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Chapter 13 · Mapbox Search Patterns
Subchapter 13.3
references/workflows.mdMarkdown3 KBView on GitHub
User: “Find coffee shops near me”
Optimal approach:
1. Get user's location (from app/browser)
2. Use category_search_tool:
- category: "coffee_shop"
- proximity: user's coordinates
- limit: 10Why: Category tool for generic “coffee shops”, proximity for “near me”
User: “Find all Starbucks in Seattle”
Optimal approach:
1. Use search_and_geocode_tool:
- q: "Starbucks"
- proximity: Seattle coordinates
- country: ["US"]
2. Or if need strict boundary:
- bbox: Seattle city boundsWhy: Brand name = search_and_geocode_tool; proximity biases to Seattle
User: “What are the coordinates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave?”
Optimal approach:
Use search_and_geocode_tool:
- q: "1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC"
- types: ["address"] // Focus on addresses
- country: ["US"] // Narrow to USWhy: Specific address with country context for disambiguation
User: “Show me all hotels in downtown Portland”
Optimal approach:
1. Geocode "downtown Portland" → get center point
2. Define downtown bbox (or use 1-2 mile radius)
3. Use category_search_tool:
- category: "hotel"
- bbox: downtown bounds (or proximity + filter by distance)
- limit: 25 // Get comprehensive listWhy: Category for “hotels”, bbox for “in downtown” hard boundary
User: “What’s at these GPS coordinates?”
Optimal approach:
Use reverse_geocode_tool:
- longitude: -122.4194
- latitude: 37.7749
- types: ["address"] // Get address (can also use place, locality, postcode, etc.)Why: Coordinates → address is exactly what reverse geocoding does
User: “Find gas stations along my route”
Optimal approach:
1. Get route geometry from directions_tool
2. Create bbox around route (use bounding_box_tool)
3. Use category_search_tool:
- category: "gas_station"
- bbox: route bounding box
4. Filter results to those within X meters of route (use distance_tool)Why: Bbox for rough filter, then distance calculation for precision
User: “Find ramen shops” (user locale: ja)
Optimal approach:
Use category_search_tool:
- category: "ramen_restaurant" (or "restaurant")
- language: "ja"
- proximity: user locationWhy: Returns Japanese names/addresses for better UX