Kakao Navigation MCP server

This MCP server integrates with Kakao Mobility and Kakao Map APIs, allowing you to perform location searches and navigation services optimized for the Korean environment through a Model Context Protocol (MCP) compliant interface.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

To use this MCP server, you'll need to obtain a Kakao API key by following these steps:

1. Log in to Kakao Developers
2. Create an application:
   • Navigate to 'My Applications' > 'Add Application'
   • Enter your application information and click 'Save'
3. Activate Kakao Map API:
   • Select 'Kakao Map' from the sidebar
   • Turn ON the 'Activation Settings'
4. Get your REST API Key:
   • Select 'App Keys' from the sidebar
   • Copy your 'REST API Key'

Available Tools

The server provides several MCP-compliant tools for location and navigation services:

Geocoding

Use the geocode tool to convert addresses into coordinate information (latitude/longitude).

{
  "tool_name": "geocode",
  "input": {
    "address": "서울특별시 강남구 테헤란로 521"
  }
}

Direction Search by Names

Find the optimal route between locations using place names with the direction_search_by_names tool.

{
  "tool_name": "direction_search_by_names",
  "input": {
    "origin": "서울역",
    "destination": "강남역",
    "mode": "TRANSIT"  // Options: TRANSIT, CAR, WALK
  }
}

Direction Search by Coordinates

Find routes using coordinate data with the direction_search_by_coordinates tool.

{
  "tool_name": "direction_search_by_coordinates",
  "input": {
    "origin_x": 126.972559,
    "origin_y": 37.554648,
    "destination_x": 127.028003,
    "destination_y": 37.497175,
    "mode": "CAR"
  }
}

Future Direction Search

Plan routes for a specific time in the future using future_direction_search_by_coordinates.

{
  "tool_name": "future_direction_search_by_coordinates",
  "input": {
    "origin_x": 126.972559,
    "origin_y": 37.554648,
    "destination_x": 127.028003,
    "destination_y": 37.497175,
    "departure_time": "2023-12-31T14:00:00",
    "mode": "CAR"
  }
}

Address Search by Place Name

Find address information using place names with address_search_by_place_name.

{
  "tool_name": "address_search_by_place_name",
  "input": {
    "query": "강남역"
  }
}

Transportation Modes

The server supports various transportation modes:

• TRANSIT: Public transportation
• CAR: Driving directions
• WALK: Walking directions

Each mode provides optimized routes based on real-time traffic information when available.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "kakao-navigation" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@cachij/kakao-navigation-mcp-server"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "kakao-navigation": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@cachij/kakao-navigation-mcp-server"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "kakao-navigation": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@cachij/kakao-navigation-mcp-server"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect