Plugins

Plugins

Every connection FIX-Gateway makes — to a simulator, a sensor, a bus, a display, a log file — is a plugin. They all share one shape (a Plugin class talking to the database) and are turned on/off in the config. This page is the catalogue; see Configuration to enable them and Writing a Plugin to add your own.

Per-plugin reference docs live under doc/plugins/.

How a plugin connects

A plugin does exactly one of three things with the database (a few do more than one): write keys (a source), read/subscribe to keys (a consumer), or derive keys from other keys (compute). It never talks to another plugin — only to the database, which notifies whoever subscribed. That is what lets you add a data source without changing anything downstream.

Plugins on in the shipped config: netfix, compute, annunciate, system, demo, flightplan and state_persist. Turn others on with their enabled: flag (Configuration). The one plugin marked not wired ships no connection file; write one and wire it in as Configuration describes.

Sources — bring data in

Simulators

Plugin	Brings in
xplane	X-Plane 11/12 over UDP — air data, attitude, position, nav radios and the X-Plane GPS; writes the HSI source back. See X-Plane
fgfs	FlightGear generic protocol — the same keys as xplane
demo	canned values and a scripted attitude/altitude/heading sequence — drives a display with no hardware
data_playback	replays data_recorder files (--playback-start-time, or data_playback.yaml)

GPS, navigators & ADS-B

Plugin	Brings in
gpsd	position, track, ground speed, GPS altitude, fix type and accuracy from a gpsd daemon
stratux	GDL90 from a Stratux: ADS-B traffic (TFC*), AHRS and ground speed; no position
navigator_adapter	an external navigator's RS-232 NMEA: position and EXT* guidance, see Navigator Adapter
garmin_gnx375	Garmin GNX 375 NMEA: position and EXT* guidance (GPS and nav only)
ifly	next waypoint (WPNAME, WPLAT, WPLON) from the iFly EFB over UDP; experimental

Buses & autopilots

Plugin	Brings in
canfix	the CAN-FIX bus — bidirectional. See CAN-FIX
canaerospace	CANaerospace engine data (Rotax 912iS / 915iS ECU), listen-only, see CANaerospace Input
dronecan	DroneCAN v0 sensors; listen-only unless given a node id
mavlink	an ArduPilot / Pixhawk link, mainly as a GPS, AHRS and air-data source; can send mode commands
megasquirt	MegaSquirt ECU over CAN: TACH1, FUELF1, H2OT1, MAP1, THR1
mgl	MGL RDAC over CAN

Serial EMS & avionics

Plugin	Brings in
dynon	Dynon D10/D100 serial stream
mgl_serial	MGL Avionics serial
grand_rapids_eis	Grand Rapids Technologies EIS
shadin	Shadin fuel protocol: FUELF1, FUELF2, FUELQT
onspeed	OnSpeed Gen2 AOA: AOA and AOA.Warn

Raspberry Pi & panel hardware

Plugin	Brings in
rpi_bno055	IMU attitude (BNO055)
rpi_bmp085	barometric pressure and altitude (BMP085)
rpi_mcp3008	8-channel SPI ADC, to VKEY1…VKEY8
rpi_rotary_encoder	one GPIO encoder writing a counter key, with an optional button-held second key
rpi_button	GPIO buttons
rpi_virtualwire	VirtualWire radio receiver for IAS / OAT
rtl_433	sensors decoded by rtl_433 on an RTL-SDR; shipped for tire pressure
knobster	Sim Innovations Knobster USB encoder
rais	a RAIS sensor pipeline
X728 / strom_pi	Pi UPS boards: power-fail and battery keys, and shutdown after a delay

Consumers — send data out

Plugin	Sends to
netfix	the network — pyEfis, moving maps, control heads, debug clients, over the NetFIX Protocol (TCP :3490). The main way anything off-box reads the database
canfix	out to CAN-FIX bus nodes (same plugin, both directions)
data_recorder	every key (or those matching key_prefixes) to hourly JSON files
db_persister	keys matching a regex to an HDF5 file — not wired
dimmer	DIM to a backlight brightness file

Compute & infrastructure

Plugin	Does
compute	derives keys — pressure and density altitude, wrap360 track, the NAVSRC and GPSSRC source selects, and more (see Architecture → The compute plugin)
flightplan	the GPS navigator: flies a route and writes guidance — see Flight Plan Engine
quorum	leader election between redundant gateways
annunciate	sets a key's annunciate flag when it crosses its alarm limits (lowAlarm/highAlarm by default)
command	an interactive console on the gateway's terminal (read, write, list, subscribe, flag)
state_persist	persists pilot selections (NAVSRC, GPSSRC) across restarts
system	the clock: TIMEZ* and TIMEL keys, once a second

Templates

• skel.py — the annotated starting point for a new plugin.
• test.py — a minimal plugin used in the test suite.

Enabling & the golden rule

Set a plugin's flag under enabled: in preferences.yaml.custom to load it, or clear it to unload it (Configuration). And before enabling two sources, confirm they don't write the same keys — two writers on one key fight (last-writer-wins).