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Web Interface Guide

A professional, interactive map interface for searching Copernicus Sentinel satellite data with visual filters and instant results.

Launch the Interface

make app

Or directly:

python src/vresto/ui/app.py

Opens at http://localhost:8610 in your browser.

⚠️ Important: S3 Credentials Setup

Without static S3 credentials, vresto will auto-generate temporary credentials with strict usage limits. These temporary credentials have limited quotas and will be exhausted quickly with large downloads.

To avoid hitting quota restrictions, it's highly recommended to:

  1. Request your own permanent S3 credentials from Copernicus Dataspace
  2. Configure them in your environment or .env file: 
    export COPERNICUS_S3_ACCESS_KEY="your_access_key"
export COPERNICUS_S3_SECRET_KEY="your_secret_key"
  3. Or add them via the web interface (see Settings → S3 Credentials below)

Learn more in the Setup Guide.

General Layout

Header — App title at the top, visible across all tabs

Tabs — Horizontal tab bar for different screens: - 🗺️ Map Search — Search by drawing on a map - 🔍 Search by Name — Find products by name pattern - 📥 Download Product — Get bands and metadata - 📊 Product Analysis — Inspect local downloads - Settings — Credentials and configuration

Three-Column Layout — Most tabs use: - Left sidebar — Controls and activity log - Center — Main interactive area (map, list, or preview) - Right sidebar — Results, details, or preview panel

Visually search for products by drawing on an interactive map.

Date Selector (top-left) - Single date or date range - Default: recent dates

Activity Log (left sidebar) - Real-time search status - Download progress - Errors and confirmations

Interactive Map (center) - Click or draw to define search area - Supports point and polygon selection - Pan and zoom

Search Controls (top-right) - Collection: Sentinel-2 (or other available) - Product Level: L1C (raw) or L2A (corrected, recommended) - Cloud Cover: Slider 0-100%, default 20% - Max Results: Limit returned products - Search button

Results (right panel, below controls) - Product name and sensing date - Size and cloud cover percentage - 📸 Quicklook — Preview image - 📋 Metadata — Detailed product info

Notifications — Brief alerts near top for status updates

Search by Name

Text-based search for products by name or pattern.

Search Input (left side) - Enter product name or partial name - Supports wildcards and patterns

Activity Log (left, below input) - Search history and results count - Filtering status

Results Panel (center/right) - Summary: Total results and filtered count - Scrollable product list - Same product cards as Map Search: - Name, sensing date, size, cloud cover - 📸 Quicklook button - 📋 Metadata button

Quick Actions - Quicklook opens in modal dialog - Metadata displays in scrollable window

Download Product

Fetch specific spectral bands from products for analysis.

Product Input (left side) - Enter product name or S3 path - Fetch Bands button discovers available bands

Band Selection (left side, below product) - Checkboxes for individual bands - Resolution dropdown: Native, 60m, 20m, 10m - Select All — Mark all bands - Select by Resolution — Quick filters (10m, 20m, 60m) - Destination Folder — Where to save downloads - Download button

Activity Log & Progress (right side) - Real-time download status for each file - Progress bar and completion counter - Error messages and retry hints

Product Analysis (Local)

Inspect and visualize products you've already downloaded.

Folder Scanner (left side) - Enter path to local download folder - Scan button to discover products - Text filter to narrow results

Product List (center) - Dropdown of discovered products - Scrollable list with Inspect action - Selection populates preview area

Preview & Bands (right side) - Available bands for selected product - Single-band selector - RGB composite builder - Resolution hints - Preview button to generate visualization - In-browser preview area (heatmap, RGB, or band thumbnails)

Tips & Workflows

Find products by location

  1. Open "Map Search"
  2. Draw or click on the map
  3. Set date range and filters
  4. Press "Search Products"
  5. Browse results and preview

Find products by name

  1. Open "Search by Name"
  2. Type product name or pattern
  3. Press search
  4. View results and open quicklooks or metadata

Download and analyze

  1. Open "Download Product"
  2. Enter product name or S3 path
  3. Select bands and resolution
  4. Set destination and press Download
  5. Monitor progress on the right

Inspect local files

  1. Open "Product Analysis"
  2. Point to a download folder and scan
  3. Select product from list
  4. Use preview controls to visualize bands

Best Practices

  • Location searches — Draw or mark a location before searching
  • Date ranges — Use shorter ranges for faster results
  • Cloud cover — Lower values = clearer images but fewer options
  • Preview resolution — In-browser previews are optimized for lower resolution; use external tools for full-resolution analysis
  • Seasonal patterns — Tropical regions have more clouds in rainy season; polar regions have limited winter daylight

Keyboard & Controls

  • Map interactions — Scroll to zoom, click-drag to pan
  • Notifications — Brief confirmations appear at top
  • Modals — Quicklooks and metadata open in dialog windows
  • Activity logs — Scroll to review history in each tab

Next Steps