google-maps
fetcher-sh/fetcher-skills
Google Maps and Places API alternative—pay-per-call in USDC or prepaid credits, no Google Cloud setup.
What is google-maps?
A drop-in replacement for Google Maps and Google Places APIs hosted on fetcher.sh. Search places by text or coordinate, fetch full place details and reviews, and look up individual reviews—all via simple HTTP GET calls with transparent per-call pricing ($0.005) or prepaid credits. Use this when you need local business data, points-of-interest, or store-locator functionality without Google Cloud Platform's billing complexity.
- Search places by text query, optionally anchored to latitude/longitude coordinates
- Fetch full place details (name, address, ratings, etc.) by feature ID
- Retrieve and sort a place's reviews by relevance, newest, highest, or lowest rating
- Look up individual reviews by ID
- Support localized results via language and country codes
- Pay per call in USDC (Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Monad, Solana) or use prepaid credits
How to install google-maps
npx skills add https://github.com/fetcher-sh/fetcher-skills --skill google-maps- A fetcher.sh account and API key (get at https://fetcher.sh/topup) for prepaid credits, or use x402 pay-per-call (no account needed)
- FETCHER_API_KEY environment variable set if using prepaid credits
How to use google-maps
- 1.Install the skill: `npx skills add https://github.com/fetcher-sh/fetcher-skills --skill google-maps`
- 2.Set your API key: `export FETCHER_API_KEY="bby_live_..."`
- 3.Search places: `curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" --data-urlencode "query=coffee" -G https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/search`
- 4.Fetch place details by feature ID: `curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/{fid}`
- 5.Get reviews sorted by newest: `curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" --data-urlencode "sort=newest" -G https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/{fid}/reviews`
- 6.Optionally configure MCP in your agent config to use named shortcuts like `google_maps_place_search`
Use cases
- Build a store locator that searches nearby locations and displays details and reviews
- Implement a "near me" search feature for a mobile app without Google Cloud setup
- Monitor and aggregate reviews for a business across multiple locations
- Populate local business data in a knowledge base or search index
- Fetch place details and customer reviews for comparison shopping or recommendation engines
- AI agents and coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor)
- Backend developers building location-based services
- Startups avoiding Google Cloud billing and API key restrictions
- Teams building store locators or local search features
google-maps FAQ
$0.005 per call, billed in USDC. You can prepay credits or pay per call via x402 without a Google Cloud account.
No. You only need a fetcher.sh account (for prepaid credits) or can pay per call with x402 using crypto on Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Monad, or Solana.
Prepaid USDC credits (topup at https://fetcher.sh/topup) or x402 pay-per-call using USDC on Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Monad, or Solana.
Yes. Include `latitude` and `longitude` parameters in the search query to anchor results to a coordinate (e.g., "near me" style searches).
Use the `sort` parameter with values `relevant`, `newest`, `highest`, or `lowest` when calling the `/api/place/{fid}/reviews` endpoint.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from fetcher-sh/fetcher-skills.
name: google-maps description: >- A Google Maps API alternative and Google Places API alternative on fetcher.sh — pay-per-call in USDC via x402, or prepaid credits with a Bearer key, no Google Cloud billing account. Use when the user wants to search places by text query or anchor the search to a latitude/longitude coordinate, fetch a place's full details by its feature ID (fid), pull a place's reviews sorted by relevance/newest/rating, or look up a single review by ID. Also covers local business discovery, points-of-interest data, store-locator input, and review monitoring without Google Cloud Platform's API key setup, billing, and per-request pricing. keywords:
- google-maps
- google-maps-api
- google-places-api
- places-api-alternative
- local-business-data
- poi-data
- x402
- ai-agent
Google Maps API
Place search, place details, and reviews as clean JSON — one plain HTTP GET per call, paid as you go. No Google Cloud project, no API key restriction rules, no per-request Places API billing.
Base URL: https://google-maps.fetcher.sh
Authentication
Two ways to pay, same data — full mechanics in the fetcher
skill:
# 1. Prepaid credits (recommended — get a key at https://fetcher.sh/topup
# or via POST /api/credits/topup, see the fetcher skill)
export FETCHER_API_KEY="bby_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/search?query=coffee"
# 2. x402 pay-per-call — omit the header; a GET with no payment returns 402
# with machine-readable payment requirements (USDC on Base, Polygon,
# Arbitrum, Monad, or Solana). @x402/fetch signs and retries automatically.
Every response is { "status": number, "message": string, "data": ... }; the
HTTP status mirrors status.
Endpoints (4 — all GET, $0.005/call)
| Endpoint | What it returns |
|---|---|
/api/place/search | Places matching a text query, optionally anchored to a coordinate |
/api/place/{fid} | A place's full details by feature ID |
/api/place/{fid}/reviews | A place's reviews |
/api/review/{id} | A single review by ID |
Required on search: query. Optional: languageCode, countryCode,
latitude, longitude, offset, zoom (search radius/precision). Reviews
support sort (relevant, newest, highest, lowest) and cursor.
Scenarios
Plain text search:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode "query=ramen in brooklyn" -G \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/search"
Anchor the search to a coordinate (for "near me" style queries):
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode "query=coffee" -G \
--data-urlencode "latitude=40.7128" \
--data-urlencode "longitude=-74.0060" \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/search"
A place's details, then its reviews sorted by newest:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/0x89c259af336b3341%3A0x8c584d6dfe89aa89"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode "sort=newest" -G \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/0x89c259af336b3341%3A0x8c584d6dfe89aa89/reviews"
A single review by ID:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/review/ChdDSUhNMG9nS0VJQ0FnSURDeGRXQnl3RRAB"
Localized results (French language, Canadian region):
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
--data-urlencode "query=boulangerie" -G \
--data-urlencode "languageCode=fr" \
--data-urlencode "countryCode=CA" \
"https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/api/place/search"
MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"google-maps": {
"url": "https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer bby_live_..." }
}
}
}
Free: search_endpoints, describe_endpoint, check_balance. Paid:
fetch_data (any endpoint above), topup_credits, plus the named shortcut
google_maps_place_search. Drop the headers block to pay per call with
x402 instead — see the fetcher skill for the full
flow.
Errors
400— missing/invalid parameter (message names it)401— unknown or rotated key402— payment required (x402 challenge) ortopup_required(credits exhausted)404— not a priced path- No rate limits; no refunds on upstream failures (settlement precedes delivery)
Reference
- Full agent setup: https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/skill.md
- OpenAPI 3.1 contract: https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/openapi.json
- Condensed catalog: https://google-maps.fetcher.sh/llms.txt
- Payment, credits, and MCP deep dive:
fetcherskill - Site: https://google-maps.fetcher.sh
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