Foursquare

What is foursquare-places-mcp?

foursquare-places-mcp is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI agents to access the Foursquare Places API. This allows AI systems to recommend places around the world, providing detailed location context and insights.

How to use foursquare-places-mcp?

To use foursquare-places-mcp, you need to:

1. Obtain a Foursquare Service API Key: Follow the instructions on the Foursquare Developer documentation to create a Service API Key. This key is essential for your AI agent to access Foursquare API endpoints.
2. Download Claude Desktop: As MCP is currently supported for local use, download the Claude Desktop App.
3. Set up the MCP Server: For a Python-based MCP server, follow the directions provided in fsq-server-python/README.md.

Key Features of foursquare-places-mcp

• Integration with Foursquare Places API: Provides access to a global, open-source database of 100 million places across over 1500 categories.
• GeoTagging API: Pinpoints exact locations with high accuracy using Foursquare's Place Snap technology.
• Search & Data APIs: Allows developers to filter places by category, features, hours, and more.
• Rich Metadata: Each search result includes photos, reviews, ratings, and real-time popularity.
• Model Context Protocol (MCP) Implementation: Exposes functions that an LLM can understand and call directly, enabling local search for places.

Use Cases of foursquare-places-mcp

• Situationally Aware AI Agents: Build AI agents that understand a user's surroundings.
• Personalized Experiences: Create tailored experiences for users based on their location and nearby places.
• Local Search: Enable AI systems to perform local searches for various places like coffee shops, parks, and more.
• Recommendation Systems: Develop recommendation engines that suggest places based on user preferences and location.

FAQ from foursquare-places-mcp

• What is MCP? Model Context Protocol is a new standard from Anthropic for connecting AI systems with data sources. It allows you to set up servers that expose functions that an LLM can understand and call directly.

• Is remote production MCP server available? Currently, MCP is only supported for local use. Remote production MCP servers are still under development.

MCP Server enabling access to the Foursquare API

The Foursquare Places API provides detailed location context for apps that need to understand where a user is and what's around them. Powered by a global, open source database of 100 million places across more than 1500 categories, they convert raw GPS data into meaningful insights.

The GeoTagging API pinpoints exact locations—from coffee shops to parks—with high accuracy using Foursquare's Place Snap technology, while the Search & Data APIs go beyond basic proximity, allowing developers to filter places by category, features, hours, and more. Each result includes rich metadata like photos, reviews, ratings, and real-time popularity.

These tools make it possible to build AI Agents that are situationally aware and tailored to the user's surroundings for a highly personalized experience.

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol is a new standard from Anthropic for connecting AI systems with data sources. Read more about it at Anthropic.

MCP allows you to set up servers that expose functions that an LLM can understand and call directly. In this project, we implement an MCP server that can access the Foursquare API in order to support local search for places.

Getting Started

Foursquare Service API Key

You will need a Foursquare Service API Key to allow your AI agent to access Foursquare API endpoints. If you do not already have one, follow the instructions on Foursquare Doc - Manage Your Service API Keys to create one.

You will need to log in to your Foursquare developer account or create one if you do not have one (creating a basic account is free and includes starter credit for your project). Be sure to copy the Service API key upon creation as you will not be able to see it again.

Download Claude Desktop

Currently MCP is only supported for local use, so you should download the Claude Desktop App (remote production MCP servers are still in the works).

Set up MCP Server

• Python: follow the directions in fsq-server-python/README.md for instructions on setting up a python based MCP server using uv.