Data checked 2026-09-13. Data checked within the review cycle.
Review cycles are documented on the Methodology page. Methodology
ArduPilot
Flight Stack Tier A flight_control GPL-3.0
ArduPlane, ArduCopter, ArduRover, ArduSub source
Engineering Snapshot
Use cases & tasks 5
- Best suited for
-
- UAV developers
- hobbyists
- researchers needing multi-vehicle autopilot
- Primary tasks
-
- Building flight control for planes, copters, rovers, subs
- Mission planning via GCS
Stack & ecosystem
- Resource type
- Flight Stack
- Ecosystem
- arducopter · ardupilot · arduplane · ardurover · ardusub · autopilot
License & compliance
- License
-
GPL-3.0(Inferred)
Lifecycle & freshness Show
- Maintenance
- Active
- Latest version
- Not recorded
- Last activity
- 2026-09-13
- Last checked
- 2026-09-13
- Verification
- Official confirmed
What It Solves
Provides open-source autopilot firmware (ArduPlane, ArduCopter, ArduRover, ArduSub) for UAV/UGV/UUV control.
Primary use cases
- Building flight control for planes, copters, rovers, subs
- Mission planning via GCS
Secondary use cases
- ROS integration
- DroneKit scripting
- Simulation via ecosystem tools
When to Use
Consider when
- Need open-source flight stack with broad vehicle type support
- Project compatible with GPL-3.0
Verify before adopting
- License is inferred GPL-3.0; confirm for commercial use
- Hardware target compatibility not listed in provided data
- Latest version/release not provided
Where It Fits
Stack layer flight_control
Start Here
Adoption Checklist
- Needs verification License is inferred GPL-3.0; confirm for commercial use
- Needs verification Hardware target compatibility not listed in provided data
- Needs verification Latest version/release not provided
Each check stays "needs verification" until an official source confirms it; unconfirmed items are never marked verified.
Known Limitations & Unknowns
Known limitations
- GPL-3.0 inferred may restrict proprietary integration
- No hardware targets specified in supplied facts
Not publicly verified
- Latest version unspecified
- Specific board support not enumerated
Alternatives & Related Tools
Related tools
- mavlink — depends on
- dronekit-python — Integrates with
- cosys-airsim — Integrates with
How is it used?
Start from the recorded entry points below, then validate against the technical checklist.
- Official site http://ardupilot.org/
- Repository https://github.com/ArduPilot/ardupilot
- Documentation http://ardupilot.org/
Technical checklist
- OK License identified Recorded: GPL-3.0
- OK Maintenance signal Active
- OK Verification status Official confirmed
- OK Source evidence attached 1 source record(s)
- NEEDS REVIEW Latest version recorded Not recorded
Official Links
Metadata & Governance
| License | GPL-3.0 — Inferred |
|---|---|
| Commercial model | Unknown |
| Maintenance status | Active |
| Verification status | Official confirmed — Confirmed via the official repository API responses in SourceRefs below. |
| Latest version | Not recorded |
| Latest release | Not recorded |
| Last activity | 2026-09-13 |
| Last checked | 2026-09-13 |
| First seen | Not recorded |
Related Resources & Dependencies
- mavlink — depends on (confirmed)
- dronekit-python — integrates with (confirmed)
- cosys-airsim — integrates with (verified)
Recent Activity
New resource: ArduPilot/ardupilot
New resource added to the OpenFly index.
Related Knowledge
Guides
- How ArduPilot, MAVLink, and Ground Control Stations Fit Together — A practical guide for routing ArduPilot MAVLink telemetry to primary GCS applications and MAVProxy companion nodes.
- Comparing Flight-Stack Repositories — A source-linked method for comparing flight-control repositories without inventing conclusions.
- How to Evaluate a UAV Open-Source Project — A repeatable checklist for deciding whether an open-source UAV project is worth adopting.
- Choosing a Ground Control Station — A checklist for choosing a ground control station against your protocol and workflow needs.
- Tracing MAVLink and GCS Dependencies — Trace the protocol and ground control repositories before selecting an integration path.
- How to Review a Source-Backed UAV Resource — A checklist for checking provenance, license evidence and update time before adopting a UAV resource.
Collections
- ArduPilot Development and SITL Toolkit — Open components for developing against ArduPilot with software-in-the-loop simulation.
- Open-Source Flight Control Stacks — Open-source autopilot firmware repositories for building or evaluating a flight stack.
- GCS and Telemetry Protocols — Ground control software and telemetry protocol repositories for command, monitoring and integration work.
- Ground Control and Mission Planning — Open components for mission planning, telemetry and ground control around MAVLink-based vehicles.
- MAVLink Ecosystem — The protocol and its reference consumers for building or evaluating MAVLink-based UAV integrations.
- Evaluating Open-Source Flight Stacks — A structured path for comparing candidate open-source flight stacks on evidence, not marketing.
- Simulation and Mapping Toolchains — Open-source simulation and mapping repositories used for development, testing and survey workflows.
Comparisons
- Open-Source Flight Stack Field Comparison — Field-level comparison of repository metadata recorded from the official GitHub API on 2026-08-02. No architecture, safety or performance comparison is attempted without field-level evidence.
- PX4 vs ArduPilot Flight Stacks — Metadata and repository facts recorded from the official GitHub API on 2026-08-02. Architecture, certification and performance are deliberately not compared because the indexed sources do not provide field-level evidence.