Measure Geometry

The measure_geometry MCP tool measures areas, line lengths, and distances, calculates bounds, or locates points along and nearest to GeoJSON geometries.

Use this tool for numeric geometry calculations and point-location operations without calling separate geometry endpoints.

Tool name

measure_geometry

Request URL

https://api.geoapify.com/v1/mcp?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY

Input parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	`area`, `distance`, `length`, `bbox`, `point_to_line_distance`, `point_to_polygon_distance`, `nearest_point_on_line`, or `along`.
`geometry`	GeoJSON geometry	Yes	Primary geometry. Its required type depends on the operation.
`other_geometry`	GeoJSON geometry	Conditionally	Second point, target line, or target polygon. Required by `distance`, point-to-geometry, and nearest-point operations.
`distance`	number	Conditionally	Distance from the start of a `LineString`. Required only for `along`, in the selected `units`.
`units`	string	No	Units for distance-based operations. Default: `kilometers`. See supported units below.
`recompute`	boolean	No	For `bbox`, set to `true` to ignore a pre-existing bounding box and recalculate it from coordinates. Default: `false`.

Operation geometry requirements:

Operation	Geometry inputs	Result
`area`	`Polygon` or `MultiPolygon`	Number in square meters
`distance`	Two `Point` geometries	Number in selected units
`length`	`LineString` or `MultiLineString`	Number in selected units
`bbox`	Any supported geometry	GeoJSON bounding-box polygon
`point_to_line_distance`	`Point` and `LineString`	Number in selected units
`point_to_polygon_distance`	`Point` and `Polygon` or `MultiPolygon`	Number in selected units
`nearest_point_on_line`	`Point` and `LineString` or `MultiLineString`	GeoJSON point feature
`along`	`LineString` plus `distance`	GeoJSON point feature

Supported units are meters, metres, millimeters, millimetres, centimeters, centimetres, kilometers, kilometres, miles, nauticalmiles, inches, yards, feet, radians, and degrees.

Coordinates use WGS84 [longitude, latitude, optional elevation] order. Each operation accepts only its listed fields, and the input schema does not allow additional properties.

Example request

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "measure_geometry",
    "arguments": {
      "operation": "length",
      "geometry": {
        "type": "LineString",
        "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.44, 52.54]]
      },
      "units": "meters"
    }
  }
}

Response

Numeric operations return structuredContent.type as number; operations that locate a point or calculate bounds return geojson. The result is in structuredContent.data.

Example response

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "result": {
    "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": "{\"type\":\"number\",\"data\":6021.921081493014}" }],
    "structuredContent": {
      "type": "number",
      "data": 6021.921081493014
    },
    "isError": false
  }
}

Related tools

Evaluate Spatial Relation - evaluate boolean spatial predicates.
Transform Geometry - buffer, simplify, or transform a geometry.

Related API

For direct HTTP API integration, see Geometry Operations API.

`area`

Use area with measure_geometry to calculate polygon area.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `area`.
`geometry`	`Polygon` or `MultiPolygon`	Yes	Geometry to measure.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "area",
  "geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[13.38, 52.5], [13.42, 52.5], [13.42, 52.54], [13.38, 52.54], [13.38, 52.5]]] }
}

Output

Returns type: "number"; data is the area in square meters.

`distance`

Use distance with measure_geometry to calculate the geodesic distance between two points.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `distance`.
`geometry`	`Point`	Yes	Starting point.
`other_geometry`	`Point`	Yes	Destination point.
`units`	string	No	Result units. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "distance",
  "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [13.405, 52.52] },
  "other_geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [13.376, 52.5096] },
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "number"; data is the distance in the selected units.

`length`

Use length with measure_geometry to calculate the total length of a line geometry.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `length`.
`geometry`	`LineString` or `MultiLineString`	Yes	Line geometry to measure.
`units`	string	No	Result units. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "length",
  "geometry": { "type": "LineString", "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.41, 52.53], [13.44, 52.54]] },
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "number"; data is the total length in the selected units.

`bbox`

Use bbox with measure_geometry to calculate the rectangular bounds of a geometry.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `bbox`.
`geometry`	GeoJSON geometry	Yes	Any supported geometry type.
`recompute`	boolean	No	Set to `true` to ignore a pre-existing bounding box. Default: `false`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "bbox",
  "geometry": { "type": "LineString", "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.41, 52.53], [13.44, 52.54]] },
  "recompute": true
}

Output

Returns type: "geojson"; data is a rectangular Polygon Feature. Its properties.bbox is [west, south, east, north].

`point_to_line_distance`

Use point_to_line_distance with measure_geometry to calculate the shortest distance from a Point to a LineString.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `point_to_line_distance`.
`geometry`	`Point`	Yes	Point to measure from.
`other_geometry`	`LineString`	Yes	Target line.
`units`	string	No	Result units. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "point_to_line_distance",
  "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [13.405, 52.52] },
  "other_geometry": { "type": "LineString", "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.44, 52.54]] },
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "number"; data is the shortest distance in the selected units.

`point_to_polygon_distance`

Use point_to_polygon_distance with measure_geometry to calculate the shortest distance from a Point to a polygon boundary.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `point_to_polygon_distance`.
`geometry`	`Point`	Yes	Point to measure from.
`other_geometry`	`Polygon` or `MultiPolygon`	Yes	Target polygon boundary.
`units`	string	No	Result units. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "point_to_polygon_distance",
  "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [13.405, 52.52] },
  "other_geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[13.38, 52.5], [13.42, 52.5], [13.42, 52.54], [13.38, 52.54], [13.38, 52.5]]] },
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "number"; data is the shortest distance to the boundary in the selected units.

`nearest_point_on_line`

Use nearest_point_on_line with measure_geometry to locate the closest point on a line.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `nearest_point_on_line`.
`geometry`	`Point`	Yes	Point from which to search.
`other_geometry`	`LineString` or `MultiLineString`	Yes	Target line.
`units`	string	No	Units used by distance metadata. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "nearest_point_on_line",
  "geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [13.405, 52.52] },
  "other_geometry": { "type": "LineString", "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.44, 52.54]] },
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "geojson"; data is the nearest Point Feature with line-location metadata in properties.

`along`

Use along with measure_geometry to locate a point at a specified distance from the start of a LineString.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
`operation`	string	Yes	Must be `along`.
`geometry`	`LineString`	Yes	Line along which to measure.
`distance`	number	Yes	Distance from the start in the selected `units`.
`units`	string	No	Distance units. Default: `kilometers`.

Arguments example

{
  "operation": "along",
  "geometry": { "type": "LineString", "coordinates": [[13.38, 52.5], [13.41, 52.53], [13.44, 52.54]] },
  "distance": 1000,
  "units": "meters"
}

Output

Returns type: "geojson"; data is the Point Feature at the requested distance along the line.