Releases: rubenCodeforges/ardudeck
Releases · rubenCodeforges/ardudeck
Alpha 30
ArduDeck Alpha 30 Release Notes
Video Overview: Watch ArduDeck Alpha 30 on YouTube
Headline Features
Flight Log Explorer
ArduDeck now parses DataFlash (.bin) logs natively with a full-featured log analysis suite:
- Full DataFlash binary parser with health checks and diagnostics
- Log Explorer with dockview panel layout and advanced field picker
- 3D Flight Path visualization - replay your flights in 3D space
Live Map Overlays - Weather Radar & Airspace
The telemetry and mission maps now support real-time overlays:
- Weather Radar - RainViewer integration with dynamic color schemes
- Airspace Zones - CTR, restricted, danger, and TMA zone polygons with color-coded legend (OpenAIP data)
- Aviation Tiles - OpenAIP tile layers
- Overlays work on both the telemetry map and mission planner map
- API keys are encrypted at rest
MAVLink Signing - Production-Ready
MAVLink 2 signing went from initial support to fully production-grade:
- Multi-key management - add, remove, and rotate signing keys
- Pre-connect configuration - set up signing before connecting
- MAVProxy compatibility - works seamlessly through proxy setups
- Fixed critical SHA256 computation and key-removal signing bugs
Motor Test with Live Monitoring
New motor test tab for verifying motor order and direction before first flight:
- Physical frame layout diagram - see where each motor sits on your airframe
- Click any motor to spin it individually, or run sequence/all tests
- Live vibration, ESC temperature, RPM, voltage, and current monitoring during tests
- Safety guards for armed state
- Frame layout auto-detected from FRAME_CLASS and FRAME_TYPE parameters
Companion Board Store & DroneBridge
Full companion board integration with a built-in firmware template store:
- Companion Board Store - browse pre-configured firmware templates for ESP32, Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, and Orange Pi
- Templates organized by category (telemetry, autonomy, video, etc.) with USB flash support
- DroneBridge WiFi Telemetry, ESP-NOW Long Range, and MAVLink WiFi Bridge templates ready to flash
- DroneBridge USB serial reader - stream telemetry from DroneBridge-equipped companion computers
- Auto-detection and configuration of companion board connections
- Bridge auto-reconnects when ArduDeck restarts
Offline Map Tile Cache
Fly in the field with no internet:
- Region-based offline caching - select areas on the map and download tiles for offline use
- Visual region overlays showing cached areas
- Network status indicator - know when you are operating on cached data
- Cache refresh support to keep tiles up to date
New Capabilities
Offline Parameter Editing
Open, edit, and save .param files without connecting to a flight controller:
- Load any .param file directly from disk - full parameter list with search, grouping, and metadata
- Edit values, compare against other files, and save or save-as
- Vehicle type selector loads the correct parameter descriptions and validation
- Unsaved change indicator in the toolbar
- Seamlessly switch between offline editing and live FC connection
Prearm Checks & Flight Control Panels
- New prearm status panel showing all ArduPilot prearm checks with pass/fail indicators
- Flight control panels for in-flight actions
ArduPilot SITL Integration
- Built-in Software-In-The-Loop simulation support - connect to SITL instances directly from ArduDeck for testing without hardware
- SITL simulator now available to all users
- Vehicle type, frame, release track, home location, and virtual RC control
- Windows support for Cygwin DLL downloads
Critical Battery Failsafe
- New Critical Battery section in the Safety tab with configurable threshold and action presets
Acceleration Limit Tuning
- ATC_ACCEL_x_MAX sliders added to the PID Tuning view - roll, pitch, and yaw acceleration limits with real-time adjustment
Board-Linked Vehicle Profiles
- Profiles now store a board identifier - plug in a flight controller and ArduDeck loads the right profile automatically
- New board creates a blank profile instead of cloning the old one
Heartbeat Watchdog
- Detects vehicle disconnect when heartbeats stop - critical fix for UDP connections where socket closure is not detected
Messages Panel & Debug Console
- Messages panel on the connection screen shows MAVLink messages in real-time
- Debug console for protocol-level troubleshooting
Regex Parameter Search
- The parameter list now supports full regex search - find parameters with patterns like
ATC_RAT_.*_PorBATT[12]_.*
Calibration Improvements
- Calibration now uses native MAVLink commands for ArduPilot instead of MSP fallback
- Option to save calibration to persistent storage on the flight controller
- Fixed calibration completion detection and bootloader save
3D Telemetry View
- Re-enabled the 3D telemetry view on the live telemetry screen
Experimental
AI-Assisted Log Analysis
This feature is early and experimental. Results should be verified manually.
