iNavFlight · sensei-hacker · Sep 14, 2025 · Sep 14, 2025 · Sep 15, 2025 · Sep 23, 2025
diff --git a/cmake/main.cmake b/cmake/main.cmake
@@ -108,10 +108,10 @@ function(setup_firmware_target exe name)
 endfunction()
 
 function(exclude_from_all target)
-    set_property(TARGET ${target} PROPERTY
+    set_target_properties(${target} PROPERTIES
         TARGET_MESSAGES OFF
-        EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
-        EXCLUDE_FROM_DEFAULT_BUILD 1)
+        EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL ON
+        EXCLUDE_FROM_DEFAULT_BUILD ON)
 endfunction()
 
 function(collect_targets)

diff --git a/cmake/sitl.cmake b/cmake/sitl.cmake
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ main_sources(SITL_SRC
     target/SITL/sim/realFlight.h
     target/SITL/sim/simHelper.c
     target/SITL/sim/simHelper.h
-    target/SITL/sim/simple_soap_client.c
-    target/SITL/sim/simple_soap_client.h
+    target/SITL/sim/soap_client.c
+    target/SITL/sim/soap_client.h
     target/SITL/sim/xplane.c
     target/SITL/sim/xplane.h
 )
@@ -163,8 +163,8 @@ function (target_sitl name)
             WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
             COMMAND ${generator_cmd} clean
             COMMENT "Removing intermediate files for ${name}")
-        set_property(TARGET ${clean_target} PROPERTY
-            EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL 1
-            EXCLUDE_FROM_DEFAULT_BUILD 1)
+        set_target_properties(${clean_target} PROPERTIES
+            EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL ON
+            EXCLUDE_FROM_DEFAULT_BUILD ON)
     endif()
 endfunction()
diff --git a/docs/Backup and Restore.md b/docs/Backup and Restore.md
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# Backup and Restore
+
+INAV Configurator can automatically back up your configuration before flashing firmware and offer to restore it afterwards. When upgrading across major versions (e.g. 7.x → 8.x → 9.x), settings are automatically migrated to the new firmware format.
+
+For manual CLI-based backup and restore, see the [CLI documentation](Cli.md#backup-via-cli).
+
+## Automatic Backup & Restore During Firmware Flash
+
+### What happens automatically
+
+1. **Before flashing** (with or without Full Chip Erase enabled): Your current CLI configuration (`diff all`) is automatically captured and saved to the backup directory.
+2. **After flashing**: Depending on the situation, the Configurator offers to restore your settings if Full Chip Erase was enabled:
+
+| Scenario | Behavior |
+|----------|----------|
+| **Patch update** (e.g. 8.0.0 → 8.0.1) | Auto-restore offered immediately |
+| **Minor update** (e.g. 8.0.0 → 8.1.0) | Auto-restore offered immediately |
+| **Major upgrade** (e.g. 7.x → 8.x) with migration profile available | Migration preview shown — confirm to restore with converted settings |
+| **Major upgrade** without migration profile | Warning shown — restore still possible but some settings may fail |
+| **Major downgrade** (e.g. 9.x → 7.x) | Auto-restore blocked — manual restore only (settings may be incompatible) |
+| **Local firmware file** (loaded from disk) | No auto-restore offered — backup is still saved |
+| **Flash without Full Chip Erase** | Backup taken, no restore offered |
+
+### Migration Preview
+
+When updating across major versions (e.g. 7.x → 9.x), the Configurator shows a **migration preview overlay** before restoring. This lists:
+
+- **Removed settings** — settings that no longer exist in the new firmware (will be skipped)
+- **Renamed settings** — settings whose name changed (automatically converted)
+- **Renamed commands** — CLI commands that were renamed (automatically converted)
+- **Value replacements** — setting values that changed meaning (automatically converted)
+- **Setting remappings** — numeric IDs that were renumbered (automatically converted)
+- **Warnings** — settings whose semantics changed and require manual review
