# CommuteScout

> Live road conditions for 37 US states, trip planning, and the best time
> to leave, as a public MCP server. Hosted endpoint (streamable HTTP, no
> key needed): https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp

CommuteScout (https://commutescout.com) is a live road map, a driving app and an MCP server
built on the same data: state DOT and 511 feeds, CHP, NWS weather,
wildfires, cameras, message signs, TomTom traffic and an archive of past
events. The MCP server lets an assistant answer "what's a good time to
drive to X?", "is I-80 open over Donner?" or "what's going on near me?"
with live data.

## Install the MCP server

Endpoint: `https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp` (streamable HTTP). It works without a key or an
account. Pick the user's client:

### Claude Code

```sh
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user commutescout https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp
```

With a key, for saved places:

```sh
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user commutescout https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer cs_live_..."
```

Run /mcp inside Claude Code to confirm it connected.

### claude.ai and Claude Desktop

Customize > Connectors > + Add > Add custom connector. Name: CommuteScout. URL: https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp. Sign-in: No sign in.

For saved places, add a request header named Authorization with the value Bearer cs_live_...

On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner adds it first under Organization settings > Connectors. The connector also appears in Claude Desktop and the mobile apps.

### Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or .cursor/mcp.json in a project:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "commutescout": {
      "url": "https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:COMMUTESCOUT_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}
```

Leave out headers to connect without a key.

### VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "commutescout": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:commutescout-key}" }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    { "type": "promptString", "id": "commutescout-key",
      "description": "CommuteScout API key", "password": true }
  ]
}
```

Leave out headers and inputs to connect without a key.

### Windsurf

Add to its mcp_config.json (MCP settings > view raw config):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "commutescout": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:COMMUTESCOUT_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenAI Codex CLI

```sh
codex mcp add commutescout --url https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp
```

With a key, in ~/.codex/config.toml:

```toml
[mcp_servers.commutescout]
url = "https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "COMMUTESCOUT_API_KEY"
```

### Gemini CLI

```sh
gemini mcp add --transport http commutescout https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp
```

Add --header "Authorization: Bearer cs_live_..." for saved places.

### ChatGPT

On chatgpt.com: Plugins > + > Add custom MCP server. URL: https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp. Authentication: none.

Custom MCP servers depend on your plan and workspace settings. ChatGPT offers sign-in (OAuth) rather than a key field, so use addresses instead of "home" and "work" there.

### Any other MCP client

Streamable HTTP at https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp: stateless, no sign-in, optional Authorization: Bearer cs_live_... (or X-API-Key).

A client that only speaks stdio can bridge with:

```sh
npx mcp-remote https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp --transport http-only
```

After connecting, check it with a question such as "When should I leave
Union Station in Denver for Red Rocks tomorrow?". The assistant should
call `best_time_to_go`.

## Saved places and API keys (optional)

A key lets "home", "work" and the names of the user's saved places work in
every trip tool, and gives the client its own rate limits. The user gets
one at https://commutescout.com/map: Settings, sign in, then API keys. It is shown once.
Send it as `Authorization: Bearer cs_live_...` or `X-API-Key: cs_live_...`. Free keys get
2,000 requests a day; without a key, each address gets 10,000 a day. An
agent cannot create a key for the user: ask them to create one and paste
it, and keep it out of shared files.

The server cannot see the user's device location. For "from here", pass
coordinates or a city you already know, or ask.

## Tools

- Trips: `plan_trip`, `best_time_to_go`, `find_place`, `get_my_places`
- Around a place: `get_nearby_events`, `get_weather`, `get_traffic`,
  `get_area_history`
- California corridors and regions: `check_route`, `check_region`,
  `rank_routes`, `get_incidents`, `get_lane_closures`,
  `get_chain_controls`, `get_wildfires`, `get_cameras`, `get_road_signs`
- Coverage: `get_coverage`

## Docs

- [MCP setup and tool list](https://commutescout.com/mcp)
- [Developer docs: REST API, keys, limits, errors](https://commutescout.com/developers)
- [OpenAPI document](https://mcp.commutescout.com/v1/openapi.json)
- [Every tool over plain HTTP](https://mcp.commutescout.com/v1)
- [Server card](https://mcp.commutescout.com/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json)
- [Source code (MIT)](https://github.com/nicglazkov/commutescout)
- [Data sources](https://commutescout.com/data-sources)

## Run it yourself

```sh
uvx --from git+https://github.com/nicglazkov/commutescout ca-roads-mcp
```

That is a stdio server. Live events need no keys; routing and geocoding
for the trip tools need `STADIA_API_KEY`, and traffic needs
`TOMTOM_API_KEY`. `MCP_HOME` and `MCP_WORK` ("lat,lon" or an address) set
fixed places.

Not affiliated with any government agency. Verify before driving.