- AI can analyze parsed flight logs and suggest actionable parameter recommendations
- Recommendations can be applied or exported directly from the chat interface
- Includes reboot warnings where parameter changes require it
- Disclaimer dialog warns users about experimental nature
Bug Fixes
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| #13 | MAVLink signing - wrong CRC bytes after timestamp conversion |
| #15 | Calibration sending MSP commands to ArduPilot instead of MAVLink |
| #15 | Calibration completion and bootloader save not working correctly |
| #38 | New board cloned old profile instead of creating blank |
| #42 | Pixhawk flight modes showing raw numbers for Rover/Boat/Sub |
| #43 | False armed status during boot sequence |
| #49 | Readonly parameter flags missing from ArduPilot metadata |
| #50 | Low battery failsafe using wrong parameter names |
| #52 | INAV 6-point accelerometer calibration not saved |
| #53 | INAV flight mode names wrong |
| #56 | ELRS over MAVLink - added RC_CHANNELS_RAW fallback |
| #61 | Added MicoAir boards to firmware board list |
| #63 | MSP fallback on UDP/TCP crashed mavproxy |
| #64 | First parameter concatenated to header comment in .param files |
| #70 | SERVO_FUNCTION not accepting -1 (GPIO) |
| #73 | Map showing GPS MSL altitude instead of relative barometric altitude |
| #74 | Survey grid: altitude reference, overlap max, polygon editing, takeoff |
| #84 | Armed state cross-check too strict during boot, added transition logging |
| -- | Float params rounded to 6 significant digits on save |
| -- | macOS build failure during code signing |
| -- | Google Satellite set as default map layer |
| -- | ArduPilot SITL Cygwin DLL download on Windows |
Quality & Polish
- UI refresh with cleaner layout across multiple views
- Removed preset selector cards from tuning tab
- Optimized screenshot capture
- Security hardening
Alpha 30 RC-4
Added Motor Test to Params Screen , fixed a small bug when a arming/disarming in quick succession would freeze the toolbar in telemetry
Alpha 30 RC-3
More bugfixes , new experimental feature Data log analyzer,
Alpha 30 RC-2
Ardupilot SITL
Connection screen quality of live
Mav signing quality of live and multi key support
ArduPilot SITL 4.5.7
Pre-built ArduPilot SITL binaries for ArduDeck.
ArduPilot ref: Copter-4.5.7
Platforms
- macOS ARM64 (Apple Silicon) - built locally
- Linux x64 and Windows use firmware.ardupilot.org directly
Vehicles
- arducopter, arduplane, ardurover, ardusub
Alpha 30 RC-1
v0.0.30-rc ts fix
ArduDeck v0.0.29-alpha
Major New Features
Visual Lua Editor
New view · 6,000+ lines · 39 new files
A full node-based visual programming environment for creating ArduPilot Lua scripts without writing code.
40+ nodes across 7 categories:
| Category | Nodes |
|---|---|
| Sensors | GPS, Battery, Airspeed, RC Channels, Rangefinder, Attitude, Compass |
| Math | Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide, Power, Abs, Clamp, Map Range, Trigonometry |
| Logic | Compare, AND, OR, NOT, Branch (if/then), Switch |
| Actions | Set RC Override, Send GCS Message, Set Servo, Set Relay, Play Tune, Log Message |
| Timing | Timer, Delay, Throttle |
| Variables | Get/Set Variable |
| Flow | Comment annotations |
Pre-built templates: Low Battery Warning, Geofence Alert, Emergency RC Failover, Altitude Hold
- Lua Compiler with topological sort-based code generation, error detection, memory estimation, and ArduPilot API compatibility
- Live Lua preview panel with syntax highlighting
- Built-in documentation: API reference, node reference, examples, and getting started guide
- Upload to FC via IPC integration
Autonomous Survey Missions
New view · 3,500+ lines · 21 new files
Turn any area into a precision mapping or photogrammetry mission.
