# Sceniq

> Sceniq is a marketplace for travel guides that open as interactive maps. Each guide is made by one independent creator who has been to every spot in it, and travelers buy it once and keep it. Creators keep 85 percent of every sale and can build their guide with the AI agent they already use, through the Sceniq creator API and MCP server.

Sceniq (https://sceniq.earth) turns a creator's favorite spots into a guide that opens in the browser on any phone or laptop as a map: a pin for every spot, with the creator's photos, their own notes and the facts that decide a day out, such as access, effort and the best light. Filters cut a guide down to the trip at hand. Browsing is free; each guide is a one-time purchase at a price its creator sets, from $9, with no subscription. A person reviews every creator and every guide before it goes on the store, and guides carry no ads or affiliate links. Sceniq sells every guide as merchant of record through a Stripe checkout and handles VAT, receipts and refunds. Sceniq is in development and not live yet.

## Guides on the store

- [Gems of Switzerland](https://sceniq.earth/hikebeast/gems-of-switzerland): by Hikebeast. Your guide to the best summer in Switzerland. 131 spots, $29, one-time purchase.
- [Explore all guides](https://sceniq.earth/explore): the store, filterable by country and theme. Every sales page shows the region, the number of spots and sample photos before you pay.

## Creator API and MCP server

Creators can connect the AI agent they already use (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex or any other MCP client) to Sceniq. The agent gets tools to draft spots, chapters, routes, stays, transport, food and parking, photos and the sales page from the creator's own notes, map links and photos; the creator reviews every spot in the dashboard and decides what goes live. Each of the 57 operations is both an MCP tool and a REST endpoint.

- [Developer docs](https://developers.sceniq.earth/): what the creator API and MCP server are, keys and scopes, agent setup, limits and versioning.
- [Quickstart](https://developers.sceniq.earth/get-started): a key, the first request and a draft guide.
- [Build a guide with an agent](https://developers.sceniq.earth/workflows/build-a-guide): the workflow, step by step; also photos, planning facts, link health, readiness and publishing.
- [API reference](https://developers.sceniq.earth/reference): every operation with its parameters, every response field, examples and errors. Every docs page has a markdown twin at its address plus .md.
- [Field reference](https://developers.sceniq.earth/fields): the nested shapes (schedule, fees, arrival, pins, places, routes, areas, photo metadata), field by field.
- [Errors](https://developers.sceniq.earth/errors) and [changelog](https://developers.sceniq.earth/changelog).
- [Authoring skill (SKILL.md)](https://sceniq.earth/developers/skill.md): the playbook an agent loads before it builds anything; the MCP server sends the same rules when it connects.
- [OpenAPI document](https://sceniq.earth/api/v1/openapi.json): every REST operation with its input and response schemas, examples and errors.
- MCP server: https://sceniq.earth/api/mcp (HTTP transport; send the key as Authorization: Bearer sk_sceniq_...)
- REST API: https://sceniq.earth/api/v1 (photo uploads: https://sceniq.earth/api/v1/media/upload)
- Keys: Keys start with sk_sceniq_ and are minted by the creator in the Sceniq dashboard under Settings, API keys; the API is for creators with a Sceniq account. A read-and-write key edits guide content, and a key with the publish option can also publish changes to a guide that is already live. Store visibility, payouts and account settings are never reachable with a key.
- Rules: The agent is an assistant, not the author. Coordinates, hours, prices and access facts come from the creator's material or from a source the agent names and the creator confirms, and an empty field beats an invented one. Agents use only the creator's photos and never pull images from the web; every photo that is not the creator's own carries a credit. A new guide goes on sale only from the dashboard, a key with the publish option publishes a live guide's changes only when the creator asks, and guides edited through the API get the same human store review as every other listing. Once a guide has buyers, its spots can be archived but not deleted.

