Mapbox MCP Server

Geospatial intelligence for AI: geocoding, POI search, routing, isochrones, matrices, and static maps via Mapbox APIs.

Unverified

stdio (local)

API key

TypeScript

View repo 347 Website npm

Add to your client

Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.

Install / run

npx -y @mapbox/mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@mapbox/mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step-by-step guides: Add to Claude Desktop · Add to Cursor · Add to Windsurf

Before you start

A Mapbox access token (free Mapbox account at mapbox.com/signup)
Node.js (for the npm package via npx) or Docker, for local stdio usage
An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor, etc.)

About Mapbox MCP Server

The Mapbox MCP Server turns any MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code, Cursor, Goose, smolagents, etc.) into a geospatially-aware system. It wraps Mapbox's Search, Geocoding V6, Directions, Matrix, Isochrone, Optimization, Map Matching, and Static Images APIs, and adds offline Turf.js-based spatial calculations. Use it to build travel assistants, logistics optimizers, location recommenders, and any application that needs to reason about 'where'. It can run locally (npm/Docker/DXT, stdio) or via Mapbox's hosted HTTP endpoint with OAuth or Bearer-token authentication.

Tools & capabilities (19)

search_and_geocode_tool

Search for and geocode POIs, addresses, and places using the Mapbox Search Box Text Search API (consolidates the former forward-geocode and POI-search tools).

category_search_tool

Find all places matching a category (restaurants, hotels, gas stations, etc.) with proximity filtering, result limits, and multi-language support via the Search Box category search API.

reverse_geocode_tool

Convert geographic coordinates to human-readable addresses using the Geocoding V6 API, with configurable detail levels and type filtering.

directions_tool

Fetch routing directions for driving (with live or typical traffic), walking, and cycling across 2-25 waypoints, with alternatives, annotations, depart_at/arrive_by scheduling, vehicle constraints, and exclusions.

matrix_tool

Calculate travel-time and distance matrices between multiple points (one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many) with traffic-aware profiles via the Matrix API.

isochrone_tool

Compute areas reachable within given time or distance constraints from a location, generating multiple contours per request, via the Isochrone API.

optimization_tool

Solve the traveling-salesman problem to find the optimal visiting order for 2-12 locations, with roundtrip/one-way options and turn-by-turn output, via the Optimization API.

map_matching_tool

Snap noisy GPS traces (up to 100 coordinates) to the road network with optional timestamps, snap radiuses, and congestion annotations, via the Map Matching API.

static_map_image_tool

Generate static map images (with styles, markers, polylines/polygons, zoom, auto-fit) via the Static Images API; provides an interactive map preview panel in MCP Apps / MCP-UI capable clients in addition to a base64 image.

distance_tool

Offline: calculate great-circle distance between two coordinates (km, miles, meters, feet, nautical miles) using the Haversine formula via Turf.js.

point_in_polygon_tool

Offline: test whether a point lies inside a polygon or multipolygon (supports holes), useful for geofencing and service-area checks.

bearing_tool

Offline: calculate the compass bearing (degrees and cardinal direction) from one coordinate to another.

midpoint_tool

Offline: find the geographic midpoint between two coordinates along the great-circle path.

centroid_tool

Offline: calculate the geometric center (centroid) of a polygon or multipolygon.

area_tool

Offline: calculate the area of a polygon in square meters, square kilometers, acres, hectares, square miles, or square feet.

bounding_box_tool

Offline: calculate the minimum bounding box [minLng, minLat, maxLng, maxLat] containing a geometry.

buffer_tool

Offline: create a buffer-zone polygon around a point, line, or polygon for proximity analysis.

simplify_tool

Offline: reduce the vertices of a line or polygon using the Douglas-Peucker algorithm with configurable tolerance and optional topology preservation.

resource_reader_tool

Read MCP resources (e.g. mapbox://categories) by URI for clients that don't support the native MCP resource API.

What this server can do

Mapbox MCP Server provides tools for these capabilities — tap one to see every MCP server that does the same:

Search the web

When to use it

Build an AI travel assistant that finds POIs, gives traffic-aware directions, and renders map images
Optimize multi-stop delivery or field-service routes (traveling-salesman problem)
Analyze accessibility and reachability with isochrones and travel-time matrices
Clean and visualize recorded GPS traces by snapping them to the road network
Run offline geospatial calculations (distance, area, geofencing) with no API calls

Security notes

Requires a Mapbox access token (MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN). For local stdio usage the token stays on your machine and API calls go directly from your environment to Mapbox APIs; the local server does not store or log data. The hosted endpoint (https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp) supports OAuth or sending the token as an 'authorization: Bearer <token>' header. Data sent to Mapbox APIs is governed by Mapbox's privacy policy.

Mapbox MCP Server FAQ

How do I authenticate?

You need a Mapbox access token. For local stdio usage set it in MAPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN. For the hosted endpoint (https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp) you can use the interactive OAuth flow or send the token as an 'authorization: Bearer <token>' header.

Can I use it without running a server locally?

Yes. Mapbox hosts the server at https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp over Streamable HTTP. Add it in Claude Code with 'claude mcp add --transport http ... https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp', or configure VS Code/Cursor/Claude Desktop/OpenAI to point at that URL.

Which tools work offline?

The geospatial calculation tools (distance, bearing, midpoint, centroid, area, bounding box, buffer, simplify, point-in-polygon) use Turf.js and run entirely offline; the geocoding, search, directions, matrix, isochrone, optimization, map-matching, and static-image tools call Mapbox APIs.

Does it support interactive map previews?

Yes. The static_map_image_tool returns a base64 image to all clients and, in clients that support the MCP Apps protocol or the legacy MCP-UI spec (Claude Desktop's MCP Apps, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Code, Goose), renders an interactive map panel with a fullscreen toggle.

#mapbox #maps #geocoding #routing #directions #isochrone #geospatial #location #poi-search #official

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