🪐 ✨ Earthdata MCP Server

Name: 🪐 ✨ Earthdata MCP Server
Author: datalayer

@datalayer

Repository Homepage

About 🪐 ✨ Earthdata MCP Server

🌎 🔧 Earthdata MCP Server.

#ai #nasa #mcp #earth #spatial #nasa-api #earthdata #mcp-server

Basic information

Config

Add this server to your MCP-compatible client using the configuration below.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "earthdata": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "datalayer/earthdata-mcp-server:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EARTHDATA_USERNAME": "",
        "EARTHDATA_PASSWORD": ""
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

No tools detected

We auto-extract tools from the README. The maintainer can list them under a ## Tools heading to populate this section.

Overview

What is Earthdata MCP Server?

Earthdata MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation that provides tools to interact with NASA Earth Data. It is intentionally Earthdata-only.

How to use Earthdata MCP Server?

Install the package via pip (pip install earthdata-mcp-server) or run it as a Docker container. Configure it in Claude Desktop by adding a mcpServers entry with the Docker command and environment variables EARTHDATA_USERNAME and EARTHDATA_PASSWORD. The server exposes three tools: search_earth_datasets, search_earth_datagranules, and download_earth_data_granules.

Key features of Earthdata MCP Server

Dataset discovery on NASA Earthdata
Granule search with temporal and bounding box filters
Flexible download workflow with explicit execution modes
Three‑tool interface for search, granule discovery, and download
Download modes: manifest, direct download, or Python script generation

Use cases of Earthdata MCP Server

Search NASA Earthdata for datasets matching a keyword
Query data granules filtered by time range and geographic bounding box
Download granules directly on the server side
Generate a Python script to execute downloads in a remote notebook or runtime
Compose with jupyter-mcp-server via mcp-compose for notebook‑driven analysis

FAQ from Earthdata MCP Server

What authentication is required?

NASA Earthdata Login credentials are required for the download_earth_data_granules tool. Set them via the environment variables EARTHDATA_USERNAME and EARTHDATA_PASSWORD.

Can I use this server with other MCP servers?

Yes, you can compose this server with jupyter-mcp-server using the mcp-compose tool. The README explicitly shows a recommendation for notebook‑driven execution via composition.

What download modes are available?

Three modes: manifest returns granule metadata without writing files; download saves files directly on the server runtime; script returns executable Python code for use in another runtime.

How do I run Earthdata MCP Server in Docker?

Add a JSON configuration block to your Claude Desktop settings with "command": "docker", the appropriate arguments, and set the environment variables for your Earthdata credentials. Example configuration is provided in the README.

What runtime requirements does the server have?

Python 3.x via pip, or a Docker runtime. The server itself runs as a Python script (when installed locally) or inside a Docker container. No additional external services are required.