A cool and usefull plugin for the MagicMirror is the plugin “MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic”. This will show you the status of the current road traffic in your area.
How to install this is described in the following article
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Requirements
Helpful Articles:
Before you start with the installation, you should have prepared the RaspberryPi so far that it can be reached via the network and controlled by SSH. In addition, the MagicMirror software should be set up.
The following articles describe what to do to prepare everything:
RaspberryPi – Setting up for Nerdiys!
RaspberryPi – The first configuration
RaspberryPi – Controlling the RaspberryPi via SSH
MagicMirror – Installing the required software
Required tools:
-none-
Required material:
In the following list you will find all the parts you need to implement this article.
Log in via SSH on the RaspberryPi
To get started, you first need to log in to RasPi with SSH on Putty. How to do it is described in the article

Installation des Moduls
Damit ihr euch den aktuellen Straßenverkehr in Eurer Umgebung anzeigen könnt benötigt Ihr das Modul “MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic”. Ihr findet es unter https://github.com/vicmora/MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic
Installiert dies auf eurem RaspberryPi. Wie Ihr Module installiert ist im folgendem Artikel beschrieben:
MagicMirror – 3rd-Party-Module installieren
Configuration of the module
The module configuration is done – as usual with MagicMirror modules – by entering the module configuration in the configuration of your MagicMirror installation.
Open the configuration file of your MagicMirror installation with the following command:
sudo nano ~/MagicMirror/config/config.js
However, before you enter the following configuration file, you need to do a few substitutions.
{ module: 'MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic', position: 'top_left', config: { key: 'YOUR_KEY', lat: YOUR_LATITUDE, lng: YOUR_LONGITUDE, height: '300px', width: '300px' styledMapType: "transparent", disableDefaultUI: true, backgroundColor: 'hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0)', }, }
Enter Google Maps API Key
For this module to work, it needs access to the Google Maps API. This requires an API key.
How to get a GoogleMaps API Key is described in the following article:
Register GoogleMaps API Key
Did you register a Google Maps API key? In the module configuration, replace “YOUR_KEY” with your GoogleMaps API key.
Enter latitude and longitude
In addition to the API key, the module also requires the latitude and longitude of the desired location.
How to find the latitude and longitude of any location using Google Maps is described in the following article:
Find latitude and longitude of any position with GoogleMaps
Once you have determined the latitude and longitude of your desired location, replace your “YOUR_LATITUDE” with the latitude of your desired location and “YOUR_LONGITUDE” with the longitude of your desired location.
More options
In addition to the options above, there are other adjustable options that largely affect the look of the module.
A list of possible options:
Quote from the module GitHub: https://github.com/vicmora/MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic
Configuration options
Option Description key
Required Google api key. See below for help. lat
Required Latitude used to center the map. See below for help. Type:
float
lng
Required Longitude used to center the map. See below for help. Type:
float
height
Height of the map. Type:
string
(pixels)
Default value:300px
width
Width of the map. Type:
string
(pixels)
Default value:300px
zoom
Zoom value to display from lat/lng. Type:
integer
Default value:10
mapTypeId
The map type to display (roadmap, satellite, hybrid, terrain). Type:
string
Default value:roadmap
styledMapType
Style of the map. See below for help. Type:
string
Possible value:standard
,dark
,night
,black
or custom
Default value:standard
disableDefaultUI
Disable default UI buttons (Zoom and Street View). Type:
boolean
Default value:true
updateInterval
How often the module should load the map. Type:
int
in millisecond
Default value:900000 (15 mins)
markers
Additional markers in the map as an array. See example. backgroundColor
Backgound behind the map.Can be set to transparent ( 'hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0)'
) or left at black (default).Type:
string
Default value:'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)'
The configuration of these options is not necessary for a first test. If you do not enter it, the module will use the defaults for each option.
Result
If you have entered the configuration correctly, you should be welcome by the following message at te next time you load the MagicMirror.
Additional information
https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror
https://github.com/vicmora/MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic
I hope everything worked as described. If not or you have any other questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments. Also, ideas for new projects are always welcome. 🙂
Fab
P.S. Many of these projects - especially the hardware projects - cost a lot of time and money. Of course I do this because I enjoy it, but if you appreciate it that I share these information with you, I would be happy about a small donation to the coffee box. 🙂
