Input Module

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Input Module

Duopilo can press buttons and set switches – as Pilot Monitoring, on the pilot's call, with readback and confirmation. Actions are currently defined for the FlyByWire A32NX and the Headwind A330-900neo; most of them are not yet verified in the sim.

Locked by default

Unlock in the dashboard: click Input locked twice in the callouts bar ("Really unlock?"). The bar also shows the pending action with a countdown (including one prepared through Claude Desktop), lets you cancel it, and lists every input with ✓/✗.

Alternatively Duopilo:Input:Enabled in appsettings.Local.json – the dashboard switch takes precedence and applies to all Duopilo instances.

Two steps

1. You say "Set speed two five zero". Claude calls prepare_action; Duopilo checks value and interlocks and returns the readback: "Speed 250 selected". Nothing changes yet.
2. Claude reads it back. Only after your "confirm" does Claude call confirm_action. Duopilo checks the interlocks again against the current state, executes, and reads back from the aircraft whether the value arrived.

"Negative" or a corrected value discards it. A prepared action expires after 60 s; there is only ever one.

With the voice loop, confidently recognized commands are executed directly and called out afterwards ("Speed two five zero set"); the readback route is used when recognition is uncertain or a caution applies.

What works (A32NX)

Area	Actions
FCU	speed (selected/managed), heading (selected/managed), altitude, pull/push, increment 100/1000, V/S, LOC, APPR, EXPED, AP 1/2, A/THR
EFIS	QNH in hPa, STD/QNH, LS, FD, ND mode and range (captain)
Configuration	gear, flap lever, speedbrake, arm ground spoilers
Brakes	autobrake OFF/LO/MED/MAX
Lights	beacon, wing, runway turn-off, landing (on/off/retract), nose (T.O/taxi/off), strobe (on/auto/off)
Signs	seat belts, no smoking/no PED
Anti-ice	engines (both or individually), wing, probe/window heat
Air/APU/Elec	pack 1/2, APU master, APU start, APU bleed, external power (on the ground with GPU)
Transponder	squawk, mode, ALT RPTG, TCAS mode and traffic
Radio	COM 1 standby, swap

NAV & LOGO is missing on the A32NX (only reachable as a B: input event). Details per aircraft: docs/aircraft.md.

What never works

Engine masters, ignition/start, thrust, fire handles and agents, fuel (pumps, crossfeed), hydraulics (pumps, PTU, RAT), IDG disconnect, MCDU, pause/slew/sim control – not even with a confirmation. Anything that can damage the aircraft or is irreversible, the pilots do themselves.

This is fixed in code; an edited profile can't get around it:

• Only events from a fixed list (FCU, autobrake, gear, flaps, spoilers, lights, signs, transponder, COM).
• Only L: variables are written, never standard SimVars – and the block list applies there too.
• Gear and flaps only through their events, and only together with the matching interlock.
• Areas and IDs like Engine, Fuel, Fire, Hydraulic, eng.*, fuel.*, *.idg1 are removed on load.
• Safety-relevant switches only exist under their standard ID (gear.down, air.pack1 …), so the interlocks always apply.
• There is no tool that writes arbitrary events or variables.

Interlocks

Rejected with a reason:

• gear up only in the air
• gear down only up to VLO (A320/A330: 250 kt) and below maxGearAltitudeFt (25,000 ft)
• flaps only up to the VFE of the new setting
• no speedbrake in the inhibited flap settings (speedbrakeInhibitFlaps, A320/A330: FULL)
• batteries off and both packs off only on the ground (one pack off in flight is fine)
• APU master off not while APU bleed is on
• ADIRS off only on the ground

Plus per-action conditions, e.g. V/S and heading not in TRK/FPA mode, QNH only in QNH mode, APU start only with APU master on.

Extra confirmation with a caution

A second "confirm" after the readback for:

• transponder STBY, ALT RPTG off, TCAS STBY in flight
• squawk 7500 / 7600 / 7700
• ADIRS off on the ground
• AP 1/2 and A/THR off in flight
• FCU altitude below the MSA or outside the ATC clearance

The first confirm_action returns status: "awaiting_caution_confirmation" with a caution ("Caution, transponder standby in flight. Confirm transponder standby?"). Only the second "confirm" with the same token executes. Skipped if the switch is already in that position.

Missing limits in the profile (VLO/VLE, VFE, maxGearAltitudeFt, speedbrakeInhibitFlaps, msaSource) also require the extra confirmation – shown as "Limit missing" in the dashboard and as profileWarnings in duopilo_status.

How Duopilo checks the result

• Values are set absolutely. Already set → nothing is written, alreadySet.
• The new value has to hold (holdMs, default 1 s). If the aircraft resets it (e.g. APU START without power), it counts as not accepted.
• verification in the response:

Value	Meaning
confirmed	a real aircraft state was read (FCU display, flap lever, light, contactor …)
unverified	only the switch position could be read; the effect isn't proven
failed	the aircraft didn't accept the value

• Gear and flaps: after gear.down Duopilo waits until all legs are locked – "Gear down, three green" – otherwise "Gear disagree" after 20 s. Likewise "Flaps two" once flaps and slats have stopped, otherwise "Flaps disagree".
• With an old token, confirm_action tells you what happened to the action (replaced, expired, already used, other instance).

Remembering verified actions

Actions marked "verified": true in the profile were tested in the sim. Duopilo remembers more in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Duopilo\verified-actions.json:

• automatically when an execution was confirmed;
• via mark_action_verified when you saw an unverified action work in the cockpit ("Seatbelts on", "APU avail", "check").

If an action's definition changes, its stored verification no longer applies. list_actions shows verified per action: profile, sim, pilot or empty.

Defining actions

Actions live in the aircraft profile under actions (events, variables, readback, check, requires). See Aircraft Profiles.