diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 15201ac..d86e4ff 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ cython_debug/
 #  be found at https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Global/JetBrains.gitignore
 #  and can be added to the global gitignore or merged into this file.  For a more nuclear
 #  option (not recommended) you can uncomment the following to ignore the entire idea folder.
-#.idea/
+.idea/
 
 # PyPI configuration file
 .pypirc
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 54fea69..70d6d88 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 # xcube-vdc-places
-A plugin for xcube-server that adds places from vector data cubes
+A plugin for xcube-server that reads vector data cubes as feature data.
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..657f9eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+from distutils.core import setup
+
+requirements = [
+    # Use ./environment.yml for deps.
+]
+
+setup(
+    name='xcube-vdc-places',
+    version='0.1.dev0',
+    packages=['xcube_vdc_plugin', 'xcube_vdc_plugin.api',
+              'xcube_vdc_plugin.server'],
+    url='https://github.com/xcube-dev/xcube-vdc-places',
+    license='MIT License',
+    author='Tonio Fincke',
+    description=
+    'A plugin for xcube server that reads vector data cubes as feature data.',
+    install_requires=requirements
+)
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/__init__.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..044dec9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/__init__.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29a1662
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+from .api import api
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/api.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/api.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7afdbab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/api.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2021/2022 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+from xcube.server.api import Api
+from xcube.server.api import Context
+
+from .context import VdcPlacesPluginContext
+from ..server.config import VECTORDATACUBES_SCHEMA
+from ..version import __version__
+
+
+def create_ctx(root_ctx: Context) -> VdcPlacesPluginContext:
+    return VdcPlacesPluginContext(root_ctx)
+
+
+api = Api('vdc-places', version=__version__,
+          config_schema=VECTORDATACUBES_SCHEMA,
+          required_apis=['datasets', 'places'],
+          create_ctx=create_ctx)
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/context.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/context.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9b9df6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/api/context.py
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+import datetime
+import fnmatch
+import itertools
+import json
+import os
+import re
+from typing import Mapping, Any, Optional, List, Dict, Hashable
+import dateutil.parser
+from geopandas import GeoDataFrame
+
+from xcube.constants import LOG
+from xcube.core.store import DataStorePool
+from xcube.core.store import VECTOR_DATA_CUBE_TYPE
+from xcube.server.api import ApiContext, ApiError
+from xcube.server.api import Context
+from xcube.server.config import is_absolute_path
+from xcube.core.store import DataStoreConfig
+from xcube.webapi.places import PlacesContext
+from xcube.webapi.places.context import PlaceGroup
+from xcube.util.frozen import Frozen
+from xcube.util.frozen import FrozenDict
+
+ServerConfig = FrozenDict[str, Any]
+
+STORE_DS_ID_SEPARATOR = "~"
+
+VdcConfig = Mapping[str, Any]
+
+
+def _is_wildcard(string: str) -> bool:
+    return "?" in string or "*" in string
+
+
+def _get_selected_dataset_config(
+    store_dataset_id: str, store_instance_id: str, dataset_config_base: dict
+) -> dict:
+    LOG.debug(f"Selected dataset {store_dataset_id!r}")
+    dataset_config = dict(StoreInstanceId=store_instance_id, **dataset_config_base)
+    if "Identifier" in dataset_config and dataset_config["Path"] != store_dataset_id:
+        raise ApiError.InvalidServerConfig(
+            "User-defined identifiers can only be assigned"
+            " to datasets with non-wildcard paths."
