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Public Preview Draft Positron by Posit is a Code OSS-based editor designed for data science workflows. The Wherobots VS Code Extension installs but MCP Server and Agent Skills must be configured manually.

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Component Overview

Wherobots’ Agentic Tools consist of the following components that work together to provide our agentic experience:
Connects your AI assistant to Wherobots Cloud for catalog exploration, Spatial SQL generation, and query execution.
Gives your AI assistant domain-specific Wherobots knowledge for more accurate commands and fewer errors.
Wraps the full Wherobots API into a single binary for job submission, log streaming, and automation.

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Why use Wherobots’ agentic tools?

Wherobots’ agentic tools connect your AI assistant to Wherobots Cloud and your local development environment so you can interact with your spatial data, catalogs, and jobs in a more intuitive way.
The MCP Server connects your AI assistant to Wherobots Cloud so you can browse catalogs, databases, and table schemas (including Overture Maps and your own datasets) by asking questions in plain language instead of navigating the console.
Describe a geospatial task (e.g. “find buildings within 500m of this point”) and the MCP Server returns optimized Spatial SQL using WherobotsDB’s ST functions, spatial joins, and indexing patterns.
Use the CLI or the extension to submit Spark job runs, stream logs in real time, check resource metrics, and cancel jobs without leaving your editor or terminal.
Agent Skills teach your AI assistant Wherobots-specific APIs, query patterns, and workflow sequences so it produces correct wherobots CLI commands, valid MCP tool calls, and accurate notebook code on the first try.

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Before you start

  • Positron installed.
  • A Wherobots Account within a Community, Professional, Innovation, or Enterprise Organization. See Create a Wherobots Account.
    Organization Availability: Available to all Wherobots Organization Editions.
    • Community Edition Organizations can create and run local notebooks against the Tiny and Micro runtimes.
    • Professional, Innovation, or Enterprise Organizations are required for job submission, the Wherobots MCP server, and additional compute tiers. For more information, see Upgrade Organization or Organization Editions.
  • An AI assistant extension installed in your editor (for AI-assisted features).
  • Node.js and npm installed on your system (required for installing Agent Skills via npx).

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Install the extension

Run the following command in your terminal:
Or install from the Open VSX Registry.
If Positron prompts you to install a missing dependency extension (e.g., Jupyter), click Install and Reload.

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Configure the extension

After installation, set your API key to connect to Wherobots Cloud.
These steps apply to VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Kiro, Positron, Antigravity, Trae, VS Codium, and other Code OSS editors. All use the same Command Palette and extension settings.
1

Open the Command Palette

To open the Command Palette, click the search bar at the top of your editor and type >wherobots:.Command Palette
You can also press ⌘ + Shift + P on Mac, Ctrl + Shift + P on Windows/Linux.
2

Set your API key

  1. If you don’t have an API key yet, click Wherobots: Generate API Key on Wherobots Cloud to create one.
  2. Click Wherobots: Set API Key and enter your existing or newly created Wherobots API key when prompted, then press Enter.
API keys are stored securely in your editor’s Secret Storage.

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Verify the installation

To confirm the extension is installed and configured correctly:
1

Open the Command Palette

To open the Command Palette, click the search bar at the top of your editor and type >wherobots:.Command Palette
You can also press ⌘ + Shift + P on Mac, Ctrl + Shift + P on Windows/Linux.
2

Confirm available commands

Type Wherobots to see the available extension commands. At this point, you should see commands including:
  • Wherobots: Set API Key
  • Wherobots: Create Workspace
  • Wherobots: Submit Job
  • Wherobots: Refresh Workspaces
  • Wherobots: Open Settings
  • Wherobots: Install Jupyter Extension

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Configure the MCP Server

The Wherobots MCP Server enables AI assistants to explore your spatial data catalogs, generate Spatial SQL, and execute queries. Configure it manually:
1

Add the MCP server

Open the Command Palette (⌘ + Shift + P on macOS, Ctrl + Shift + P on Windows/Linux).
  1. Type MCP: Add Server and select it.
  2. Select HTTP (HTTP or Server-Sent Events) as the server type.
  3. Enter the URL: https://api.cloud.wherobots.com/mcp/
  4. Enter a name for the server (e.g., wherobots-mcp-server).
2

Add your API key

Your mcp.json file opens automatically. Add a headers object with your Wherobots API key:
Save the file.
3

Reload your editor

Open the Command Palette and select Reload Window.
The extension exposes optional settings for the MCP server — including query timeout, runtime size, and cloud region. See Extension Settings.

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Install Agent Skills

Agent Skills give your AI assistant domain-specific knowledge about Wherobots workflows, APIs, and best practices.
If the Wherobots VS Code Extension is pinned to your sidebar, you can also create a new workspace by clicking the Create Workspace button.
Create Workspace button in the Wherobots sidebar

The Wherobots extension sidebar showing the Create Workspace button. Specific UI details vary by editor.

To pin the Wherobots extension to the sidebar:
1

Pin the extension

Right-click the Activity Bar (the vertical icon bar on the left side of your editor).A menu will appear showing all available extensions.
2

Select the extension

To pin the extension, find Wherobots in the list and click on it to ensure it’s checked.
Wherobots extension checked in the Activity Bar

The Activity Bar context menu with the Wherobots extension checked. Specific UI details vary by editor.

Now you’ll have easy access to the extension in your editor’s sidebar.

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Verify installation

  1. Open your AI assistant’s chat panel.
  2. Select Agent as the chat mode (if available).
  3. Ask a test question:
  4. If successful, the assistant will call list_catalogs and display your available tables.
  5. Open the Command Palette and type MCP: List Servers to confirm the server appears.

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Next steps

Browse Your Data

Browse catalogs, schemas, and tables in the Data Hub sidebar.

AI-Assisted Notebooks

Create and connect local notebooks to remote Wherobots compute.

Submit Job Runs

Submit Python scripts as Wherobots job runs from your editor.

MCP Server Best Practices

Common tasks, example prompts, and cost considerations for the MCP Server.