Get started

For quick testing, create an API key credential with the following privileges:

• General privileges > Apps and capabilities > Allow beta access
• Location services > Geocoding
• Location services > Routing
• Location services > Elevation
• Location services > Static maps service (beta)

For clients that support OAuth 2.0, create an OAuth 2.0 credential for user authentication. Your account must have all of the privileges required for the tools (and services) you want to use.

Compliant clients for user authentication include Visual Studio Code, Claude Code and Postman.

To connect to the MCP server from Microsoft Copilot Studio, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Microsoft Copilot Studio.
2. In Agents tab, click + Create blank agent.
3. Name the agent MCP for ArcGIS Location Services and click Next.
4. Scroll down to the Tools section and click + Add tool.
5. Select Model Context Protocol.
6. Configure the following:
   • Name: MCP for ArcGIS Location Services
   • Description: An MCP server that provides access to ArcGIS Location Services capabilities such as geocoding, routing, elevation, and map generation.
   • Server URL: https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp
   • Authentication: API key
   • Authentication type: Header
   • Header name: Authorization
7. Click Create.
8. Click Not connected > Create new connection to test the connection.
9. In the empty field, enter Bearer followed by your access token, then click Create.
10. Once the connection is successful, the Not connected status will change to Connected. Click Add and connect.
11. Explore the tools and start chatting with the agent. You may be prompted to open the Connection Manager and reconnect to the MCP on your first attempt. This is expected; you can reuse the connection you created in the previous step and do not need to create a new one.

To connect to the MCP server from Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot, follow these steps:

1. Install the github.copilot-chat extension in Visual Studio Code.

2. Sign in to Visual Studio Code with the GitHub account associated with your GitHub Copilot subscription.

   • Select the Accounts icon in Visual Studio Code (usually located in the lower left corner).
   • Select Sign in to GitHub.
   • Complete the authentication flow in your browser.

3. Create a file called mcp.json in your workspace.

4. Add the following configuration to the file:

   • Using an API Key:

   {
     "servers": {
       "mcpArcGISLocationServices": {
         "url": "https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp",
         "type": "http",
         "headers": {
           "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:esriApiKey}"
         }
       }
     },
     "inputs": [
       {
         "type": "promptString",
         "id": "esriApiKey",
         "description": "API key to authenticate with MCP for ArcGIS Location Services. Must have required privileges for geocoding, routing, elevation, and static maps services.",
         "password": true
       }
     ]
   }
   • Using OAuth:

   {
     "servers": {
       "mcpArcGISLocationServices": {
         "url": "https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp",
         "type": "http",
         "oauth": {
           "clientId": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID",
         }
       }
     }
   }

5. You should see a small status label above the server name in Visual Studio Code showing the number of available tools and prompts. Click Start.

In Goose, once you have connected to your LLM of choice, you can configure MCP for ArcGIS Location Services as a Custom Extension. Provide the following configuration settings:

• Extension Name = mcp-for-arcgis-location-services
• Type = HTTP
• Description = An MCP server that provides access to ArcGIS Location Services capabilities such as geocoding, routing, elevation, and map generation.
• Endpoint = https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp
• Timeout = 300 (Default)
• ENV Vars = N/A
• Request headers:
  • Authorization
  • Bearer <YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN>

To connect to the MCP server from Claude, you need to add a remote HTTP server with a Bearer token. Use the following command:

claude mcp add --transport http secure-api https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Use Postman to connect to MCP for ArcGIS Location Services server, authenticate with your API key, and verify that the MCP tools and prompts are accessible.

1. Launch Postman and sign in or create an account if you don’t have one.
2. Choose an existing workspace or create a new one.
3. In the left sidebar, click + > MCP. Postman opens a new MCP request in a new tab.
4. Choose HTTP in the dropdown next to the URL field.
5. Type https://location-services-mcp.arcgis.com/beta/mcp in the URL field.
6. In Authorization tab, under Auth Type, select Bearer token.
7. Paste the access token you obtained from your ArcGIS Location Platform account.
8. Click Run. In the Message tab, check the Tools and Prompts sections and verify that available tools and prompts are shown.

To create a fork of the collection in Postman with the configuration already set up for you, click the button below.