+        )
+    elif "Identifier" not in dataset_config:
+        dataset_config["Path"] = store_dataset_id
+        dataset_config["Identifier"] = (
+            f"{store_instance_id}{STORE_DS_ID_SEPARATOR}{store_dataset_id}"
+        )
+    return dataset_config
+
+
+class VdcPlacesPluginContext(ApiContext):
+
+    def __init__(self, server_ctx: Context):
+        super().__init__(server_ctx)
+        self._places_ctx: PlacesContext = server_ctx.get_api_ctx("places")
+        self.config = dict(server_ctx.config)
+        self.root = server_ctx
+        self._data_store_pool, self._vdc_configs = self._process_dataset_configs(
+            self.config
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _process_dataset_configs(
+        cls, config: ServerConfig
+    ) -> tuple[DataStorePool, list[dict[str, Any]]]:
+        data_store_configs = config.get("VectorDataCubeStores", [])
+
+        data_store_pool = DataStorePool()
+        for data_store_config_dict in data_store_configs:
+            store_instance_id = data_store_config_dict.get("Identifier")
+            store_id = data_store_config_dict.get("StoreId")
+            store_params = data_store_config_dict.get("StoreParams", {})
+            store_dataset_configs = data_store_config_dict.get("Datasets")
+            store_config = DataStoreConfig(
+                store_id, store_params=store_params, user_data=store_dataset_configs
+            )
+            data_store_pool.add_store_config(store_instance_id, store_config)
+        dataset_configs = cls.get_dataset_configs_from_stores(
+            data_store_pool
+        )
+        dataset_configs = [dict(c) for c in dataset_configs]
+        return data_store_pool, dataset_configs
+
+    @classmethod
+    def get_dataset_configs_from_stores(
+        cls, data_store_pool: DataStorePool
+    ) -> list[VdcConfig]:
+        all_dataset_configs: list[VdcConfig] = []
+        for store_instance_id in data_store_pool.store_instance_ids:
+            LOG.info(f"Scanning store {store_instance_id!r}")
+            data_store_config = data_store_pool.get_store_config(store_instance_id)
+
+            # Note by forman: This iterator chaining is inefficient.
+            # Preferably, we should offer
+            #
+            # store_dataset_ids = data_store.get_data_ids(
+            #     data_type=(DATASET_TYPE, MULTI_LEVEL_DATASET_TYPE)
+            # )
+            #
+
+            store_dataset_configs: list[ServerConfig] = data_store_config.user_data
+            if store_dataset_configs:
+                for store_dataset_config in store_dataset_configs:
+                    dataset_id_pattern = store_dataset_config.get("Path", "*")
+                    if _is_wildcard(dataset_id_pattern):
+                        data_store = data_store_pool.get_store(store_instance_id)
+                        store_dataset_ids = itertools.chain(
+                            data_store.get_data_ids(data_type=VECTOR_DATA_CUBE_TYPE)
+                        )
+                        for store_dataset_id in store_dataset_ids:
+                            if fnmatch.fnmatch(store_dataset_id, dataset_id_pattern):
+                                all_dataset_configs.append(
+                                    _get_selected_dataset_config(
+                                        store_dataset_id,
+                                        store_instance_id,
+                                        store_dataset_config,
+                                    )
+                                )
+                    else:
+                        all_dataset_configs.append(
+                            _get_selected_dataset_config(
+                                store_dataset_config["Path"],
+                                store_instance_id,
+                                store_dataset_config,
+                            )
+                        )
+        return all_dataset_configs
+
+    @property
+    def config(self) -> Mapping[str, Any]:
+        assert self._config is not None
+        return self._config
+
+    @config.setter
+    def config(self, config: Mapping[str, Any]):
+        assert isinstance(config, Mapping)
+        self._config = dict(config)
+
+    def on_update(self, prev_context: Optional["Context"]):
+        if prev_context:
+            self.config = prev_context.config
+        self.update_places()
+
+    def update_places(self):
+        if len(self._vdc_configs) == 0:
+            return
+        LOG.debug('Reading in Vector Data Cubes')
+        gdfs = self._read_vector_datacubes_as_geodataframes()
+        LOG.debug('Finished reading Vector Data Cubes.')
+
+        LOG.debug('Adding Vector Data Cube Place Groups')
+        for gdf in gdfs:
+            place_group_config: Dict[Hashable, Any] = dict()
+            for k in gdf.attrs.keys():
+                place_group_config[k] = gdf.attrs[k]
+            place_group = self._create_place_group(place_group_config, gdf)
+            dataset_ids = place_group_config.get('DatasetRefs', [])
+            self._places_ctx.add_place_group(place_group, dataset_ids)
+        LOG.debug('Finished adding Vector Data Cube Place Groups.')
