Google Maps

Google Maps - Geospatial Query Capabilities

Overview

Gives an AI Agent the ability to reason about physical space — understand locations, distances, routes, and elevation, and naturally weave that information into conversation.

Without this Skill, the agent can only guess or refuse when asked "how do I get from Taipei 101 to the National Palace Museum?". With it, the agent returns exact coordinates, step-by-step routes, and travel times.

Core Principles

| Principle | Explanation |

|-----------|-------------|

| Chain over single-shot | Most geo questions require 2-5 tool calls chained together. See Scenario Recipes in references/tools-api.md for the full patterns. |

| Match recipe to intent | Map the user's question to a recipe (Trip Planning, Local Discovery, Route Comparison, Neighborhood Analysis, Multi-Stop, Place Comparison, Along the Route) before calling any tool. |

| Precise input saves trouble | Use coordinates over address strings when available. Use place_id over name search. More precise input = more reliable output. |

| Output is structured | Every tool returns JSON. Use it directly for downstream computation or comparison — no extra parsing needed. |

| Present as tables | Users prefer comparison tables and scorecards over raw JSON. Format results for readability. |

Tool Map

17 tools in five categories — pick by scenario:

Place Discovery

| Tool | When to use | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| maps_geocode | Have an address/landmark, need coordinates | "What are the coordinates of Tokyo Tower?" |

| maps_reverse_geocode | Have coordinates, need an address | "What's at 35.65, 139.74?" |

| maps_search_nearby | Know a location, find nearby places by type | "Coffee shops near my hotel" |

| maps_search_places | Natural language place search | "Best ramen in Tokyo" |

| maps_place_details | Have a place_id, need full info (+ optional photo URLs via maxPhotos) | "Opening hours and reviews for this restaurant?" |

| maps_batch_geocode | Geocode multiple addresses at once (max 50) | "Get coordinates for all these offices" |

Routing & Distance

| Tool | When to use | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| maps_directions | How to get from A to B, including drive-only avoid-tolls/highways controls | "Route from Taipei Main Station to airport avoiding tolls" |

| maps_distance_matrix | Compare distances across multiple points, including drive-only avoid-tolls/highways controls | "Which of these 3 hotels is closest to airport without highways?" |

| maps_search_along_route | Find places along a route (meals, stops) ranked by detour time | "Restaurants between Fushimi Inari and Kiyomizu-dera" |

Environment

| Tool | When to use | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| maps_elevation | Query altitude | "Elevation profile along this hiking trail" |

| maps_timezone | Need local time at a destination | "What time is it in Tokyo?" |

| maps_weather | Weather at a location (current or forecast) | "What's the weather in Paris?" |

| maps_air_quality | AQI, pollutants, health recommendations | "Is the air safe for jogging?" |

Visualization

| Tool | When to use | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| maps_static_map | Show locations/routes on a map image | "Show me these places on a map" |

Composite (one-call shortcuts)

| Tool | When to use | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| maps_explore_area | Overview of a neighborhood | "What's around Tokyo Tower?" |

| maps_plan_route | Multi-stop optimized itinerary (Routes API waypoint optimization, up to 25 stops) with drive-only avoid-tolls/highways controls | "Visit these 5 places efficiently without tolls" |

| maps_compare_places | Side-by-side comparison | "Which ramen shop near Shibuya?" |

| maps_local_rank_tracker | Local SEO grid rank tracking | "How does this dentist rank across the area?" |

Known API Limitations

| Tool | Limitation | Workaround |

|------|-----------|------------|

| maps_weather | Unsupported regions: Japan, China, South Korea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria | Use web search for weather in these regions |

| maps_distance_matrix | Transit mode may return null in some regions | Fall back to driving or walking mode, or use maps_directions for transit |

| maps_plan_route | Transit mode does not support waypoint optimization | Set optimize: false for transit mode |

| maps_air_quality | Works globally including Japan (unlike weather) | — |

Invocation

npx @cablate/mcp-google-map exec <tool> '<json_params>' [-k API_KEY]

• API Key: -k flag or GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY environment variable
• Output: JSON to stdout, errors to stderr
• Stateless: each call is independent
• Tool names: CLI accepts both maps_geocode and geocode short forms
• Tool filtering: Set GOOGLE_MAPS_ENABLED_TOOLS env var to a comma-separated list of tool names to limit registered tools (reduces MCP client context usage). Omit or set to * for all tools.

When to Update This Skill

| Trigger | What to update |

|---------|----------------|

| New tool added to the package | Tool Map table + references/tools-api.md |

| Tool parameters changed | references/tools-api.md |

| New chaining pattern discovered in practice | references/tools-api.md chaining section |

Reference

| File | Content | When to read |

|------|---------|--------------|

| references/tools-api.md | Full parameter specs, response formats, 7 scenario recipes, and decision guide | When you need exact parameters, response shapes, or multi-tool workflow patterns |

| references/travel-planning.md | Travel planning methodology — 6-layer model, Search Along Route, anti-patterns | When planning multi-day trips — read before Recipe 1 |

| references/local-seo.md | Local SEO / Google Business Profile ranking analysis — competitor audit, keyword landscape, gap analysis | When analyzing business rankings, comparing competitors, or scouting locations |

> For project development knowledge (architecture, API guide, GIS domain, design decisions), see skills/project-docs/SKILL.md.