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Configure QGIS to access a GeoCatalog resource

This guide explains how to configure the open-source QGIS desktop GIS software to access geospatial datasets from the Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro GeoCatalog using Microsoft Entra ID authentication.

QGIS enables direct interaction with STAC collections in Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro. With QGIS, you can visualize, analyze, and style data on the fly, and integrate it with local layers from Azure.

All GeoCatalog assets can be downloaded to your desktop. Assets in Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) or Cloud Optimized Point Cloud (COPC) format stream directly.

Configuration consists of two parts:

Registering the Microsoft Entra application is a one-time task for your tenant. After registration, users enter the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID in QGIS to set up the STAC connection.

Prerequisites

Microsoft Entra App registrations

  • Access to a Microsoft Entra ID tenant
  • Azure subscription where your identity has one of these roles: Application Developer, Cloud Application Administrator, or Application Administrator.

QGIS STAC connection

  • Download and install QGIS Developer (qgis-dev) on your desktop machine

    Note

    This feature is available only in the QGIS nightly builds until the release of QGIS 4.0

  • GeoCatalog Reader or GeoCatalog Administrator role-based access controls.
  • Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro GeoCatalog deployment that contains at least one collection.

Register the Microsoft Entra application for QGIS

Tip

Review Register an application in Microsoft Entra ID for background information on app registration.

Register QGIS as an application in Microsoft Entra ID and grant it delegated permissions so it can act on behalf of the signed-in user.

In the Azure portal, go to Microsoft Entra ID > App registrations > New registration:

Screenshot of the App registrations page with the New registration button highlighted.

Register the application

  1. Enter a descriptive name for the application.
  2. For supported account types, select the tenant option your organization uses (single tenant or multitenant only).
  3. Under Redirect URI, choose Public client/native (mobile & desktop) and set the URI to http://localhost:7070.
  4. Select Register.
    Screenshot of the New app registration form with the name, account type, and redirect URI fields populated.

Configure API permissions

Configure delegated API permissions:

  1. In the app registration, select API permissions > Add a permission.

    Screenshot of the API permissions blade listing current delegated permissions.

  2. Select APIs my organization uses, search for Azure Orbital Spatio, and pick the service to open the permission dialog.

    Screenshot of the permission selection dialog with the Azure Orbital Spatio API highlighted.

  3. In Request API permissions, select Delegated permissions, check user_impersonation, and then select Add permissions to grant the scope.

    Screenshot of the Request API permissions dialog with the user_impersonation delegated scope selected.

Reviewing the Application and Directory IDs

Return to Overview and record the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID. You need to enter them in QGIS later to configure the STAC connection.

Screenshot of the Overview page displaying the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID values.

Configure QGIS for GeoCatalog access

A STAC catalog in QGIS is a browsable data source. It exposes hierarchical STAC metadata (catalog → collection → item → asset) instead of a single static file. When you expand nodes, QGIS issues live API requests to the GeoCatalog STAC endpoint so you always see the latest collections and items in your GeoCatalog.

Create the STAC connection

Create the STAC connection inside QGIS by following these steps:

  1. In the Browser panel, expand STAC to view the connection menu.
  2. Right-click STAC and select New STAC Connection to open the configuration dialog. Screenshot of the QGIS Browser panel context menu with New STAC Connection selected.

Configure STAC connection authentication

  1. In the "Name" field, name this connection.
  2. Enter the URL of your GeoCatalog and add the STAC API path by appending /stac to the URL.
  3. Select the plus (+) button to configure the authentication. Screenshot of the STAC connection dialog showing the URL field and authentication button.

STAC connection authentication configuration

  1. From Authentication, select Microsoft Planetary Computer. Screenshot of the authentication profile list with Microsoft Planetary Computer selected.

  2. Select Planetary Computer Pro from the "Server type" drop-down. Screenshot of the authentication server type list with Planetary Computer Pro selected.

  3. Enter the following information into the text boxes:

Screenshot of the completed STAC authentication settings with client and tenant IDs populated.

Once these settings are complete, your GeoCatalog is configured for access through the QGIS STAC connection.

Using the QGIS STAC connection

To browse the collections, select your GeoCatalog in the data layer browser, and expand it.

Once you expand, QGIS will redirect you to a web browser to authenticate with Microsoft Entra. Complete the authentication process for your organization to continue.

Screenshot of the QGIS Browser panel displaying the Planetary Computer Pro collections tree.

Tip

If your GeoCatalog has zero STAC Collections, you see a Host requires authentication error. To resolve this error, create a STAC Collection.

Continue to expand the collections until you locate a STAC Item. To visualize this item, select the item and drag it to the map view. If the data is a Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG) or Cloud Optimized Point Cloud (COPC), it automatically imports and projects onto the map.

Screenshot of the map view displaying a STAC item added to QGIS.

STAC search and filtering

If you want to search for data or run a STAC filter in your catalog, the STAC API is exposed through the Layer manager.

  1. On the Layer menu, select Add Layer > Add Layer from STAC Catalog. Screenshot of the Add Layer from STAC Catalog dialog opened in QGIS.

  2. Select your STAC connection to the GeoCatalog, and then select Connect. Screenshot of the Data Source Manager showing the configured STAC connection before querying.

  3. Choose the index you want to filter on. You can filter on spatial, temporal, or collection extent. Screenshot of the STAC query dialog with a spatial extent filter applied.

  4. Select the item to add it to the map extent or download the assets directly to your local machine. If you hover over the item, the spatial extent previews on the map canvas in red. Screenshot of the COG asset selection ready to add as a layer in QGIS.

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