provider merge + dedup, cost budgets, and a policy engine that enforces each provider's caching/attribution terms.

Status: v0.1 ("It works") — published on npm. MCP · REST · CLI · SDK all functional.

Honest by design: OpenStreetMap (the zero-key default) is a great geocoder — strong on place names, addresses, and landmarks — but thin on category words ("coffee", "pharmacy"), opening hours, and coverage outside Europe. Add a Google key for full business data; GeoWire merges both and tells you which source every field came from.

Contents: Why · Quickstart · MCP tools · REST · Anatomy of a response · Config · Providers · Recipes & examples · Roadmap · Architecture

Why GeoWire?

Not a Google replacement — it uses Google. The thing no single provider can do: merge your own store data + Google + OSM into one deduped record, with per-field provenance (your name is authoritative, Google adds ratings, OSM adds coordinates). Real run below:

Related MCP server: mapsi-mcp

Quickstart

1. MCP (Claude Desktop / Cursor) — 30 seconds

Add this to your MCP client config (e.g. Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json):

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

Then ask: "Where is the Eiffel Tower?" or "Find a Starbucks within 3 km of 37.4979, 127.0276." Works with zero API keys — OpenStreetMap is the default. Add "env": { "GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY": "..." } for business listings and hours (e.g. "Find a 24-hour pharmacy near me"). See more MCP client configs.

2. CLI — one-shot search & server

npx @geowirehq/cli search "Eiffel Tower"          # terminal search with a results table
npx @geowirehq/cli search "Starbucks" --near 37.4979,127.0276 --radius 3000   # near a coordinate
npx @geowirehq/cli reverse 37.5665,126.9780       # coordinate → nearest place
npx @geowirehq/cli get google:ChIJ...             # one place by reference (getPlace-capable provider)
npx @geowirehq/cli                                # start the REST + MCP server (zero-config)
npx @geowirehq/cli init                           # interactive setup wizard (.env + config)
npx @geowirehq/cli test                           # check provider connections

Add --json to any command for the full response (results + provenance meta).

3. Docker — self-hosted server

docker run -p 4980:4980 geowire/geowire
# then:
curl -X POST http://localhost:4980/v1/places/search \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"Starbucks","near":{"latitude":37.4979,"longitude":127.0276},"radiusMeters":3000}'

Or with docker compose up (see docker-compose.yml). API docs at /docs.

4. SDK (embedded)

import { createGeoWire } from "@geowirehq/core";
import { createNominatimProvider } from "@geowirehq/provider-nominatim";

const geo = createGeoWire({ providers: [createNominatimProvider()] });
const { results, meta } = await geo.searchPlaces({
  query: "Starbucks",
  near: { latitude: 37.4979, longitude: 127.0276 },
  radiusMeters: 3000,
});

Full embedded-SDK guide: examples/typescript-sdk.md.

MCP tools

Every response includes both a human-readable summary and structuredContent (schema-valid JSON).

REST endpoints

Optional Bearer auth: set GEOWIRE_API_KEYS=key1,key2.

Anatomy of a response

No black box. Every response carries a meta block: which providers were used / skipped / failed (and why), dedup counts, cache status, estimated cost, and per-field sourcing — so you always know where each value came from.

{
  "results": [{
    "id": "gwp_CvWvRZrFtegkJPxP9CW0",
    "name": "경복궁",
    "location": { "latitude": 37.579754, "longitude": 126.9766818 },
    "sources": [{
      "provider": "nominatim",
      "providerPlaceId": "relation/5501517",
      "fields": ["name", "location", "categories", "address"]   // ← what this source contributed
    }],
    "attributions": ["© OpenStreetMap contributors"]
  }],
  "meta": {
    "providersUsed":   [{ "provider": "nominatim", "resultCount": 1, "latencyMs": 2449 }],
    "providersSkipped": [],   // e.g. { provider: "google", reason: "MISSING_CREDENTIALS" | "QUOTA_EXCEEDED" }
    "providersFailed":  [],   // e.g. { provider: "google", reason: "TIMEOUT" }
    "strategy": "first-success",
    "cache": { "hit": false }
    // merging adds:  "dedup": { "before": 3, "after": 1 }
    // paid provider: "estimatedCostUSD": 0.032
  }
}

After a merge, sources[].fields shows (say) the phone came from Google while the coordinates came from OSM. Walkthrough: docs/recipes.md.

Configuration (optional — everything works without it)

geowire.config.yaml:

providers:
  nominatim: { enabled: true }                       # default ON, no key
  google:    { enabled: true, apiKey: ${GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY} }
  kakao:     { enabled: true }                        # env KAKAO_REST_API_KEY (KR)
  naver:     { enabled: true }                        # env NAVER_CLIENT_ID + NAVER_CLIENT_SECRET (KR)
  internal:  { enabled: true, source: ./my-places.csv, priority: 100 }
routing:
  defaultStrategy: merge          # first-success | merge
budget:
  perRequestMaxUSD: 0.10          # over-budget paid providers are skipped, free ones used

Keys come from the environment (${VAR}), never committed in plaintext.

Providers

Kakao & Naver make Korea coverage first-class (where OSM is thin and Google has gaps) — merge all four + your own store data into one deduped record.

Want another provider? See CONTRIBUTING.md — "Write a provider in 30 minutes".

Recipes & examples

• docs/recipes.md — end-to-end recipes: near+radius search, merge + dedup, cost budgets, country routing, your own CSV, self-host.

• examples/mcp-clients.md — configs for Claude Desktop/Code, Cursor, Cline, VS Code, Windsurf.

• examples/typescript-sdk.md — embed the SDK.

• examples/llm-tool-use.md — raw OpenAI / Anthropic function calling. Also LangChain · Vercel AI SDK.

Roadmap

v0.1 is deliberately "It works" scope. Honest about what's not in it yet:

Architecture

AI agent / app
   │  MCP · REST · SDK
   ▼
GeoWire core  ── pipeline: plan → execute → normalize → dedup → rank → policy → cache
   │  GeoProvider contract
   ▼
providers: nominatim · google · internal · (community)

Monorepo packages: schema · provider-sdk · provider-testkit · core · providers/* · mcp · apps/server · cli.

Documentation

• Recipes / cookbook — task-oriented, copy-pasteable

• Examples — MCP clients, SDK, LangChain, AI SDK, tool use

• Contributing + write a provider

• System design

License

Apache-2.0. GeoWire's code license is separate from the terms of third-party map/place data providers — usage of Google, Mapbox, HERE, Kakao, Naver, etc. is governed by each provider's own terms. OSM data is under ODbL; GeoWire's policy engine enforces attribution and caching limits per provider.