+
+You can review all changes before confirming or cancelling the restore.
+
+Multi-step migrations are handled automatically. For example, a 7.x → 9.x upgrade applies migration profiles in sequence (7→8, then 8→9).
+
+## Manual Backup & Restore
+
+The Firmware Flasher tab provides three buttons:
+
+- **Backup Config** — saves your current CLI configuration to a file (opens save dialog)
+- **Restore Config** — loads a backup file and restores it to your flight controller
+  - If the backup is from a different major version, the migration preview is shown first
+  - If no migration profile exists for the version gap, a warning is shown but you can still proceed
+- **Open Backups Folder** — opens the backup directory in your file manager
+
+For CLI-based backup and restore procedures, see [Backup via CLI](Cli.md#backup-via-cli) and [Restore via CLI](Cli.md#restore-via-cli).
+
+## Backup File Location
+
+Backups are stored in your OS-specific application data directory:
+
+| OS | Path |
+|----|------|
+| **Windows** | `%APPDATA%/inav-configurator/backups/` |
+| **macOS** | `~/Library/Application Support/inav-configurator/backups/` |
+| **Linux** | `~/.config/inav-configurator/backups/` |
+
+Use the **Open Backups Folder** button in the Firmware Flasher tab to open this directory.
+
+## Backup File Naming
+
+| Type | Format |
+|------|--------|
+| Auto-backups | `UPDATE_inav_backup_{version}_{board}_{YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS}.txt` |
+| Manual backups | `inav_backup_{version}_{board}_{YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS}.txt` |
+
+Auto-backups are pruned automatically — only the 10 most recent are kept. Files you rename are never pruned.
+
+## Backup File Format
+
+Backup files are plain-text CLI dumps with a metadata header:
+
+```
+# INAV Backup
+# Version: 8.0.0
+# Board: SPEEDYBEEF405V4
+# Date: 2026-04-11T10:30:00.000Z
+# Craft: MyQuad
+#
+# INAV/SPEEDYBEEF405V4 8.0.0 Apr  1 2026 / 12:00:00 (abc1234)
+# GCC-13.2.1
+# ...
+set gyro_main_lpf_hz = 110
+set acc_hardware = AUTO
+...
+```
+
+You can open and edit these files with any text editor.
+
+## Restore Error Handling
+
+If errors occur during restore (e.g. unknown settings, invalid values):
+
+- An error dialog shows the affected lines
+- You can choose:
+  - **Save anyway** — saves the successfully applied settings and reboots
+  - **Abort** — discards all changes and exits CLI mode
+
+## Tips
+
+- **Always flash with Full Chip Erase** when upgrading to a new version. This ensures clean defaults and triggers automatic backup and restore.
+- **Review migration previews carefully** — especially the warnings section, which highlights settings whose meaning may have changed.
+- **Keep manual backups** before major upgrades. While auto-backup handles this, having an extra copy in a known location gives peace of mind.
+- **Use `diff` over `dump`** for backups. The `diff` format only stores settings that differ from defaults, which makes restoring safer across versions. The auto-backup feature already uses `diff all`.
diff --git a/docs/Cli.md b/docs/Cli.md
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ See the other documentation sections for details of the cli commands and setting
 
 ## Backup via CLI
 
+> **Note:** The INAV Configurator now performs automatic backups before flashing and can restore settings afterwards, including migration across major versions. See [Backup and Restore](Backup%20and%20Restore.md) for details. The CLI method below remains available for manual backup.
+
 Disconnect main power, connect to cli via USB/FTDI.
 
 dump using cli

diff --git a/docs/Configuration.md b/docs/Configuration.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ See the Serial section for more information and see the Board specific sections
 The GUI cannot currently configure all aspects of the system, the CLI must be used to enable or configure
 some features and settings.
 