Survey patterns: Grid (lawnmower), Crosshatch (perpendicular double-pass), Circular (concentric rings)
30+ camera presets:
- DJI — Mavic 3E, Phantom 4 RTK, Zenmuse P1/L2
- Sony — A7R IV, RX1R II
- GoPro
- Multispectral — MicaSense RedEdge-P, Altum-PT
- Custom entry
Planning & stats:
- Draw polygon on map with real-time camera footprint visualization
- Adjustable altitude, speed, grid angle, and overshoot
- Front & side overlap configuration with GSD calculation
- Stats panel: GSD (cm/px), photo count, line count, flight distance, estimated flight time, area covered
- One-click mission insertion — generates waypoints with camera trigger commands directly into the mission planner
3D View for Maps
New feature · 3,100+ lines · Three.js integration
Full 3D terrain and vehicle visualization using MapLibre GL JS and a Three.js custom layer.
- Real-time vehicle model — 3D chevron with live attitude (roll/pitch/yaw), armed state color-coding, altitude drop-line, and heading indicator
- Terrain rendering — DEM from Terrarium tiles with exaggeration slider (0.5x – 5x)
- Mission path rendering — 3D flight path ribbons at altitude, drop-lines to terrain, color-coded waypoint segments, clickable projected markers
- 3D buildings — Vector tile extrusion at high zoom
- Atmospheric rendering — Dark-themed sky and fog
- Seamless 2D/3D toggle — Viewport sync preserves camera position, pitch, and bearing
- Vehicle dimensions sourced from profile (wingspan/frameSize) with auto-scale fallback
MAVLink Signing Support
Security feature · Issue #13
SHA-256 packet signing for secure MAVLink v2 vehicle communication.
- Passphrase-based key generation — Hashed to 32-byte signing key, stored encrypted via
electron.safeStorage - One-click FC enrollment — Send signing key to flight controller via
SETUP_SIGNINGcommand - Status dashboard — Key fingerprint display, FC signing confirmation, key mismatch warnings
- Enable/pause toggle — Temporarily disable signing without removing the key
- Key export — View as Base64 (Mission Planner compatible format)
- Key removal — Remove key and disable signing on FC
- MAVLink v1 detection — Shows unavailable warning with TCP/UDP proxy compatibility notes
New Features & Enhancements
Terrain/Height Overlay on Map
Color-coded elevation visualization overlaid on the 2D map using Terrarium DEM tiles.
- Display modes: AMSL (absolute terrain elevation) and Relative (elevation relative to craft altitude, updated in real-time)
- Auto range — Dynamically scales color gradient to visible tile elevations
- Fixed range — Lock min/max with inline click-to-edit bounds
- Live elevation legend — Gradient bar with range display, water transparency below sea level
UDP Client Mode
- Listen (Server) — Bind to local port, wait for incoming packets (traditional GCS mode)
- Client (Connect) — Actively send packets to a remote host:port, useful for cloud relays, companion computers behind NAT, or telemetry bridges
- Both modes support MAVLink and MSP protocols with connection memory
Advanced/Beginner Experience Levels
- Beginner mode — Tooltips, explanatory info cards, inline help text, and educational dialogs
- Advanced mode — Clean interface with educational content hidden
- Shown on first launch, accessible anytime from Settings
Reboot-Required Parameter Detection
Issue #25
- Reads
RebootRequired: Truefrom ArduPilot parameter metadata - Amber alert banner lists parameters requiring a reboot
- One-click reboot with countdown, auto-reconnect, and parameter refresh
- Auto-retry on file apply — up to 3 cycles until all parameters apply successfully
Readonly Parameter Flags
Issue #49
- Automatically identifies read-only parameters (
TEMP_*,INS_ACC*_TEMP,STAT_*, etc.) - Hidden from modified/compare views to prevent accidental edits
- Cleaner parameter diff when comparing or applying param files
Save Non-Default Parameters Only
Issue #39
New export option to save only parameters differing from defaults — produces smaller, cleaner param files focused on user customizations.
Bug Fixes
| Issue | Description |
|---|---|
| #56 | ELRS over MAVLink — added RC_CHANNELS_RAW (msg 35) fallback for receivers that don't send RC_CHANNELS (msg 65) |
| #63 | MAVLink signing CRC bugfix — wrong CRC bytes after TypeScript number-to-byte conversion |
| #63 | Skip MSP fallback on UDP/TCP connections to prevent mavproxy crash |
| #64 | Fix first parameter concatenated to header comment when saving .param files |
| #49 | Fix readonly check in file compare and retry paths |
| — | Fix broken 3D view rendering |
| — | Fix macOS build ENOENT during code signing |
| — | Firmware download fix |
| — | Increase reboot timeout for slower flight controllers |
Hardware Support
- #61 — Added MicoAir boards to firmware board list
Documentation
17 new wiki pages added, covering: Getting Started, Configuration, Firmware Flash, Lua Editor, PID Tuning, Rates, Receiver, Serial Ports, Flight Modes, Battery, Safety/Failsafe, Tuning Presets, and Parameter Reference.
