Data checked 2026-09-13. Data checked within the review cycle.
Review cycles are documented on the Methodology page. Methodology
MAVLink
Solution Recipe Tier A communication_links
Marshalling / communication library for drones.
Engineering Snapshot
Use cases & tasks 3
- Best suited for
-
- engineers building UAV communication links
- Primary tasks
-
- Encode/decode drone messages
- UAV telemetry and command transport
Stack & ecosystem
- Resource type
- Solution Recipe
- Ecosystem
- communication_links
License & compliance
- License
- Unknown
Lifecycle & freshness Show
- Maintenance
- Active
- Latest version
- Not recorded
- Last activity
- 2026-09-12
- Last checked
- 2026-09-13
- Verification
- Official confirmed
What It Solves
Provide marshalling and communication capabilities for drones.
Primary use cases
- Encode/decode drone messages
- UAV telemetry and command transport
When to Use
Consider when
- standardized drone message format is required
Verify before adopting
- license status is unknown - confirm before adoption
- no hardware targets or protocols listed
Where It Fits
Stack layer communication_gcs
Start Here
Adoption Checklist
- Needs verification license status is unknown - confirm before adoption
- Needs verification no hardware targets or protocols listed
Each check stays "needs verification" until an official source confirms it; unconfirmed items are never marked verified.
Known Limitations & Unknowns
Known limitations
- license unknown
- no release version provided
Not publicly verified
- supported protocols
- hardware compatibility
- language bindings
Alternatives & Related Tools
Related tools
- qgroundcontrol — Used for
- mission-planner — Used for
- opendroneid-core — compatible with
How is it used?
Start from the recorded entry points below, then validate against the technical checklist.
- Official site http://mavlink.io
- Repository https://github.com/mavlink/mavlink
- Documentation http://mavlink.io
Technical checklist
- NEEDS REVIEW License identified No license field in any source response
- 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 | License: Unknown — No license field in any source response. |
|---|---|
| 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 | 2026-09-12 |
| Last checked | 2026-09-13 |
| First seen | Not recorded |
Related Resources & Dependencies
- qgroundcontrol — used for (verified)
- mission-planner — used for (verified)
- opendroneid-core — compatible with (verified)
Recent Activity
New resource: mavlink/mavlink
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.
- 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.
- Setting Up a PX4 SITL Loop with Gazebo — Build a local PX4 software-in-the-loop environment with Gazebo and QGroundControl.
- Tracing MAVLink and GCS Dependencies — Trace the protocol and ground control repositories before selecting an integration path.
- How PX4, MAVLink, and QGroundControl Fit Together — An architectural guide explaining how PX4 firmware, MAVLink telemetry protocol, and QGroundControl ground station interact across networks.
- 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.
- PX4 Development and Simulation Toolkit — The components needed to build a local PX4 development and software-in-the-loop verification loop.