+
+    def _create_place_group(self,
+                            place_group_config: Dict[Hashable, Any],
+                            gdf: GeoDataFrame) -> PlaceGroup:
+        place_group_id = place_group_config.get("PlaceGroupRef")
+        if place_group_id:
+            raise ApiError.InvalidServerConfig(
+                "'PlaceGroupRef' cannot be used in a GDF place group"
+            )
+        place_group_id = self._places_ctx.get_place_group_id_safe(place_group_config)
+
+        place_group = self._places_ctx.get_cached_place_group(place_group_id)
+        if place_group is None:
+            place_group_title = place_group_config.get("Title", place_group_id)
+            base_url = f'http://{self.root.config["address"]}:' \
+                       f'{self.root.config["port"]}'
+            property_mapping = self._places_ctx.get_property_mapping(
+                base_url, place_group_config
+            )
+            source_encoding = place_group_config.get("CharacterEncoding",
+                                                     "utf-8")
+            place_group = dict(type="FeatureCollection",
+                               features=None,
+                               id=place_group_id,
+                               title=place_group_title,
+                               propertyMapping=property_mapping,
+                               sourcePaths='None',
+                               sourceEncoding=source_encoding)
+
+            self._places_ctx.check_sub_group_configs(place_group_config)
+            self._places_ctx.set_cached_place_group(place_group_id, place_group)
+
+        self.load_gdf_place_group_features(place_group, gdf)
+        return place_group
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def load_gdf_place_group_features(
+            place_group: PlaceGroup, gdf: GeoDataFrame) -> None:
+        features = place_group.get('features')
+        if features is not None:
+            return features
+        feature_collection = json.loads(gdf.to_json())
+        for feature in feature_collection['features']:
+            VdcPlacesPluginContext._clean_time_name(feature['properties'])
+        place_group['features'] = feature_collection['features']
+
+    def _read_vector_datacubes_as_geodataframes(self) -> List[GeoDataFrame]:
+        gdfs = []
+        for vdc_config in self._vdc_configs:
+            if isinstance(vdc_config, Frozen):
+                vdc_config = vdc_config.defrost()
+            for k, v in vdc_config.items():
+                if isinstance(v, Frozen):
+                    vdc_config[k] = v.defrost()
+            vdc_id: str = vdc_config.get("Identifier")
+            store_instance_id = vdc_config.get("StoreInstanceId")
+            data_store_pool = self._data_store_pool
+            data_store = data_store_pool.get_store(store_instance_id)
+            data_id = vdc_config.get("Path")
+            open_params = dict(vdc_config.get("StoreOpenParams") or {})
+            open_params_schema = data_store.get_open_data_params_schema(data_id=data_id)
+            data_opener_ids = data_store.get_data_opener_ids(data_id)
+            for data_opener_id in data_opener_ids:
+                if data_opener_id.startswith("vectordatacube"):
+                    vdc = data_store.open_data(
+                        data_id,
+                        opener_id=data_opener_id,
+                        **open_params
+                    )
+                    break
+            if vdc is None:
+                LOG.debug('Could not find vector data cube opener')
+                continue
+            gdf = vdc.xvec.to_geodataframe()
+            for k in vdc_config.keys():
+                gdf.attrs[k] = vdc_config[k]
+            gdfs.append(gdf)
+        return gdfs
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _clean_time_name(properties: Dict):
+        illegal_names = ['datetime', 'timestamp', 'date-time', 'date']
+        for n in illegal_names:
+            if n in properties:
+                properties['time'] = dateutil.parser.parse(
+                    properties[n]).isoformat()
+                del properties[n]
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/plugin.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/plugin.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4703a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/plugin.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+from xcube.util import extension
+from xcube.constants import EXTENSION_POINT_SERVER_APIS
+
+
+def init_plugin(ext_registry: extension.ExtensionRegistry):
+    ext_registry.add_extension(
+        loader=extension.import_component(
+            'xcube_vdc_plugin.api:api'
+        ),
+        point=EXTENSION_POINT_SERVER_APIS,
+        name='vdc_plugin'
+    )
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/__init__.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..044dec9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/config.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9d7f10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/server/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2024 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+from xcube.util.jsonschema import JsonArraySchema
+from xcube.util.jsonschema import JsonComplexSchema
+from xcube.util.jsonschema import JsonIntegerSchema
+from xcube.util.jsonschema import JsonObjectSchema
+from xcube.util.jsonschema import JsonStringSchema
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import BOOLEAN_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import CHUNK_SIZE_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import FILE_SYSTEM_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import GEO_BOUNDING_BOX_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import PATH_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import STRING_SCHEMA
+from xcube.webapi.common.schemas import URI_SCHEMA
+
+VARIABLES_SCHEMA = JsonArraySchema(
+    items=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+    min_items=1,
+    description="Names of variables to be published."
