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Public Preview Visual Studio Code by Microsoft is a Code OSS-based editor. In VS Code, the Wherobots VS Code Extension automatically configures the MCP Server and includes Agent Skills, so no separate MCP or Skills setup is required.

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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

The following prerequisites are required:
  • Visual Studio Code version 1.85 or later.
  • 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.
  • Active GitHub Copilot subscription (for AI-assisted features).

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Install the extension

Run the following command in your terminal:
Or install from the Visual Studio Marketplace.
If VS Code 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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MCP Server and Agent Skills

Automatic: The extension automatically configures the Wherobots MCP Server and includes Agent Skills in VS Code. No manual setup is needed.
The extension exposes optional settings for the MCP server — including query timeout, runtime size, and cloud region. See Extension Settings.
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 GitHub Copilot Chat via View > Chat.
  2. Select Agent as the chat mode from the dropdown at the top of the chat panel. Screenshot showing the Agent mode dropdown
  3. Select an advanced model (Claude Opus, Claude Sonnet, GPT Codex, or Gemini Pro) for best results.
  4. Ask a test question:
  5. If successful, the assistant will confirm it is using the Wherobots MCP server (showing Ran list_catalogs or a similar tool) and display your available tables. Screenshot showing the MCP server catalogs response

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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 with GitHub Copilot.

Submit Job Runs

Submit Python scripts as Wherobots job runs from your editor.

Workspaces & Usage

Create, start, stop, and manage notebook workspaces.

MCP Server Best Practices

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

Install the CLI

Submit jobs and access the full Wherobots API from your terminal.