Prerequisites · applies to Nestour GPS 0.15.0

Your API keys

The app works without any key. A few services want one in your own name: free or a few cents, and it stays on your device. Each block below stands on its own.

← Download the appThe full install guide

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.