MAVLink Interface

ArduPilot supports the MAVLink protocol for communication with Ground Stations and Companion Computers. These pages explain the details of this interface and commonly used commands:

• MAVLink Basics
• Request Data From The AutoPilot
• Get and Set Parameters
• Copter Commands (Guided Mode)
• Plane Commands (Guided Mode)
• Rover Commands (Guided Mode)
• Get and Set Home and/or EKF origin
• Arm and Disarm
• Get and Set FlightMode
• Camera Commands
• Gimbal / Camera Mount
• MAVFTP
• Mission Upload/Download
• Move a Servo
• Non-GPS Position Estimation
• Precision Landing
• RC Input (aka Pilot Input)
• Winch Commands
• MAVLink Routing
• Other Commands

Complete lists of Messages

MAVLink not only has command messages but also incoming messages. A complete list of all MAVLink messages in ArduPilot by vehicle type, as of November 2024, are shown below:

PlaneCopterRoverSub

MAVLink Messages

External References

• MAVLink Common Message Set (HTML) and XML (Protocol Definition)

• MAVLink ArduPilot Message Set (HTML) and XML

• MAVLink Tutorial for Absolute Dummies (Part–1) by Shyam Balasubramanian

Autonomous Mission Commands

Mission commands are stored on the flight controller in eeprom and executed one-by-one when the vehicle is switched into Auto mode. Although not directly related to the real-time MAVLink interface linked above, the available commands are a subset of the MAVLink MAV_CMD list

• Mission Command List
• Mission Command Package Format

See also: Copter Mission Command List

Vehicle Parameter References

• Copter Parameters

• Plane Parameters

• Rover Parameters

• Sub Parameters

Software Integration Tools

• MAVSDK <https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot-mavsdk>

• Pymavlink python script <https://github.com/ArduPilot/pymavlink>