Open Waters AIS vs Openstreetmap MCP Server
A side-by-side look at the Open Waters AIS and Openstreetmap MCP Server MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Open Waters AIS for location services work over a hosted endpoint; choose Openstreetmap MCP Server for location services as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Open Waters AIS when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
Choose Openstreetmap MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Location Services domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
OSM_USER_AGENT. - You want tools like
openstreetmap_search_places, openstreetmap_reverse_geocode, openstreetmap_lookup_objects.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Location Services | Location Services |
| Quality signal | 43/100 · Fair | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | OSM_USER_AGENT |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 7 | 8 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 6 |
| Full listing | View Open Waters AIS | View Openstreetmap MCP Server |
Tools & capabilities
Open Waters AIS tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Openstreetmap MCP Server tools 6
openstreetmap_search_placesConvert a place name or address to coordinates and structured place dataopenstreetmap_reverse_geocodeConvert latitude/longitude to the nearest address or place nameopenstreetmap_lookup_objectsFetch address records for known OSM objects by IDopenstreetmap_query_nearbyFind OSM features within a radius of a pointopenstreetmap_query_bboxFind OSM features inside a bounding box or an OSM boundary such as a city, park, or regionopenstreetmap_query_rawRun a raw Overpass QL query for anything the other tools cannot express
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Open Waters AIS
{
"mcpServers": {
"open-waters-ais": {
"url": "https://ais.openwaters.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Openstreetmap MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"openstreetmap-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"@cyanheads/openstreetmap-mcp-server@latest"
],
"env": {
"OSM_USER_AGENT": "YOUR_OSM_USER_AGENT_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Open Waters AIS is categorized under Location Services and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Openstreetmap MCP Server belongs to Location Services and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Open Waters AIS for location services work and Openstreetmap MCP Server for location services.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Open Waters AIS has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Openstreetmap MCP Server has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add open-waters-ais and openstreetmap-mcp-server as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Open Waters AIS has a quality signal of 43/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 7 GitHub stars. Openstreetmap MCP Server has 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 8 GitHub stars.