Install · applies to Nestour GPS 0.15.0

Install the beta

From nothing to a working Nestour GPS: install it, choose your language, then make your keys. Lines marked 🆕 are new.

Download the app Guide (.md, EN) Guide (.md, FR) Guide (PDF, EN)

Manuals 0.15.0 User guide (PDF, EN) Guide utilisateur (PDF, FR) Technical reference (PDF, EN)

Nestour GPS — Beta installation and API keys

Applies to Nestour GPS 0.15.0 (beta), released 5 November 2026 · Android and Windows · the beta works until 28 February 2027

© 2026 The Development Team. All rights reserved.

This guide takes you from nothing to a working Nestour GPS: install it, choose your language, then get your own API keys. Most of it is about the keys. Lines marked 🆕 are new in 0.15.0.

Links and sign-up steps were checked on the providers' sites on 5 November 2026. Provider sites change often. If a screen looks different, look for « API keys », « Credentials » or « My account ».


1. Install on Android

  1. The development team sends you NestourGPS-0.15.0-arm64.apk. Open it on the phone or tablet (from the download notification, your Files app, or the message it came in).
  2. Android asks to allow Install unknown apps for the app you opened it with (Files, Chrome, Gmail…). Allow it, go back, and tap Install.
  3. Play Protect may warn about an unknown developer. Tap More details → Install anyway. That is normal for an app that does not come from the Play Store.
  4. Open Nestour GPS and answer its questions:
    • Location: allow it, and choose Allow all the time when Android offers it (Android often asks in a second step: Settings → Apps → Nestour GPS → Permissions → Location → Allow all the time). With that the logbook and the warnings keep working with the screen off.
    • Notifications: allow. They bring the places ahead, traffic, the next stretch of a long route and reminders.
    • Physical activity: allow. It tells walking from driving in the logbook.
  5. Battery, important for trips: Settings → Apps → Nestour GPS → Battery → Unrestricted. On a Samsung, also open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits and make sure Nestour GPS is not in « Sleeping apps » or « Deep sleeping apps ». Without this, Android may stop the GPS after a few minutes in your pocket.

Updates: install each new APK over the old one. Never uninstall first: uninstalling deletes your favourites, plans, trips and keys.

2. Install on Windows

  1. The development team sends you NestourGPS-0.15.0-windows-x64-setup.exe (or the .msi). Run it.
  2. Windows SmartScreen may say « Windows protected your PC ». Click More info → Run anyway. The app is not signed with a paid certificate, which is why Windows warns.
  3. Start Nestour GPS from the Start menu.
  4. A PC usually has no GPS. Give it a position one of three ways, from the position menu at the top:
    • Windows location: Settings → Privacy & security → Location on, with « Let desktop apps access your location ».
    • A USB GPS stick: plug it in, choose 💻 USB GPS (serial), then Connect GPS.
    • None: choose ✍️ Manual location and type a place. That is fine for planning trips at home.

3. Language, units and the beta date

  • 🆕 Beta key (first): since 0.15 the beta needs your personal beta key: see « Nestour beta key — required » in section 4. Until you paste it, the app is only the simple GPS: the standard map, your position, the instruments and your data. Searches and places say « This needs your beta key ». That is normal, not a failed install.
  • Language: the app follows the device's language. To change it: **Setup → 🖥 Display → App language → Suomi**. The beta speaks English, French, Chinese (中文) and Finnish; any other device language gives English. The place descriptions have their own setting: **Setup → 🔎 Places → Language of descriptions and facts**.
  • Units: Setup → 🖥 Display → Units (From the language, Metric, US, UK).
  • The beta ends on 28 February 2027. The app reminds you two weeks before. After that date your data stays visible and exportable, but searches and new trips stop. The development team will send a new version before then. The Help tab shows the version and the end date at the bottom.

4. API keys: what they are and which you need

🆕 Apart from your Nestour beta key, the app works without any key. Everything runs on your device and talks directly to the map, place and AI services. Some of those services need you to have your own key: a long code that says « this is me » to the service. Each tester makes his own keys. They are free or cost a few cents, and they stay on your device. Nobody else, the development team included, sees them.

How to enter a key (the same for all of them): Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → paste the key in its field → Save → Test (when the row has one). A window says ✅ Works or ❌ Doesn't work, with the reason. A saved key never shows again: the field says « saved — type a new one to replace it ». Remove deletes it.

