Bring Satellite Imagery
to VS Code Copilot
Learn how to connect Sentinel Hub to VS Code Copilot and start using 14 AI agent tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code.
What is the Sentinel Hub MCP Server?
Connect to Sentinel Hub — the most powerful satellite imagery processing API in Europe — and transform raw Earth observation data into actionable intelligence.
What you can do
- STAC Catalog Search — Discover available satellite scenes by location, date, collection, cloud cover, and MGRS tile ID across all Sentinel missions and Landsat
- Image Processing — Render custom satellite imagery using evalscripts (JavaScript-based processing scripts) that define how bands are combined, indices are calculated, and pixels are colored
- Vegetation Analysis (NDVI) — Generate ready-to-use NDVI evalscripts that color-code vegetation density from bare soil to dense forest
- Statistical Analysis — Calculate mean, min, max, standard deviation, and histograms over areas of interest with temporal aggregation (daily, weekly, monthly)
- Cloud-Free Search — Find satellite scenes below a specified cloud cover threshold for clean optical analysis
- Band Combinations — Access a curated library of 10 predefined band combinations including True Color, False Color, NDWI, Moisture Index, SWIR, and Burn Severity
How it works
1. Subscribe to this server
2. Register at dataspace.copernicus.eu and create an OAuth2 client
3. Enter your credentials as client_id:client_secret
4. Start processing satellite imagery from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client
Who is this for?
- GIS Professionals — process satellite imagery on-demand without downloading terabytes of raw data
- Environmental Scientists — compute vegetation, water, and moisture indices for monitoring ecosystems
- Urban Planners — analyze land use changes with multi-temporal statistical analysis
- Agricultural Advisors — monitor crop health with NDVI time series and cloud-free imagery selection
- Emergency Managers — assess wildfire damage with burn severity indices in near real-time
Built-in capabilities (14)
Specify a collection ID (e.g., "sentinel-2-l2a", "sentinel-1-grd"), a bounding box as [west, south, east, north] coordinates, and a date range. Returns item metadata including geometry, cloud cover, and band information. Search the Sentinel Hub STAC catalog for satellite imagery
Returns the connection status and service URL. Use this to verify your client_id:client_secret credentials are working correctly. Verify Sentinel Hub API connectivity and authentication
In the output, healthy vegetation appears bright red, urban areas appear cyan/grey, and water appears dark blue. This is the standard false-color composite used in remote sensing for vegetation mapping and land cover classification. Generate a false-color evalscript for vegetation emphasis
The output is color-coded: dark for water/shadow, grey for bare soil, yellow-green for sparse vegetation, and deep green for dense vegetation. Use the returned evalscript with the process_image tool. Generate a ready-to-use NDVI evalscript for vegetation analysis
Use the returned evalscript with the process_image tool to get visually appealing satellite photos of any location on Earth. Generate a true-color RGB evalscript for natural imagery
Get detailed information about a specific data collection
Use the item ID returned from a catalog_search query. Get detailed metadata for a specific STAC catalog item
Requires an evalscript that defines which bands to analyze. Supports temporal aggregation (daily, weekly, monthly) for time-series analysis of vegetation indices, water levels, or urban expansion. Calculate statistics over an area from satellite imagery
Useful for verifying credentials and understanding available quotas. Get authenticated Sentinel Hub user profile information
Includes True Color, False Color (vegetation), NDVI, NDWI, Moisture Index, SWIR, SAR polarizations, Scene Classification, and Burn Severity (NBR). Each entry specifies the required bands and target collection. List predefined satellite band combinations and indices
Includes Sentinel-1 GRD (radar), Sentinel-2 L1C/L2A (optical), Sentinel-3 OLCI/SLSTR, Sentinel-5P (atmosphere), Landsat 8-9, DEM, and Copernicus Land Monitoring Service data. List all available Sentinel Hub satellite data collections
Specify the data collection, area of interest as a bounding box, date range, and the evalscript. The evalscript defines band inputs, processing logic, and output format. Use generate_ndvi_evalscript or generate_true_color_evalscript tools to get ready-made evalscripts. Process satellite imagery with a custom evalscript
MGRS tiles are the standard spatial reference for Sentinel-2 data (e.g., "33UUP" for central Europe, "29SQB" for Lisbon area). Returns all scenes for the specified tile within the date range. Search Sentinel-2 imagery by MGRS tile identifier
Essential for optical analysis where cloud contamination would corrupt results. Typical thresholds: <10% for clean analysis, <30% for general use, <50% for temporal coverage. Search for cloud-free satellite imagery below a threshold
Why VS Code Copilot?