## For travelers

- [What is Sceniq?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/what-is-sceniq): Sceniq is a marketplace for travel guides that open as interactive maps, each one walked, photographed and written by the creator selling it.
- [How Sceniq works](https://sceniq.earth/blog/how-sceniq-works): From browsing the shelf to standing at the spot: how buying a guide works, where it lives after checkout and what to do if something goes wrong.
- [What is inside a Sceniq guide?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/whats-inside-a-sceniq-guide): Spots with photos and honest notes, access and effort facts, filters and curated collections. The anatomy of a guide, shown on a real one.
- [How much does Sceniq cost?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/how-much-does-sceniq-cost): Browsing is free. Guides are one-time purchases from $9, priced by their creators, with no subscription and no account fee. Where the money goes, in plain numbers.
- [Do I keep the guides I buy?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/do-i-keep-my-sceniq-guides): Yes. A purchased guide is yours to keep, tied to your email and open in any browser. What that means in practice, plus the refund rules in plain language.
- [Why pay for a travel guide?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/why-pay-for-a-travel-guide): Free content plans most trips. Where it costs you mornings, what one walked map changes, and the honest cases where you should keep your money.
- [Is a paid travel guide worth it?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/is-a-paid-travel-guide-worth-it): For the right trip, yes; for the wrong one it is shelf decoration. Which trip you are planning, and the six questions that expose a bad guide before you pay for it.
- [Planning a trip with a Sceniq guide](https://sceniq.earth/blog/how-to-plan-a-trip-with-sceniq): Filter the map to your days, shortlist the spots, let light and access set the mornings. A practical way to turn a guide into an itinerary.
- [How to plan a Switzerland itinerary](https://sceniq.earth/blog/planning-a-switzerland-itinerary): Pick bases by geography, plan days as a weather portfolio, and let mornings do the heavy lifting. A practical method for a country that is smaller on the map than on the ground.
- [Hidden gems vs tourist spots: an honest comparison](https://sceniq.earth/blog/hidden-gems-vs-tourist-spots): Famous places are famous because they deliver; hidden gems trade crowds for effort and uncertainty. Why a good trip mixes both, and why timing beats either label.
- [Wild camping in Switzerland: the rules in plain language](https://sceniq.earth/blog/wild-camping-in-switzerland): No nationwide ban, no nationwide permission: wild camping is regulated locally. Where a night in the tent is tolerated, where it is flatly forbidden, and how to check before you carry a tent uphill.
- [Why we built Sceniq](https://sceniq.earth/blog/why-we-built-sceniq): It started with the one question every travel creator’s inbox fills up with. The story of the platform, the rules we set for it and where it goes from here.

## For creators

- [Sceniq for creators](https://sceniq.earth/creators): what creators get: a studio that turns their notes into a guide, an app their buyers open on the phone, a sales page, checkout, VAT, refunds, buyer support and weekly payouts through Stripe.
- [Apply as a creator](https://sceniq.earth/creators/apply): a one-minute form, or an email to creators@sceniq.earth with your channels and the region you want to cover. A person reads every application, and accepted creators can start building the same day.
- Fees: No setup or monthly fee. Creators keep 85 percent of each sale; the 15 percent platform fee covers payment processing, tax handling, hosting and payouts. The creator agreement is non-exclusive, so creators may publish elsewhere too.
- [Who makes Sceniq guides?](https://sceniq.earth/blog/who-makes-sceniq-guides): Independent photographers, hikers and locals who publish under their own names. How Sceniq chooses them and why the shelf stays deliberately small.
- [How travel creators make money](https://sceniq.earth/blog/how-travel-creators-make-money): Ads, brand deals, affiliate links, services and owned products: the five ways travel creators earn, what each one does to the content, and where selling a guide fits.
- [How to become a Sceniq creator](https://sceniq.earth/blog/how-to-become-a-sceniq-creator): One email with your channels and your region starts it. What we look for, what the platform handles for you and how the 85/15 split works.

## About

- [About Sceniq](https://sceniq.earth/about): what Sceniq is, how it compares with PDF guides, trail apps and review sites, the first guide, key facts and an FAQ.
- First guide: Gems of Switzerland by Hikebeast, the Swiss photographer Leon Helg, a map guide to the Alps. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leon.helg, TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leon.helg
- Contact: support@sceniq.earth for travelers, creators@sceniq.earth for creators. A person reads every message.
- Platforms: the browser on any phone or laptop, nothing to install; native iOS and Android apps are on the way.

## Legal

- [Terms of service](https://sceniq.earth/legal/terms)
- [Privacy policy](https://sceniq.earth/legal/privacy)
- [Refund policy](https://sceniq.earth/legal/refunds): refund requests within 14 days for a broken or mis-sold guide or a mistaken charge.
- [Imprint](https://sceniq.earth/legal/imprint): provider identification and contact for this website.
- [Creator agreement](https://sceniq.earth/legal/creator-agreement)

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://sceniq.earth/llms-full.txt): everything above in full: key facts, how buying and selling work, setup for every agent, every API operation and the full text of every blog article.
- [Blog](https://sceniq.earth/blog): every article, in reading order.