Getting Started

Welcome to Φ-Down! This guide will help you get up and running with downloading Copernicus satellite data.

What is Φ-Down?

Φ-Down is a Python library that provides a simple interface to search and download Earth Observation data from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem. It supports all major Sentinel missions and provides both programmatic access and interactive tools.

Prerequisites

Before using Φ-Down, you’ll need:

  1. Python 3.9+ - Φ-Down requires Python 3.9 or later

  2. Copernicus Data Space Account - Register at https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/

  3. S3 Credentials (required) - Get S3 credentials from the S3 Key Manager

First Steps

  1. Install Φ-Down:

    pip install phidown

  2. Set up your S3 credentials:

    Create a .s5cfg file in your working directory:

    [default]
aws_access_key_id = your_access_key
aws_secret_access_key = access_key_secret
aws_region = eu-central-1
host_base = eodata.dataspace.copernicus.eu
host_bucket = eodata.dataspace.copernicus.eu
use_https = true
check_ssl_certificate = true

    Replace your_access_key and access_key_secret with your actual S3 credentials.

  3. Your first search:

    from phidown import CopernicusDataSearcher

# Initialize the searcher
searcher = CopernicusDataSearcher()

# Search for Sentinel-2 data over Rome
results = searcher.search(
    collection_name='SENTINEL-2',
    aoi_wkt='POLYGON((12.4 41.9, 12.5 41.9, 12.5 42.0, 12.4 42.0, 12.4 41.9))',
    start_date='2023-01-01',
    end_date='2023-01-31'
)

# Display results
print(f"Found {len(results)} products")
searcher.display_results(results, columns=['Name', 'ContentDate', 'CloudCover'])

  4. Download data:

    from phidown.downloader import pull_down

# Download the first product
if len(results) > 0:
    product_id = results.iloc[0]['Id']
    pull_down(product_id, download_dir='./data')

What’s Next?

  • Read the User Guide for detailed usage instructions

  • Check out the Examples for common use cases

  • Explore the API Reference for complete API documentation

  • Try the interactive tools for polygon selection and visualization

Common Issues

Authentication errors: Make sure your credentials are correct and your account is active.

Network timeouts: Large files may take time to download. Consider using S3 credentials for faster access.

Import errors: Ensure all dependencies are installed. Some features require optional dependencies like ipyleaflet.

Need Help?