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings Sentinel Hub data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 14 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
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VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor
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Project-scoped MCP configs (
.vscode/mcp.json) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access - —
Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop
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GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services
Sentinel Hub in VS Code Copilot
Sentinel Hub and 3,400+ other MCP servers. One platform. One governance layer.
Teams that connect Sentinel Hub to VS Code Copilot through Vinkius don't need to source, host, or maintain individual MCP servers. Every tool call runs inside a hardened runtime with credential isolation, DLP, and a signed audit chain.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Server catalog | Find and host yourself | 3,400+ managed |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted | Sandboxed V8 isolates |
| Credential handling | Plaintext in config | Vault + runtime injection |
| Data loss prevention | None | Configurable DLP policies |
| Kill switch | None | Global instant shutdown |
| Financial circuit breakers | None | Per-server limits + alerts |
| Audit trail | None | Ed25519 signed logs |
| SIEM log streaming | None | Splunk, Datadog, Webhook |
| Honeytokens | None | Canary alerts on leak |
| Custom domains | Not applicable | DNS challenge verified |
| GDPR compliance | Manual effort | Automated purge + export |
Why teams choose Vinkius for Sentinel Hub in VS Code Copilot
The Sentinel Hub MCP Server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS — a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts. All 14 tools execute in hardened sandboxes optimized for native MCP execution.
Your AI agents in VS Code Copilot only access the data you authorize, with DLP that blocks sensitive information from ever reaching the model, kill switch for instant shutdown, and up to 60% token savings. Enterprise-grade infrastructure, zero maintenance.
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
How Vinkius secures
Sentinel Hub for VS Code Copilot
Every tool call from VS Code Copilot to the Sentinel Hub MCP Server is protected by DLP redaction, cryptographic audit chains, V8 sandbox isolation, kill switch, and financial circuit breakers.
Frequently asked questions
What is an evalscript and how do I use one?
An evalscript is a small JavaScript program that tells Sentinel Hub how to process satellite bands into an output image. It defines which bands to use, how to combine them, and what colors to assign. You can use the generate_ndvi_evalscript or generate_true_color_evalscript tools to get ready-made evalscripts, then pass them to the process_image tool.
Can I analyze vegetation health with this server?
Absolutely. Generate an NDVI evalscript with the generate_ndvi_evalscript tool, then process imagery for your area of interest with the process_image tool. For time-series analysis, use the get_statistics tool with temporal aggregation to track vegetation changes over weeks or months. The search_cloud_free tool helps you find clean scenes without cloud contamination.
What is the difference between this server and the Copernicus Data Space server?
The Copernicus Data Space server focuses on product catalogue search and download — finding and retrieving raw satellite data files. Sentinel Hub focuses on on-the-fly processing — rendering images, computing indices, and generating statistics without downloading raw data. They complement each other: use Copernicus for data discovery and bulk download, Sentinel Hub for real-time analysis and visualization.
Which VS Code version supports MCP?
MCP support requires VS Code 1.99 or later with the GitHub Copilot extension. Ensure both are updated to the latest version. Older versions of Copilot may not expose the Agent mode toggle.
How do I switch to Agent mode?
Open the Copilot Chat panel and look for two mode options: "Ask" and "Agent". Click "Agent" to enable autonomous tool calling. In Ask mode, Copilot provides conversational answers but cannot invoke MCP tools.
Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?
Yes. VS Code shows a tool consent dialog before any MCP tool is invoked for the first time. You can also configure tool access policies at the organization level through GitHub Copilot settings.
Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?
Yes. MCP servers configured via .vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.
MCP tools not available
Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.