Ryan Baumann 7e93fb65a3 fix(grounding-lite): correct mcporter header syntax and update examples

- Fix header format: use KEY=value not KEY: value
- Update weather examples to use US locations (verified working)
- Remove comparison table per review feedback
- Clarify regional restrictions in notes

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-01-26 11:56:12 -08:00

3.6 KiB

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grounding-lite

Google Maps Grounding Lite MCP for AI-powered location search, weather, and routes via mcporter.

https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/grounding-lite

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GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY

Grounding Lite

Google Maps Grounding Lite provides AI-grounded location data via MCP. Use mcporter to call tools directly.

Status: Experimental (pre-GA), free during preview.

Rate limits: search_places (100 QPM, 1K QPD), lookup_weather (300 QPM), compute_routes (300 QPM).

Setup

Install mcporter: npm install -g mcporter
Set GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY environment variable
Configure the MCP server (one-time):

mcporter config add grounding-lite \
  --url https://mapstools.googleapis.com/mcp \
  --header "X-Goog-Api-Key=$GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY"

API Key Security

Restrict your API key in Google Cloud Console:
- API restrictions: Allow only mapstools.googleapis.com
- Application restrictions: Use IP restriction if on a fixed server
Never hardcode keys - use environment variables
For production: Consider OAuth 2.0 (better audit trails)

See: https://developers.google.com/maps/api-security-best-practices

Search Places

Find places by text query with AI summaries:

mcporter call grounding-lite.search_places text_query="coffee shops near Central Park"

With location bias:

mcporter call grounding-lite.search_places \
  text_query="pizza" \
  location_bias='{"center":{"latitude":40.7829,"longitude":-73.9654},"radius":2000}'

JSON output:

mcporter call grounding-lite.search_places text_query="sushi in Tokyo" --output json

Response includes: place IDs, names, addresses, coordinates, Google Maps links, and AI summary.

Lookup Weather

Get current weather:

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

By coordinates:

mcporter call grounding-lite.lookup_weather \
  location='{"lat_lng":{"latitude":35.6762,"longitude":139.6503}}'

By place ID:

mcporter call grounding-lite.lookup_weather location='{"place_id":"ChIJ..."}'

Forecast for a specific date/hour:

mcporter call grounding-lite.lookup_weather \
  location='{"address":"New York, NY"}' \
  date='{"year":2026,"month":1,"day":28}' \
  hour=14

Units: METRIC (Celsius, km/h) or IMPERIAL (Fahrenheit, mph).

Compute Routes

Calculate distance and duration:

mcporter call grounding-lite.compute_routes \
  origin='{"address":"San Francisco, CA"}' \
  destination='{"address":"Los Angeles, CA"}' \
  travel_mode=DRIVE

Walking route:

mcporter call grounding-lite.compute_routes \
  origin='{"address":"Times Square, NYC"}' \
  destination='{"address":"Central Park, NYC"}' \
  travel_mode=WALK

Travel modes: DRIVE (default) or WALK.

Note: Returns distance/duration only. No step-by-step directions or real-time traffic.

Ad-hoc Usage (without config)

Call directly without configuring first:

mcporter call "https://mapstools.googleapis.com/mcp.search_places" \
  --header "X-Goog-Api-Key=$GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY" \
  text_query="restaurants near me"

List Available Tools

mcporter list grounding-lite --schema

Notes

Free during preview; pricing TBD after GA
Weather lookup has regional restrictions (US locations work; some international locations may not)
Attribution required per Google Maps Platform ToS
Responses contain Google Maps links - include in user-facing output

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