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Google Maps Platform is Google’s suite of location APIs and SDKs for geocoding, routing, places, and interactive maps. The Google Maps Platform connector lets your Lovable app call Google’s location APIs through Lovable’s connector gateway and render interactive maps in the browser. It’s designed for apps that need location, mapping, navigation, or place data, whether behind the scenes or on screen. Google Maps Platform is available as an app + chat connector: one shared connection that works in the chat while you build and in your published apps. With Google Maps Platform, your app can:
  • Turn addresses into coordinates and coordinates into addresses
  • Calculate routes, travel times, and distance matrices
  • Search for places and businesses and show their details, hours, and ratings
  • Show interactive or embedded maps with markers and address autocomplete, or static map images
  • Validate addresses and snap GPS traces to roads
  • Look up weather, air quality, pollen, and solar data for a location
  • Use Aerial View, Geolocation, Elevation, Time Zone, Route Optimization, and Area Insights
Google Maps Platform is a good fit when your app needs Google’s map and place data, or when you want a working map in minutes with the managed connection.

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Common use cases and example apps

These examples show what you can build with Google Maps Platform, each with a prompt to start from.

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How Google Maps Platform connections work

Google Maps Platform uses two API keys because some of its APIs run on the server and others in the browser:
  • The server key is private. Lovable’s connector gateway uses it to call server-side APIs such as Geocoding, Routes, Places, Weather, and Air Quality. It never reaches the browser.
  • The browser key is public. Your app’s frontend uses it to load maps: the Maps JavaScript API for interactive maps, plus map embeds and static map images. The connection form marks it Public, and Lovable exposes it to your app’s frontend as the VITE_LOVABLE_CONNECTOR_GOOGLE_MAPS_BROWSER_KEY environment variable, so it appears in your published app’s code.
Everything except loading maps goes through the gateway with the server key, including address autocomplete and place details. The managed browser key is authorized only for the Maps JavaScript, Maps Embed, Maps Static, and Map Tiles APIs, and Step 3 restricts your own browser key the same way. Places, Geocoding, Routes, and other server-side APIs fail with REQUEST_DENIED if called from the browser. Server-side requests through the gateway are limited to 6,000 requests per 24 hours per workspace for each connection type. A managed connection and a connection with your own credentials each get their own 6,000. Requests the browser makes to Google with the browser key do not count.

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How to connect Google Maps Platform

Who can create Google Maps Platform connections depends on your plan and workspace settings. App + chat connectors are available by default on Free, Pro, and Business plans. On Enterprise plans, they are effectively disabled at first: Who can create connections and clients defaults to No one until an admin changes it in Connectors → Admin settings → App + chat connectors. When adding a connection, you choose between two options:
  • Managed by Lovable: Lovable provides and manages the credentials for you. No registration needed, not for production. Maps do not load on custom domains.
  • Use your own credentials: connect your own server and browser API keys. Required for custom domains and for production apps.
When the connection is created, you can link it to the projects where you want to use it. Anyone building in a project can ask Lovable in chat to link their project to it. Follow the setup steps below for the option you want.
Choose this option for the fastest setup while you prototype. You don’t need a Google Cloud account or API keys.
The managed connection works on *.lovable.app domains and does not load maps on a custom domain. Lovable shows a Custom domains note on the connection and warns in the Publish dialog when a project with a custom domain uses a managed connection. To use Google Maps Platform on a custom domain, add a connection with Use your own credentials and put the custom domain in your browser key’s website restrictions.
The managed connection is for prototyping and preview, not production. Server-side requests through Lovable’s connector gateway are limited to 6,000 per 24 hours per workspace. When you go live, add a connection with Use your own credentials so usage runs on your Google Cloud project and billing account. Your own credentials get their own separate 6,000 requests through the gateway, so switching changes who bills you rather than lifting the gateway limit.
You can create one managed Google Maps Platform connection per workspace. If one exists, the Managed by Lovable option is unavailable in the form until you delete it.
1

Open Google Maps Platform in Connectors

Open Connectors and select Google Maps Platform. For the other places to open the catalog from, see Where to find connectors.
2

Add a connection

Click Add connection.
3

Name the connection

In Display name, name the connection (for example, Google Maps Platform). This name is only used inside Lovable to identify the connection.
4

Choose Managed by Lovable

Under Authentication, select Managed by Lovable. No credential fields appear for this option, and the form shows the Custom domains note.
5

Choose who can use this connection

Managed connections are shared with the entire workspace by default. To limit who can use the connection, click Restrict to specific people under Who can use this connection.See Who can use connections and clients for more information.
6

Connect

Click Connect.
When connected, anyone building in a project can ask Lovable in chat to link their project to Google Maps Platform (based on configured connection-level access). Your Lovable apps can then geocode, route, search places, and show maps with Google Maps Platform.

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Limitations

The Google Maps Platform connector cannot:
  • Load maps on a custom domain with the managed connection. The managed browser key is restricted to Lovable’s domains.
  • Exceed 6,000 server-side gateway requests per 24 hours per workspace for each connection type.
  • Call the legacy Directions, Distance Matrix, or original Places APIs. Google has deprecated them, and the gateway rejects those paths.
  • Support per-end-user Google login. Each connection represents a single set of keys shared across all projects linked to it.
  • Work from territories where Google prohibits Maps Platform: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Vietnam, and Crimea and the other occupied regions of Ukraine. Lovable blocks connecting and gateway requests from those locations and points to Google’s list.

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Troubleshooting

If maps or location requests fail, the sections below cover the most common errors and how to resolve them.
The browser key’s website restrictions do not include the domain the app is served on. Add the exact origin, including protocol and subdomain, on the Google Cloud Credentials page. With a managed connection on a custom domain, this is expected: switch to your own credentials.
The server key has a website restriction. Gateway requests carry no referrer, so every call is blocked. Edit the key in Google Cloud and set Application restrictions to None or IP addresses with Lovable’s gateway ranges.
Either the API is not enabled in your Google Cloud project, or the server key’s API restrictions do not include it. Check both in the Google Cloud console.
The browser key is authorized only for loading maps. Ask Lovable to move geocoding, routing, and other server-side calls to the backend so they go through the gateway with the server key.
The app calls the Places API from the browser with the managed browser key. Since September 10, 2026, that key no longer authorizes Places API calls, so apps built earlier that used browser autocomplete or place details fail on those features without any change to the app. Reconnecting the connection or changing referrer settings does not restore access. Ask Lovable to move autocomplete, place search, and place details to the backend so they go through the gateway with the server key.
The workspace has used its 6,000 gateway requests for the day on that connection type. The response includes a Retry-After header. Ask Lovable to cache repeated lookups, debounce autocomplete, reduce call volume, and keep map loads on the browser key, which does not count toward the limit. A connection of the other type has its own separate 6,000.

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Manage your connection

Connections are managed from Connectors: select , then open the connection.
  • Unlink projects to remove access from specific projects while keeping the connection available for others. See Unlink projects from a connection for the steps.
  • Delete the connection to remove it from the workspace entirely. Deleting is permanent. It removes the credentials from all linked projects, and app features that use stop working until a new connection is added. See Delete a connection for the steps and who can delete.