io.github.nasa/earthdata-mcp

Tools

• get_citations

  Discover citation records directly associated with a collection, or look up a citation by identifier (e.g. DOI). Use this tool to evaluate citation relevance for a collection. Key fields in each returned item: - concept_id: CMR citation concept ID - name: The title or name of the citation - identifier: The primary DOI or identifier - abstract: Abstract text - citation_metadata: Nested metadata including Year, Publisher, and Author list

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• get_collections

  Search NASA CMR collections and return up to 10 lightweight normalized results. Key return fields in each item: - concept_id: CMR collection concept ID - native_id: native ID of the collection record - revision_id: revision ID of the collection metadata - provider_id: provider ID of the collection - short_name: collection short name - entry_title: collection title - time_start / time_end: temporal coverage bounds - processing_level_id: processing level (e.g., L3, L4) - doi: digital object identifier - collection_data_type: data type (e.g., SCIENCE_QUALITY, NEAR_REAL_TIME) - temporal_resolution / spatial_resolution: extracted resolution strings - related_urls: links to landing pages, documentation, and tools Unfiltered searches are supported when you need broad exploration. IMPORTANT — relevance and coverage: A keyword-only search returns all collections whose metadata mentions those terms, regardless of whether they actually hold data for the user's region or time period. Collection declared extents are often global or multi-decadal, so a collection appearing in results does not mean it has granules for a specific area or date. When the user's question involves a time period or geographic region, include temporal_start_date/temporal_end_date and/or spatial_wkt_geometry to restrict results to collections that overlap that window. Follow up with get_granules (with the same filters) to confirm actual data availability. IMPORTANT — keyword AND logic: CMR treats each space-separated keyword as an independent term and requires ALL of them to appear somewhere in a collection's metadata (title, summary, science keywords, instruments, platforms, etc.). Words do not need to appear in the same field or adjacent to each other. Because every term must match, adding more words makes the search STRICTER, not broader — the opposite of typical web search engines. Prefer 2–4 precise scientific terms. If a search returns 0 results, try removing the least essential word before broadening other filters. Phrase search (exact word sequence) is available by wrapping the value in escaped double quotes, but you cannot mix a phrase with additional standalone keywords. Key parameters: - keyword: free-text keyword search over collection metadata (AND logic; see above) - concept_id: exact collection concept ID - short_name: collection short name - provider: data provider short name - temporal_start_date / temporal_end_date: restrict to collections whose declared range overlaps this window; set when the user specifies a time period - spatial_wkt_geometry: restrict to collections whose declared extent intersects this area; set when the user specifies a geographic region Iteration & Refinement: - Results are strictly capped at 10 items to optimize context window usage. - If total_hits exceeds 10 and you lack the necessary results, do not attempt to page. Refine your search by adding tighter spatial, temporal, or keyword constraints. Tips: - Use scientific terms (variables, instruments, platforms) for better keyword relevance - Keep keyword queries to 2–4 precise terms; more words = stricter filter - If 0 results, drop the least essential keyword and retry before broadening other filters - Combine keyword + temporal + spatial filters for highest precision - Use short_name when you already know the target product

  shallow
• get_granules

  Search NASA CMR granules for a specific parent collection and return up to 10 lightweight normalized results. Key return fields in each item: - concept_id: CMR granule concept ID - native_id: native ID of the granule record - revision_id: revision ID of the granule metadata - provider_id: provider ID of the granule - granule_ur: primary granule identifier - time_start / time_end: temporal coverage bounds - access_urls: actionable data access URLs - cloud_cover: cloud cover percentage - day_night_flag: DAY, NIGHT, BOTH, or UNSPECIFIED - size_mb: file size in megabytes - data_format: file format (e.g., NetCDF-4, GeoTIFF) - bounding_box: [West, South, East, North] Minimum Bounding Rectangle (MBR) footprint. Note: for swath data or irregular polygons, this bounding box fully encloses the data but may contain empty space at the corners. IMPORTANT — data availability checks: Without temporal and/or spatial filters, results represent ALL granules ever archived in the collection, which may span decades and the entire globe. total_hits without filters tells you the full archive size, NOT whether data exists for a specific area or time period. To verify availability for a specific region and/or period, apply the corresponding spatial or temporal filters. Single-filter queries (e.g., temporal-only) are completely valid and should be used when the user only specifies one constraint, but combining both provides the most precise availability answer. Key parameters: - collection_concept_id: required parent collection concept ID - temporal_start_date / temporal_end_date: filter to granules overlapping this time window — always set when the user specifies a time period - spatial_wkt_geometry: filter to granules intersecting this area — always set when the user specifies a geographic region - cloud_cover_min / cloud_cover_max: filter optical imagery by cloud cover percentage (0–100). Only set for optical/visible imagery collections (Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS, Sentinel-2 via CMR). Do NOT set for non-optical data (SAR, altimetry, model output, etc.) Iteration & Refinement: - Results are strictly capped at 10 items to optimize context window usage. - If total_hits exceeds 10 and you lack the necessary results, do not attempt to page. Refine your query by adding tighter spatial or temporal constraints. Tips: - For the most precise availability check, provide both temporal and spatial filters if the user specifies both; otherwise, apply whichever constraint they provided - total_hits in the response reflects the filtered count — zero means no data for that combination - When users ask for "clear" or "cloud-free" imagery, set cloud_cover_max to a low value (e.g., 10 or 20)