-__Due to ongoing development, the fact that the GUI cannot yet backup all your settings and automatic chrome updates of the GUI app it is highly advisable to backup your settings (using the CLI) so that when a new version of the configurator or firmware is released you can re-apply your settings.__
+__The INAV Configurator now (versions after 9.0.x) automatically backs up your settings before flashing firmware and can restore them afterwards (when Full Chip Erase is enabled), including automatic migration across major versions. For details, see [Backup and Restore](Backup%20and%20Restore.md). You can also manually backup and restore settings using the [CLI](Cli.md#backup-via-cli).__
 
 
 ## GUI

diff --git a/docs/Installation.md b/docs/Installation.md
@@ -27,4 +27,8 @@ When upgrading be sure to backup / dump your existing settings.  Some firmware r
 
 ## Backup/Restore process
 
-See the CLI section of the docs for details on how to backup and restore your configuration via the CLI.
+The INAV Configurator (after version 9.0.x) automatically backs up your configuration before flashing and offers to restore it afterwards (when Full Chip Erase is enabled) — including automatic settings migration when upgrading across major versions.
+
+For details on automatic and manual backup/restore, see [Backup and Restore](Backup%20and%20Restore.md).
+
+For CLI-based backup and restore, see the [CLI documentation](Cli.md#backup-via-cli).
diff --git a/docs/Rx.md b/docs/Rx.md
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ bind_msp_rx <port>
 
 ## MultiWii serial protocol (MSP RX)
 
-Allows you to use MSP commands as the RC input. Up to 18 channels are supported.
+Allows you to use MSP commands as the RC input. Up to 34 channels are supported.
 Note:
 * It is necessary to update `MSP_SET_RAW_RC` at 5Hz or faster.
 * `MSP_SET_RAW_RC` uses the defined RC channel map
@@ -213,6 +213,31 @@ Note:
 
 Enables the use of a joystick in the INAV SITL with a flight simulator. See the [SITL documentation](SITL/SITL.md).
 
+## MSP Auxiliary RC Channel Overlay (MSP2_INAV_SET_AUX_RC)
+
+Allows extending the available RC channel count beyond the native RC link capacity using `MSP2_INAV_SET_AUX_RC` (`0x2230`). This is a lightweight, bandwidth-efficient alternative to `MSP_SET_RAW_RC` for auxiliary channels only.
+
+**Key properties:**
+- Controls **CH13–CH32** only (CH1–CH12 are protected and rejected)
+- Configurable resolution: 2-bit (3 positions), 4-bit (~71µs steps), 8-bit (~3.9µs steps), or 16-bit (raw PWM)
+- Value `0` = skip (no update) — previous value persists indefinitely
+- No flight mode or special configuration required — always active
+- Does **not** affect failsafe detection
+- Recommended to send with `MSP_FLAG_DONT_REPLY` (`flags=0x01`) on telemetry passthrough links
+
+**Typical use case:** A Lua script on the radio sends `MSP2_INAV_SET_AUX_RC` via SmartPort/CRSF/ELRS telemetry passthrough to control auxiliary functions (lights, camera triggers, gimbal modes) on channels beyond the RC link's native capacity.
+
+**Priority order** (last writer wins):
+1. Primary RX (SBUS, CRSF, FPort, etc.)
+2. MSP RC Override (if active)
+3. **MSP AUX Overlay** (CH13–CH32)
+
+**Important:** For serial RX protocols, the firmware cannot detect which channels the sender actively uses. If AUX_RC targets a channel that the RX link also sends, AUX_RC will override it. Configure the start channel above your RC link's active channel range.
+
+When MSP is the primary RX provider (`receiver_type = MSP`), channels covered by `MSP_SET_RAW_RC` are automatically protected. Channels in the `msp_override_channels` bitmask are also protected when MSP RC Override mode is active.
+
+See the [MSP documentation](development/msp/README.md) for the full message format.
+
 ## Configuration
 
 The receiver type can be set from the configurator or CLI.