+    " Names may use wildcard characters '*' and '?'."
+    " Also determines the order of variables.",
+)
+
+ACCESS_CONTROL_SCHEMA = JsonObjectSchema(
+    properties=dict(
+        IsSubstitute=BOOLEAN_SCHEMA,
+        RequiredScopes=JsonArraySchema(items=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA),
+    ),
+    additional_properties=False,
+)
+
+ATTRIBUTION_SCHEMA = JsonComplexSchema(
+    one_of=[
+        STRING_SCHEMA,
+        JsonArraySchema(items=STRING_SCHEMA),
+    ]
+)
+
+COMMON_VECTORDATACUBE_PROPERTIES = dict(
+    Title=STRING_SCHEMA,
+    Tags=JsonArraySchema(items=STRING_SCHEMA),
+    Variables=VARIABLES_SCHEMA,
+    BoundingBox=GEO_BOUNDING_BOX_SCHEMA,
+    Hidden=BOOLEAN_SCHEMA,
+    AccessControl=ACCESS_CONTROL_SCHEMA,
+    Attribution=ATTRIBUTION_SCHEMA,
+)
+
+VECTORDATACUBE_SCHEMA = JsonObjectSchema(properties=dict(
+    properties=dict(
+        Identifier=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+        StoreInstanceId=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,  # will be set by server
+        Path=PATH_SCHEMA,
+        FileSystem=FILE_SYSTEM_SCHEMA,
+        Anonymous=BOOLEAN_SCHEMA,
+        Endpoint=URI_SCHEMA,
+        Region=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+        DatasetRefs=JsonArraySchema(),
+        **COMMON_VECTORDATACUBE_PROPERTIES,
+    ),
+    required=["Identifier", "Path"],
+    additional_properties=False,
+))
+
+DATA_STORE_VECTORDATACUBE_SCHEMA = JsonObjectSchema(
+    required=["Path"],
+    properties=dict(
+        Identifier=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+        Path=PATH_SCHEMA,
+        DatasetRefs=JsonArraySchema(),
+        StoreInstanceId=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,  # will be set by server
+        StoreOpenParams=JsonObjectSchema(additional_properties=True),
+        **COMMON_VECTORDATACUBE_PROPERTIES,
+    ),
+    additional_properties=False,
+)
+
+VECTORDATACUBE_STORE_SCHEMA = JsonObjectSchema(
+    properties=dict(
+        Identifier=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+        StoreId=IDENTIFIER_SCHEMA,
+        StoreParams=JsonObjectSchema(additional_properties=True),
+        Datasets=JsonArraySchema(items=DATA_STORE_VECTORDATACUBE_SCHEMA),
+    ),
+    required=[
+        "Identifier",
+        "StoreId",
+    ],
+    additional_properties=False,
+)
+
+VECTORDATACUBES_SCHEMA = JsonObjectSchema(properties=dict(
+    VectorDataCubeStores=JsonArraySchema(items=VECTORDATACUBE_STORE_SCHEMA)
+))
diff --git a/xcube_vdc_plugin/version.py b/xcube_vdc_plugin/version.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25e6c58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xcube_vdc_plugin/version.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# The MIT License (MIT)
+# Copyright (c) 2021/2022 by the xcube team and contributors
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+# copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+# to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+# the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+# and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+# Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+# FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+# DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+
+
+__version__ = '0.1.dev0'