Google Maps Popular Times & Live Busyness Scraper: MCP config, n8n workflow and API

{
  "placeUrls": [
    "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7577297,-73.9853627,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c2597777397641:0x4387a82ee10d3e3b!8m2!3d40.7577297!4d-73.9853627!16s%2Fg%2F11fld77pvs"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "maxAttemptsPerPlace": 8,
  "placeTimeoutSecs": 240,
  "includeFailedPlaces": false,
  "includeLatestReviews": false,
  "latestReviewsCount": 10,
  "lowActivityRatio": 0.25,
  "minUsualBusyness": 30
}

---
name: google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness
description: "One record per Google Maps place: place identity and listing details, open/closed status, coordinates and local time, hourly Popular Times and live busyness when Google serves them, the newest reviews with closure mentions, run-to-run monitoring signals and, when enabled, records for places that could not be retrieved. Runs the Apify Actor nimbryxo-studio/google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness. Use when the user needs Google Maps data with fields such as recordType, businessName, placeId, featureId, cid, category and an Apify token is available."
compatibility: "Needs network access, curl, and an APIFY_TOKEN environment variable. Runs are billed to the token owner's Apify account."
metadata:
  actor: "nimbryxo-studio/google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness"
  store-url: "https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness"
---

# Google Maps Popular Times & Live Busyness Scraper

Use this skill to fetch Google Maps data with the Apify Actor `nimbryxo-studio/google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness` and work with the returned rows.

## Before running

1. Check that `APIFY_TOKEN` is set in the environment. Never print it or write it to a file.
2. Build `input.json` from the user's request using the fields below. Keep limits small for a first run.
3. Confirm the search terms or URLs with the user if the request is ambiguous.

## Input fields

| Field | Type | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `placeUrls` | array | Google Maps place URLs — copy the full URL from the address bar while viewing a place (short maps.app.goo.gl links also work). Full place URLs are the most reliable; for places with the same name nearby, prefer Place IDs. |
| `language` | string | Language of the Google Maps pages; text fields such as the live label and open status are returned in this language. |
| `maxConcurrency` | integer | How many places are scraped at the same time. Higher values finish large lists faster and need more run memory (about 1 GB per parallel place; the actor lowers this automatically if the run has less memory). |
| `maxAttemptsPerPlace` | integer | Maximum number of fresh attempts for one place before it is reported as unavailable. Lower values cap time and cost for hard-to-reach places; higher values maximise coverage. |
| `placeTimeoutSecs` | integer | Hard time limit for one place across all of its attempts. |
| `includeFailedPlaces` | boolean | Also output one record per place for which no place data could be resolved, with the reason and number of attempts. A limited view that still resolves to a place is a normal basic record, not a failure. |
| `includeLatestReviews` | boolean | Also return each place's newest Google reviews (exact date, rating, text) and flag reviews that mention the place closing, such as "final weekend", "it was closed" or "permanently closed". |
| `latestReviewsCount` | integer | How many of the newest reviews to return and check for closure mentions (used when newest reviews are included). |
| `lowActivityRatio` | number | A live reading counts as low when it is at most this share of the usual level (0.25 = a quarter of usual). Used for the low-activity streak in the monitoring summary. |
| `minUsualBusyness` | integer | Readings count toward the monitoring streaks and medians only when Google's usual level for that hour is at least this value, so quiet hours (where a low reading means little) are ignored. |

Example `input.json` (the Actor's published prefill):

```json
{
  "placeUrls": [
    "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7577297,-73.9853627,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c2597777397641:0x4387a82ee10d3e3b!8m2!3d40.7577297!4d-73.9853627!16s%2Fg%2F11fld77pvs"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "maxAttemptsPerPlace": 8,
  "placeTimeoutSecs": 240,
  "includeFailedPlaces": false,
  "includeLatestReviews": false,
  "latestReviewsCount": 10,
  "lowActivityRatio": 0.25,
  "minUsualBusyness": 30
}
```

## Run

```bash
curl -sS -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nimbryxo-studio~google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @input.json > results.json
```

The call waits for the run to finish and returns the dataset items as a JSON array. If the run needs more than 300 seconds the API answers with HTTP 408; then start the run with `POST /v2/acts/nimbryxo-studio~google-maps-popular-times-and-live-busyness/runs`, poll `GET /v2/actor-runs/{runId}` until `SUCCEEDED`, and read `GET /v2/datasets/{defaultDatasetId}/items`.

## Output

Each item is one record. Published fields include: `recordType`, `businessName`, `placeId`, `featureId`, `cid`, `category`, `address`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `timezone`, `phone`, `website`, `profileImageUrl`, `rating`, `reviewCount`, `businessStatus`, `isOpenNow`, `openStatusText`, `popularTimesHasData`, `popularTimesAvailable`.

Summarise what was found, cite the record URLs when present, and say how many items came back. Do not invent values for empty fields.