Summary

KeyStatusWhat you getCost
🆕 Nestour beta keyRequiredThe beta itself: places, planning, maps, turn by turnFree
OpenTripMapRecommendedMore places, better starsFree
AI provider (one of several)Recommended✨ 3 facts, translated descriptionsFree (Gemini, Groq) or a few cents
TomTomRecommended if you driveTraffic ahead, times with traffic, lanes, speed limits, TomTom mapFree, no card
Mapy.comOptional (hiking, skiing)Hiking and winter maps across EuropeFree
Google ContactsOptional, advancedYour contacts' addresses as destinationsFree
Nextcloud contactsOptionalAddresses from your NextcloudYour own Nextcloud
Own Overpass serverNot neededSearches from your own map server—
IGN SCAN 25Not needed in FinlandFrance's 1:25,000 hiking mapProfessionals only

For Finland and the Nordics: get OpenTripMap, an AI key and TomTom (if you drive). Add Mapy.com for hiking or skiing in Lapland and the fells. Skip IGN: it is France only. The Swiss map (swisstopo) needs no key and only covers Switzerland.

The sections below each stand alone. Do them in any order.


🆕 Nestour beta key — required

What it does: unlocks the beta. Without it the app is the simple GPS (the standard map, your position, the instruments and your data). It is not an API key for a service: it is your personal licence for the beta, checked on your device without going online, and it ends with the beta on 28 February 2027.

Where to get it: your download page on nestour.app shows it. Until the site hands them out, the development team sends it to you.

How to enter it: copy the whole key (one long line starting with « eyJ »), then Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → 🎟 Beta key (at the top) → paste → Save. The app starts again in the beta, and the line under the field says « Beta key valid until 28 February 2027 ».

On a second device: paste the same key there too. ⬆ Import keys file does not carry it, and the beta key must be in place before you import keys.


What it adds: a large database of sights (museums, churches, castles, viewpoints, monuments) with a popularity rating. With it the app finds more places and gives better stars (★★★ worth the journey … ★ interesting). It also helps the fuel search.

Without it: places still come from OpenStreetMap and Wikipedia. You see fewer of them and the stars are rougher.

Cost and limits: free plan, 5,000 requests a day and 10 a second, for non-commercial use. No card.

How to get it:

  1. Go to https://dev.opentripmap.org/register (the old address opentripmap.io no longer works).
  2. Fill in your name, e-mail and a password, solve the captcha, and click Sign up. Confirm your e-mail if asked.
  3. Sign in at https://dev.opentripmap.org. Your API key is shown in your account page.
  4. Copy the key.

Where to paste it: Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → OpenTripMap key → Save → Test. Test answers « OpenTripMap answers: N places within 2 km ».


What it adds: ✨ 3 facts, three surprising facts about a place, written by an AI. It also translates place descriptions into your language when the article does not exist in it (for example a Finnish text for a German castle). You need one provider. Each provider you set up keeps its own key, so you can switch back later without typing it again.

Without it: no ✨ 3 facts and no translations. Descriptions come in the place's own language or English.

Cost: a place costs a fraction of a cent. Two providers have a free tier:

Provider (name in the app)Where to get the keyCost
Gemini (easiest free start)https://aistudio.google.com/apikeyFree tier with a Google account, no card
Groqhttps://console.groq.com/keysFree plan with daily limits
Claudehttps://platform.claude.com/settings/keysPay as you go: buy a little credit first (Billing)
ChatGPThttps://platform.openai.com/api-keysPrepaid credit, from $5 (separate from a ChatGPT subscription)
Mistralhttps://console.mistral.ai (API Keys)See their plans
DeepSeekhttps://platform.deepseek.com/api_keysPrepaid credit
OpenRouterhttps://openrouter.ai/settings/keysFree models: 50 requests a day; 1,000 a day after buying $10 of credit
Ollama / Other (OpenAI-compatible)Your own AI server at homeFree, your hardware

How to get a Gemini key (the free start):

  1. Go to https://aistudio.google.com/apikey and sign in with a Google account.
  2. Accept the terms if asked, then click Create API key. If it asks for a project, let it create one.
  3. Copy the key (it starts with « AIza »).

In Finland (EU), Google handles free-tier data under its paid-service terms. Outside Europe, the free tier lets Google use what you send to improve its products. The app only sends place names and short texts.

Where to paste it: Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → AI for ✨ 3 facts and translations → choose the provider → paste the API key → leave Model empty (the app uses a sensible default) → Save → Test. Test answers « The AI answers: … ».


What it adds:

  • Traffic ahead: jams, roadworks and closures on your road, as you drive.
  • Traffic on the map, and journey times with traffic when you plan.
  • Lanes and exit signs in turn-by-turn navigation.
  • Better speed limits and fuel stations.
  • The TomTom map (day and night) as a map choice.

TomTom covers Finland and the Nordics well.

Without it: no traffic. Routes, lanes and speed limits come from OpenStreetMap's free services, which are good but less complete.

