Remote vs. Local Setup
Remote vs. Local Setup
The TomTom MCP Server is available in two deployment modes: a Remote MCP Server (recommended for most users) and a Local Setup (for advanced use cases).
Comparison Table
| Feature | Remote MCP Server | Local Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Installation Required | No | Yes |
| Maintenance | Managed by TomTom | Self-managed |
| Automatic Updates | Yes | Manual |
| Customization | Limited | Full |
| Map Backend | TomTom Maps + TomTom Orbis Maps (Public Preview) | TomTom Maps + TomTom Orbis Maps (Public Preview) |
| API Usage Charges | Yes | Yes |
| Best For | Most users | Developers & custom deployments |
Remote MCP Server (Recommended)
The Remote MCP Server is a fully managed service hosted by TomTom — no installation, no maintenance, always up-to-date.
When to use:
- You want the simplest setup experience
- You don't need to modify the MCP server code
- You prefer a managed service without maintenance overhead
Get started: Follow the Quick Setup guide.
Local Setup
Run the TomTom MCP Server on your own infrastructure via npx or Docker. Available as open source on GitHub.
When to use:
- Your MCP client does not support remote HTTP with custom headers
- You have specific deployment or security requirements
- You want to customize or contribute to the server code
Claude Desktop users: A pre-built extension is available that requires no local setup. See the Claude Desktop Integration Guide for details.
Get started: See the GitHub repository README for installation instructions.