Website: ardudeck.com
Alpha 29 RC 2
Alpha 29 RC 1
v0.0.29-rc-1 Temporarily disable 3D view toggle in telemetry map
Ardudeck - Alpha 28
Release Notes
Over 30 bug fixes and a bunch of new features landed in this release. The kind of update where you look at the changelog and think "how was i even using this before". Lets go through the highlights.
Mission Planning
Flight Modes
Messages Panel
Flight Control
Redesigned Dashboard
Parameter List
Parameter History
MAVLink Signing
Baudrate Support
Parameter File Diff
Bug Fixes
- #30 Fix 230k baud USB connection failing after parameter download
- #27 Fix firmware flashing failure - cannot force board into bootloader mode and duplicate firmware entries
- #22 Fix vehicle profile flight time and range calculations breaking with high input values
- #21 Fix mission data lost on vehicle disconnect
- #20 Fix map zoom continuously resetting to fit when vehicle is connected
- #19 Fix mission editor command grouping and support all MAVLink command types
- #40 Fix AppImage SUID sandbox crash on Ubuntu 24.04+ (Kubuntu)
- #36 Fix SERIAL1_PROTOCOL RCIN (23) showing as "Megasquirt" in Serial Ports
- #12 Fix RC channel display order for non-standard RCMAP/rxMap configurations
- #12 Fix ArduPlane 4.5+ PID display (RLL_RATE_* param detection, modern/legacy auto-switch)
- #12 Fix MAVLink RC channel names using RCMAP_* parameters instead of hardcoded AETR
- #44 Fix vehicle type mismatch popup appearing repeatedly on screen changes
- Fix MAVLink reconnection refactored as reusable pipeline with auto-signing key load
- Fix params falsely showing as modified after full parameter download
- Fix sidebar not expanding on disconnect
- Fix legacy MAVLink boards support (PID, rates)
New Features
- #23 Bitmask editor - checkbox popover for bitmask parameters with select all/none
- #18 ARM/DISARM button in header with force-arm and RC_CHANNELS_OVERRIDE
- #33 Parameter favourites - star toggle and filter button for bookmarking frequently used params
- #13 MAVLink signing support
- #45 Messages panel - FC status messages with STATUSTEXT parsing and severity levels
- #29 Support all ArduPlane mission command types with proper parameters
- #17 Reboot button on settings-related pages
- #25 Reboot-required banner after writing params that need reboot
- Parameter history - automatic checkpointing on write-to-flash with restore/delete
- Board UID extraction from AUTOPILOT_VERSION for per-board param history
- ArduPilot flight statistics from FC (STAT_FLTTIME, STAT_RUNTIME, STAT_BOOTCNT)
- Cross-firmware flashing support - flash from iNav to ArduPilot and back
Enhancements
- #24 Parameter file loading redesigned - compare modal on file load instead of blind apply
- #39 Split Save button with "Save Changed Only" option
- #34 Battery chemistry support (LiPo, LiHV, Li-Ion, LiFePO4) with per-chemistry thresholds, 7S-12S cell count, and larger
capacity presets - #28 USB COM port descriptor now matches Device Manager naming
- #26 Fix board detection showing wrong variants and missing targets in firmware flash
- #14 Add INITIAL_MODE parameter to Flight Modes group
- #46 Default flight modes to advanced mode showing all mode slots
- #41 Unit conversion options (mm to m, mAh to Ah) for larger vehicles
- Telemetry stream rate control (Eco/Normal/Max) via MAV_CMD_SET_MESSAGE_INTERVAL
- GCS heartbeat broadcast for ArduPilot compatibility
- Multi-level flight estimate table (60%/80%/95% battery usage)
- Weather widget contextual wind/gust warnings
- Board detection for FCs with dedicated USB board
- MavlinkFTP added for faster params loading
Performance
- Zustand selector optimization across all telemetry panels and dashboard
- Isolate MspConfigView sensors tab to prevent telemetry re-render cascade
- Throttle SensorsTab lastUpdate to 1Hz, remove CSS transition on attitude indicator