Overview
CommuteScout reads 53 official agency feeds across 37 states (state
DOT and 511 closures and incidents, CHP dispatch, chain controls,
cameras, message signs, wildfire perimeters, road weather, NWS alerts
and toll prices) and turns them into one live picture of the road.
Every answer carries per-source timestamps, and a failing feed is
flagged as stale rather than hidden.
| Product | What it does |
|---|
| Live map | Incidents, closures, chain controls, wildfires, about 18,000 traffic cameras, message signs and toll prices, updated continuously. |
| Trip planning | Closure-aware routes, drive time for any departure, the best time to leave, and an assistant that answers from the live feeds. |
| Watch areas | Push and email alerts when something appears inside a drawn area or along a commute. |
| Mobile apps | Turn-by-turn navigation for iOS and Android that announces what is ahead in your direction of travel. |
| MCP server | 18 tools for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and any MCP client. No key required. |
| REST API | Every tool as a plain HTTP GET, with an OpenAPI document, one error envelope and published rate limits. |
| Plugins | Flare, an open protocol for adding third-party alerts to the map and the apps, with a marketplace. |
Quick start
Connect an AI assistant
The hosted MCP server is public and works without a key:
https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp
For example, in Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user commutescout https://mcp.commutescout.com/mcp
Setup for every other client is at
commutescout.com/mcp. Agents
can read the same steps as plain text at
commutescout.com/llms.txt.
Call the REST API
curl "https://mcp.commutescout.com/v1/tools/best_time_to_go?origin=Union%20Station%20Denver&destination=Red%20Rocks%20Amphitheatre&day=tomorrow"
Keys, limits, errors and the full parameter reference are at
commutescout.com/developers.
Documentation
Repository
| Path | Contents |
|---|
src/ca_roads | Feed layer: parsers, caches and normalization for every source |
src/ca_roads_mcp | MCP server, REST bridge and trip planning |
src/ca_roads_demo | Web app, assistant, watch areas and map publishing |
site | Marketing and documentation site (Next.js static export) |
examples/flare-plugin | Reference Flare plugin |
evals | Recorded fixtures, golden questions and the eval runner |
tests | Fixture-based test suite; runs without network access |
The mobile apps live in
commutescout-app, and
community plugins in
commutescout-plugins.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md,
and see adding a data source to wire up a new
feed. Report security issues privately as described in
SECURITY.md.
License
MIT, including the map, the planner, the MCP server and every
data parser.
CommuteScout is not affiliated with any government agency. Conditions
change faster than any feed, so verify before you drive with 511 or your
state DOT. What each third-party service sees is described in the
privacy policy.
