Getting Started¶

Welcome to STAC Server! This guide will help you understand what STAC Server is and how to get started.

What is STAC?¶

The SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification provides a common language to describe geospatial information, making it more easily discoverable and accessible. STAC enables interoperability between systems and allows users to search across multiple catalogs.

What is STAC Server?¶

STAC Server is a production-ready implementation of the STAC API specification. It provides:

RESTful API: Search and access spatiotemporal data via HTTP
OpenSearch Backend: Scalable indexing and search capabilities
Serverless Architecture: Runs on AWS Lambda with API Gateway
Extensible: Supports multiple STAC extensions out of the box

Key Concepts¶

Collections¶

Collections group related Items together. Each Collection describes:

Spatial and temporal extents
Common properties shared by Items
Available assets and their formats
Licensing and provider information

Items¶

Items represent individual spatiotemporal assets (e.g., satellite scenes, drone imagery). Each Item contains:

Unique identifier
Geometry (footprint)
Datetime(s)
Properties (metadata)
Assets (links to actual data files)

Catalog¶

The root endpoint that provides links to all Collections and search capabilities.

Prerequisites¶

Before deploying STAC Server, ensure you have:

AWS Account with appropriate permissions
Node.js Version defined in .nvmrc or later
npm or yarn package manager
AWS CLI configured with credentials
Serverless Framework (optional, for deployment)

For development:

Docker and Docker Compose
OpenSearch

Next Steps¶

Getting Started > Installation - Install and configure STAC Server for development or production
Getting Started > Quick Start - Get up and running with Docker Compose in 5 minutes
Guides > Deployment - Deploy to AWS with production-ready configuration