Do I need an API key?

No! Nominatim is completely free and requires no authentication. It's powered by the OpenStreetMap community. Just subscribe and start searching. Rate limit is 1 request per second.

How accurate is the geocoding?

Nominatim uses OpenStreetMap data, which is crowd-sourced and varies by region. Urban areas typically have very accurate results. Use addressdetails=1 to get structured address components and namedetails=1 for multi-language names.

Can I convert coordinates to an address?

Yes! Use reverse_geocode with latitude and longitude. Returns the nearest address with street name, house number, city, state, postal code and country. Supports different zoom levels for varying detail granularity.

What is an OSM ID and how do I use it?

OSM IDs are unique identifiers for OpenStreetMap objects: N for nodes (points), W for ways (lines/areas), R for relations (groups). Use lookup_osm with IDs like 'W123456' or 'N987654'. Use get_details for comprehensive info on a single object.

Nominatim MCP Server for Claude Desktop 5 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Nominatim
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 5 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

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Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Nominatim and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nominatim": {
      // Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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DLPData protection

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Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Nominatim MCP Server

Connect to Nominatim and search the world's most comprehensive open-source geographic database through natural conversation — no API key needed.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Nominatim to your AI workflow. Add the Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 5 tools in the chat interface — ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Address Search — Find any place by name, address or type of place (restaurants, schools, hospitals)
Reverse Geocoding — Convert GPS coordinates to human-readable addresses
OSM Lookup — Look up detailed info for any OpenStreetMap object by its ID
Structured Addresses — Get detailed address components (street, city, state, postal code, country)
Multi-language Names — Retrieve place names in different languages
Bounding Boxes — Get geographic boundaries for cities, countries and regions

The Nominatim MCP Server exposes 5 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Nominatim to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Nominatim MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using Nominatim

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat — your 5 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Nominatim MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Nominatim through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client — it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage — your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to the Vinkius Edge network

Nominatim + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Nominatim MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies — all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

Nominatim MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (5)

These 5 tools become available when you connect Nominatim to Claude Desktop via MCP:

get_details

Returns the object's full name, display name, place rank, importance score, bounding box, parent place hierarchy, linked Wikipedia/Wikidata articles and optional extratags. OSM type: N (node), W (way), R (relation). Get detailed info for an OSM object

get_status

Returns status message and response latency. Useful for verifying the service is operational before making other requests. Get Nominatim server status

lookup_osm

IDs are formatted as "type{id}" where type is N (node), W (way) or R (relation). Multiple IDs are comma-separated. Returns the object's display name, coordinates, bounding box and properties. Look up OSM objects by ID

reverse_geocode

Returns the nearest address, city, state, country and other location details. Supports different zoom levels for varying detail granularity. Convert coordinates to an address

search

Returns results with coordinates, bounding box, display name, address components and OSM type/id. Supports structured searches with country codes and viewbox for region prioritization. Rate limited to 1 request/second. Search for places by name or address

Example Prompts for Nominatim in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Nominatim immediately.

"Find the coordinates for the Eiffel Tower."

"What address is at coordinates 40.7128, -74.0060?"

"Search for 'Central Park' and show me its bounding box."

Troubleshooting Nominatim MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Nominatim to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting — wait a few seconds.

Nominatim + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Nominatim MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully — if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL — Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.