canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/planet.com/planet-data-api

# Planet Data API

Planet operates the largest constellation of Earth observation satellites, capturing daily imagery of the entire landmass at 3-5 meter resolution. The Data API provides programmatic access to search, filter, and download satellite imagery from Planet's archive and daily feeds. Developers use it to build applications that monitor environmental change, track infrastructure development, assess agricultural health, and respond to natural disasters. The API supports spatial queries, temporal filtering, and metadata-driven search across multiple sensor types including PlanetScope, SkySat, and RapidEye. Each image asset includes spectral bands, cloud cover metrics, and geometric correction metadata, enabling integration into GIS workflows and machine learning pipelines.

## For AI agents

Search and download satellite imagery from Planet's daily Earth observation constellation using spatial, temporal, and metadata filters.

## Scope

Provides search and download orchestration only. Does not perform imagery processing, classification, or analysis-use Planet Analytics API or third-party GIS tools for post-download workflows.

## Capabilities

- Search satellite imagery by bounding box, date range, cloud cover percentage, and sensor type
- Retrieve detailed metadata for specific imagery items including acquisition time and spectral bands
- List available asset types (visual, analytic, UDM2) for each imagery item
- Activate imagery assets for download and retrieve signed download URLs
- Execute quick-search queries with complex filters combining geometry, date, and quality parameters
- Access imagery from multiple satellite constellations including PlanetScope, SkySat, and RapidEye

## Use cases

### Agricultural Monitoring and Crop Health Analysis

Precision agriculture platforms use Planet imagery to monitor crop health across thousands of fields. The API's daily revisit rate and multi-spectral bands enable NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) calculations that detect irrigation problems, pest infestations, and nutrient deficiencies before they become visible to the naked eye. Agronomists query by field boundaries and date ranges, then download analytic assets containing calibrated surface reflectance values for vegetation modeling.

Example prompt: Search Planet API for imagery covering farm coordinates with <10% cloud cover from the past 7 days, activate analytic assets with NIR bands, and download imagery for NDVI processing.

### Natural Disaster Response and Damage Assessment

Emergency management agencies and humanitarian organizations use Planet's rapid imaging capability to assess disaster impact within hours of an event. The quick-search endpoint allows filtering by acquisition time and cloud cover to find the most recent usable imagery post-event, then comparing it to pre-disaster baselines. This supports resource allocation, evacuation planning, and insurance claim processing for floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires.

Example prompt: Execute quick-search for disaster zone coordinates filtering for imagery acquired within 24 hours of event time, retrieve visual assets for damage mapping, and compare with pre-event imagery from 30 days prior.

### Infrastructure and Construction Monitoring

Engineering firms and government agencies track infrastructure projects using Planet's high-frequency imaging. The API enables automated monitoring of construction timelines, earthwork volumes, and unauthorized development by comparing sequential imagery. SkySat's sub-meter resolution provides detail sufficient for counting vehicles and identifying equipment, while PlanetScope's daily coverage ensures no critical changes are missed between site visits.

Example prompt: Search for SkySat imagery of construction site with <15% cloud cover at weekly intervals, activate visual assets, and download imagery for change detection analysis comparing current state to baseline.

### Environmental Change Detection and Conservation

Conservation organizations and environmental agencies use Planet imagery to monitor deforestation, illegal mining, wetland loss, and habitat fragmentation. The API's temporal query capabilities allow time-series analysis showing vegetation loss rates, while spatial queries target protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. Researchers download both visual and analytic assets to perform classification workflows identifying forest clearing, water body changes, and coastal erosion patterns.

Example prompt: Search Planet API for imagery covering protected forest area from quarterly intervals over past 2 years, filter for <20% cloud cover, download analytic assets, and analyze vegetation loss trends.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/item-types` | List available satellite imagery item types |
| GET | `/item-types/{itemTypeId}/items/{itemId}` | Get detailed metadata for a specific imagery item |
| GET | `/item-types/{itemTypeId}/items/{itemId}/assets` | List downloadable assets for an imagery item |
| POST | `/item-types/{itemTypeId}/items/{itemId}/assets/{assetTypeId}/activate` | Activate an imagery asset for download |
| POST | `/quick-search` | Search imagery using spatial, temporal, and metadata filters |

## Key resources

- **Item Types** — List available satellite imagery item types (PSScene, SkySatScene, REScene).
- **Items** — Retrieve metadata for specific imagery items including acquisition details.
- **Assets** — List available asset types (visual, analytic, UDM2) for imagery items.
- **Quick Search** — Execute spatial and temporal queries with complex filter logic.

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the Planet Data API by hand means learning its basic auth, and hand-building the search, asset-activation and download orchestration across its item-type endpoints yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import Planet from the API Directory, store the credential once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** The Planet Data API puts item-type, item and asset ids in the URL path (`/item-types/{itemTypeId}/items/{itemId}/assets/{assetTypeId}/activate`), so a rule can pin your agent to one item type or item: it searches and activates assets for that item and nothing else. You choose the operations it may call, so asset activation is not included unless you add it.
- **Credential handling:** Your Planet API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'find satellite imagery for farmland' or 'activate an asset for download', and Jentic returns the matching Planet operation with its filter schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Maxar eAPI** — Maxar's high-resolution satellite imagery API, an alternative to Planet Data for accessing Earth observation data and geospatial analytics.
- **MapTiler Cloud API** — MapTiler Cloud API delivers maps, tiles, and geocoding that pair well with Planet Data imagery for building rich geospatial applications.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Planet Data API use?

The Planet Data API requires an API key obtained from your Planet account. Authentication uses HTTP Basic Auth with the API key as the username and an empty password, or you can pass it as a Bearer token in the Authorization header.

### How often does Planet capture satellite imagery?

Planet's PlanetScope constellation captures imagery of the entire Earth's landmass daily at 3-5 meter resolution. SkySat provides sub-meter imagery with targeted revisit up to 12 times per day for specific areas of interest.

### What imagery formats and asset types are available?

The API provides visual RGB assets (PNG/GeoTIFF), analytic multi-spectral assets with calibrated surface reflectance, and UDM2 (Usable Data Mask) files indicating cloud, shadow, and snow coverage. All assets include geometric correction and metadata.

### How do I search for cloud-free imagery in the Planet API?

Use the quick-search endpoint with a filter combining your area of interest (GeoJSON geometry), date range, and cloud_cover property. For example, filter for `cloud_cover < 0.1` to find imagery with less than 10% cloud coverage.

### Can AI agents use the Planet API through Jentic?

Yes. Search Jentic for 'find satellite imagery for a location' to load the Planet Data API operations. The agent can execute spatial queries, filter by date and cloud cover, activate assets, and retrieve download URLs-all with Planet API credentials vaulted by Jentic.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Planet Data API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Planet Data API operations and credentials the agent may use. Since the API carries the item-type, item, and asset ids in the URL path, you can pin the agent to searching and reading metadata for a single item type or item and withhold asset activation and download unless you explicitly grant those operations. Your Planet API key is stored by your own instance and injected only when a permitted call runs, so the agent never sees it directly.