planetary_computer_search
Pack: planetary-computer · Endpoint: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/planetary-computer/mcp
No MCP client? Call it directly: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/planetary_computer_search for the schema, then POST the same URL with its arguments for the data.
Search Planetary Computer satellite imagery and environmental data by area and date, returning item ids, acquisition datetimes, footprints, cloud cover and per-band asset URLs. AUTHORITATIVE for ‘what imagery exists over this place on these dates’ — it queries the operator’s live index rather than a description of it. collections is REQUIRED: the upstream refuses a catalogue-wide search. bbox is WGS84 degrees, [west, south, east, north].
Parameters
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
collections | array | yes | Collection ids to search, e.g. [“sentinel-2-l2a”]. REQUIRED — Planetary Computer rejects a search with none. List them with planetary_computer_collections. |
items | string | no | |
bbox | array | no | Bounding box in WGS84 degrees as [west, south, east, north], e.g. [-122.6, 37.6, -122.3, 37.9] for San Francisco. Longitude first. |
items | number | no | |
datetime | string | no | RFC 3339 instant or closed/open interval, e.g. “2026-06-01T00:00:00Z/2026-07-01T00:00:00Z” or “2026-06-01T00:00:00Z/..”. Omit for any date. |
ids | array | no | Fetch specific item ids instead of searching by area/date. |
items | string | no | |
limit | number | no | Items to return, 1-100. Default 10. |
max_assets | number | no | Asset entries per item, 1-50. Default 8 — a Sentinel-2 item carries ~30 bands and returning all of them for 100 items is a very large payload. |
Example call
Arguments
{
"collections": [
"sentinel-2-l2a"
],
"bbox": [
-122.6,
37.6,
-122.3,
37.9
],
"datetime": "2026-06-01T00:00:00Z/2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
"limit": 3,
"max_assets": 4
}
curl
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/planetary-computer/mcp \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"planetary_computer_search","arguments":{"collections":["sentinel-2-l2a"],"bbox":[-122.6,37.6,-122.3,37.9],"datetime":"2026-06-01T00:00:00Z/2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","limit":3,"max_assets":4}}}'
TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)
import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();
const result = await pipeworx.call('planetary_computer_search', {
"collections": [
"sentinel-2-l2a"
],
"bbox": [
-122.6,
37.6,
-122.3,
37.9
],
"datetime": "2026-06-01T00:00:00Z/2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
"limit": 3,
"max_assets": 4
});
Connect
Add this to your MCP client config, or use one-click install buttons:
{
"mcpServers": {
"planetary-computer": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/planetary-computer/mcp"
}
}
}
See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.