How to use Google Maps with GitHub Copilot
You want Google Maps inside GitHub Copilot so it can plan daily commutes, prepare client visits, coordinate an off-site meeting, and validate delivery routes — without you copy-pasting between tabs. Here is the whole setup, once.
Create your Google Maps gateway
The gateway is the thing GitHub Copilot connects to, and it is where you decide which Google Maps tools an agent may use. You create it once and every client reuses it.
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Create an Arcade account
Sign up and open the dashboard. The free tier is enough to follow this through.
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Create an MCP Gateway and select your Google Maps tools
In the dashboard, create a gateway and pick the Google Maps tools you want to expose. The gateway is what your client connects to, and it is where tool access is decided.
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Copy your gateway URL
Every client below needs it.
https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>
Connect the gateway to GitHub Copilot
JetBrains IDEs do not support remote MCP servers with Dynamic Client Registration — configure the gateway as “Arcade Headers” in the dashboard first. Setup also differs on Visual Studio, Eclipse and Xcode; check the docs for yours.
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In VS Code
Copilot picks up MCP servers configured in VS Code automatically, so follow the VS Code steps and you are done.
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In JetBrains IDEs
Copilot icon → Open Chat → Agent mode → tools icon → “+ Add More Tools…”, which opens mcp.json.
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Add the gateway with Arcade Headers
{ "servers": { "mcp-arcade": { "url": "https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>", "requestInit": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer {arcade_api_key}", "Arcade-User-ID": "{arcade_user_id}" } } } } }
Full GitHub Copilot guide in the docs steps verified 2026-08-13
Try these Google Maps prompts
GitHub Copilot can now act on your Google Maps account. Click a prompt to copy it.
Protect the shared API key and limit the agent to directions lookups. Pair it with Contextual Access policies so an agent can calculate routes without gaining access to other Google Maps APIs.