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• get_keywords

  Discover official Earthdata vocabulary (like 'ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR') directly from NASA's Keyword Management System (KMS). Use this to find the exact preferred labels to construct successful get_collections searches. Key fields in each returned item: - prefLabel: The preferred label to use in searches - uuid: The KMS concept UUID - definition: Context and expanded acronyms - scheme: The vocabulary scheme (e.g. sciencekeywords, platforms)

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• get_services

  Search NASA CMR services for a specific parent collection and return all associated normalized UMM-S records. Key fields in each returned item: - concept_id: CMR service concept ID - native_id: native ID of the service record - revision_id: revision ID of the service metadata - provider_id: provider ID of the service - name: service name - type: service type (e.g., OPeNDAP, WCS, Harmony, WMS, WMTS, ESI, EGI - No Processing) - version: service version string - description: human-readable service description - url: Primary endpoint URL information - service_options: supported output formats, projections, subset types, and interpolation methods - operation_metadata: operation names (e.g., GetCapabilities, GetMap) and distributed computing platform Key parameters: - collection_concept_id: required parent collection concept ID Iteration & Refinement: - All services associated with the collection are fetched in a single request. Paging is not supported. Note: A collection may be associated with multiple services of different types. Check type to distinguish between data access services (e.g., OPeNDAP, WCS) and discovery/visualization services (e.g., WMS, WMTS).

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• get_tools

  Search NASA CMR tools for a specific parent collection and return all associated normalized UMM-T records. Key fields in each returned item: - concept_id: CMR tool concept ID - native_id: native ID of the tool record - revision_id: revision ID of the tool metadata - provider_id: provider ID of the tool - name: tool name - type: tool type (e.g., Downloadable Tool, Web User Interface, Web Portal, Model) - version: tool version string - description: human-readable tool description - url: Primary URL for directly accessing the tool - supported_input_formats: file formats the tool can read (e.g., HDF5, NETCDF-4, GeoTIFF) - supported_output_formats: file formats the tool can produce - supported_operating_systems: OS compatibility (name and version) - supported_browsers: browser compatibility (name and version) - supported_software_languages: programming language compatibility - tool_keywords: Earth science keyword taxonomy for the tool - organizations: providers, developers, or publishers of the tool - potential_action: smart handoff definition for parameterized deep links (e.g., 'Open in Giovanni') Key parameters: - collection_concept_id: required parent collection concept ID Iteration & Refinement: - All tools associated with the collection are fetched in a single request. Paging is not supported. Note: A collection may be associated with multiple tools of different types. Check type to distinguish between downloadable tools, web user interfaces, and web portals.

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• get_variables

  Discover scientific variables and measurements associated with a collection, or look up variables by keyword. Use this tool to understand dataset variables, dimensions, and data processing parameters (such as scale, offset, and fill values) before downloading or analyzing data. Key fields in each returned item: - concept_id: CMR variable concept ID - name: Variable short name - long_name: Variable long name - definition: Variable definition - data_type: Data type of the variable - units: Units of measurement - scale: Scale factor - offset: Offset value - fill_values: Values indicating missing or invalid data - valid_ranges: Valid data ranges - dimensions: Variable dimensions

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