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If you use an AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or Windsurf, you can connect it to Footstep to get directions, find places, compare routes, and more - all by asking in plain English.

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What you can do

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Plan a journey

  • “How do I walk from Kings Cross to Tower Bridge?”
  • “Directions to Buckingham Palace from my hotel”
  • “What’s the fastest way to drive from Heathrow to Cambridge?”

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Compare travel options

  • “Should I walk or cycle from the office to the station?”
  • “Compare driving vs cycling - which is hillier?”
  • “What’s the flattest route between these two places?”

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Find places

  • “Find coffee shops near Kings Cross”
  • “Are there any supermarkets within walking distance?”
  • “What restaurants are near 51.53, -0.12?”

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Find stops on the way

  • “Are there any petrol stations on my route to Cambridge?”
  • “Find a coffee shop on the way that won’t add more than 5 minutes”

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Check reachability

  • “How far can I cycle in 20 minutes from Liverpool Street?”
  • “Show me everywhere I can walk to in 15 minutes from here”

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Work with addresses

  • “Where is 10 Downing Street?”
  • “What address is at 51.5034, -0.1276?”
  • “Geocode these 5 addresses and tell me which ones are in London”

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Analyse terrain and elevation

  • “What’s the elevation profile between these two coordinates?”
  • “How much climbing is there on this walking route?”
  • “Is this route flat or hilly?”

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Analyse a recorded activity

  • “Clean up this GPS trace from my bike ride”
  • “What roads did I travel on during this run?”
  • “Show me the terrain and surface quality of my recorded walk”

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Optimise multiple stops

  • “Find the best order to visit these 8 delivery addresses”
  • “I need to visit 5 clients today - what’s the most efficient route?”

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How to set it up

You need two things: a Footstep API key and an AI assistant that supports MCP.

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1. Get an API key

Sign up at footstep.ai and create an API key from your dashboard. It starts with sk_live_.

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2. Connect your assistant

The setup depends on which assistant you use. In most cases you paste a small config block into a settings file. Nothing to install. Claude Desktop - Go to Settings > Developer > Edit Config, then paste: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "footstep": {
      "url": "https://mcp.footstep.ai",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Cursor / Windsurf / VS Code - Add a .mcp.json file to your project folder: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "footstep": {
      "url": "https://mcp.footstep.ai",
      "headers": {
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
Replace sk_live_your_key_here with your actual API key. For other clients (OpenAI, Gemini, Vercel AI SDK), see the full configuration guide. You can also run the server locally if you prefer.

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3. Start asking

Once connected, just ask your assistant anything from the examples above. It will automatically use the right Footstep tool and explain the results.

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Tips

  • Be specific about how you want to travel. “Walking directions” and “cycling directions” give different results - cycling accounts for bike lanes and road surfaces, walking accounts for footpaths and stairs.
  • Mention terrain if you care about it. Ask “what’s the flattest route?” or “how hilly is this?” and the assistant will include elevation and difficulty information.
  • Give coordinates if you have them. You can mix place names and coordinates: “Directions from 51.53, -0.12 to Tower Bridge”.
  • Ask follow-up questions. After getting directions, you can ask “is there a flatter alternative?” or “how about by bike instead?”.