Cost and limits: free, no credit card. The free allowance is counted per month and per API (for example 2,500 traffic-incident requests and 20,000 routes a month). That is enough for personal use. If a month runs out, traffic simply stops until the next month and the rest of the app goes on.

How to get it:

  1. Go to https://my.tomtom.com and create an account (Get started / Sign up). Confirm your e-mail.
  2. In the dashboard, open Keys (or API keys). A first key is usually there already. If not, create one.
  3. If the key lets you choose products, make sure Traffic, Map Display, Routing and Search are on.
  4. Copy the key.

Where to paste it: Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → TomTom key → Save → Test. Test answers « Key works: N traffic incidents within 25 km ». N can be 0 on a quiet day: that still means it works.


Mapy.com — optional (hiking and skiing)

What it adds: two extra maps, 🥾 Mapy hiking (marked trails, huts, contours) and ⛷ Mapy winter (ski runs, cross-country tracks, lifts). They work everywhere and are best across Europe. In Finland they are useful for Lapland, the national parks and the fells.

Without it: the other maps stay (standard, satellite, terrain).

Cost and limits: free, 250,000 credits a month, enough for personal use. Nothing is charged unless you turn on paid consumption yourself.

How to get it:

  1. Go to https://developer.mapy.com/account/ (« My Account »).
  2. Sign in with a Seznam account, or create one there (Seznam is the Czech company behind Mapy.com). Use an e-mail address you read: they write when credits run low.
  3. Create a new API project. Its first API key is created automatically.
  4. Copy the key.

Where to paste it: Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → Mapy.com key → Save. This row has no Test button. To check it, open Setup → 🖥 Display → Map and choose 🥾 Mapy hiking: the map should show, with the Mapy.com logo at the bottom left.


Google Contacts — optional, advanced

What it adds: your Google contacts' postal addresses appear in the destination picker, so « drive to Mum's » is one tap. Contacts are read when you search, never copied.

Without it: you type addresses yourself. On Android, 📱 This phone's contacts (below) often does the same with no key at all.

Cost: free, but it takes about 15 minutes in Google's developer console. Ask the development team (hello@nestour.app) before you try it.

How to get it:

  1. Go to https://console.cloud.google.com and sign in. Create a project if asked.
  2. APIs & Services → Library → search People API → Enable.
  3. APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen: fill in the app name and your e-mail, and add yourself as a test user.
  4. APIs & Services → Credentials → Create credentials → OAuth client ID, type Desktop app.
  5. Copy the Client ID (it ends in .apps.googleusercontent.com) and the Client secret.

Where to paste it: Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → Google Contacts → OAuth client ID and Client secret → Save → Sign in with Google → allow « See your contacts » → Test.


Contacts from this phone and from Nextcloud — optional

📱 This phone's contacts (Android) needs no key. Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → Contacts → switch it On and allow the contacts permission. Only postal addresses are read.

Nextcloud (only if you have one): type the Nextcloud address (https://…), your user name and an app password (Nextcloud → Personal settings → Security → « Create new app password », not your login password) → Save. ↻ Check shows how many addresses each source found.


Own Overpass server — not needed

This is a field for people who run their own OpenStreetMap search server. Leave it empty. The public servers are used, and that is what you want.


IGN SCAN 25 — not needed in Finland

What it adds: France's official 1:25,000 hiking map, in France only.

Who can get it: IGN gives this key only to French professionals and associations (the sign-up at https://cartes.gouv.fr asks for a SIRET company number). Without it, the free 🇫🇷 IGN plan map still works in France, and Mapy hiking covers France too. Skip this one.


5. Move your keys to a second device

In the beta, ⬇ Export keys file is greyed out (« Available with a licence »): the app does not make the keys file. The simplest way: type the keys on each device (section 4), then press Test on each key.

From a Windows PC where the keys work you can also copy its keys.json (in %APPDATA%\com.tjepkema.touristexplorer) to the other device and pick it in Setup → 🔑 Keys & AI → ⬆ Import keys file. Then delete every copy of the file: in Download, in the e-mail or message you sent, and in its trash. The file holds your keys in plain text.


6. Feedback and the debug file

  • Feedback: Help → ✉️ Send feedback opens the form on nestour.app, with the version, platform and language filled in. You can also write to the development team (hello@nestour.app). Say what you did, what you expected and what happened. A screenshot helps.
  • Something went wrong on the road? Soon after the problem: **Setup → 📦 Your data → 🐞 Debug log → 🐞 Export the debug file, then ↗ Share** and send it to the development team (hello@nestour.app) with a line on what happened and roughly when. The file holds positions and network requests from about the last 5 hours. It never holds your keys.

The full user guide (USER-GUIDE-EN) explains everything else: planning trips, the logbook, the instruments.