Data Sources

Data Sources

Source	Required?	Provides
FR24 API	Yes (full app)	Routes, airlines, flight details, tracked flights, enriched radar
adsb.fi	Optional (on by default)	Free live positions over the internet - merges with FR24 or fills the radar when FR24 is off (ADSB_ENABLED=True). Not a USB ADS-B receiver.
Local dump1090 / readsb / tar1090	Optional	Local aircraft.json positions (DUMP1090_ENABLED + URL). Lower latency near your antenna; preferred over adsb.fi when both match.
aisstream.io	Optional	Live marine AIS vessel positions on the radar (set traffic mode to marine or both)
planespotters.net	Optional (automatic)	Aircraft photos on flight detail (by hex / registration)
Wikimedia Commons	Optional (automatic)	Vessel photos on marine detail; aircraft type photo fallback
Tomorrow.io	Yes (weather)	Clock temperature and multi-day forecast
CAL FIRE	Optional (California)	Active wildfire incidents on the radar + Fire Details (counties, acres, containment); no API key
NIFC WFIGS	Optional (USA/Canada)	Current wildland fire incident locations outside California (AirNow large-fire layer); no API key
NASA FIRMS	Optional (rest of world)	Satellite wildfire hotspots when the radar is outside the USA and Canada (free MAP_KEY)
AirLabs	Optional	Scheduled departure info when a tracked flight is not yet airborne; route enrichment
FlightAware AeroAPI	Optional	Route fallback when FR24/AirLabs lack origin/destination (capped monthly spend - not a live radar feed)
OpenSky Network	Optional	Further route fallback when FR24/AirLabs/FlightAware lack origin/destination; derived from position history (destination often empty while airborne)
LiveATC	Optional	Manual ATC audio to a USB or Bluetooth speaker via mpv (portal / Settings → ATC)
LibreWXR / RainViewer	Optional (automatic)	Precipitation radar overlay when enabled on the Radar card
OurAirports	Optional (automatic)	Runway centerlines and airport icons when enabled

Route enrichment order

AirLabs, FlightAware, and OpenSky are tried in an order you control with ROUTE_SOURCE_ORDER in /etc/flightscnr.env (see .env.example). Default when unset: airlabs,flightaware,opensky.

Example — fully free/open-source route lookup (never calls AirLabs or FlightAware):

ROUTE_SOURCE_ORDER=opensky

Caching and offline data

API responses are cached (e.g. FR24 feed ~90s, flight details ~30 min, weather ~1 hr) to reduce quota use during 24/7 operation. Weather refresh aligns to a :01 / :31 cadence with Tomorrow.io rate-limit hardening.

Offline databases (airports.json, airlines.json, icao_types.json) download on first run.

Minimal vs full setup

• Full experience: FR24_API_KEY + TOMORROW_API_KEY (and optional keys for AIS, AirLabs, FlightAware, OpenSky, FIRMS).
• adsb.fi only: without FR24 you still get radar positions and basic tags - no routes or rich detail screens. Set ADSB_ENABLED=True and your home location.
• ATC audio: install mpv (and Bluetooth packages if needed); no LiveATC API key required.

Keys are entered in the Web Portal → API Keys, or via config.h / /etc/flightscnr.env. See config.h.example and .env.example in the repo.