dronekit/dronekit-python

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

1927 stars · 1507 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

DroneKit-Python is a Python library for communicating with UAVs (drones) over the MAVLink protocol. It provides programmatic access to vehicle telemetry, state, and parameters, and supports mission management and direct vehicle control from companion computers or ground stations.

Use cases

• control a drone from a python script
• read drone telemetry over mavlink
• upload and run autonomous missions on a uav
• build companion computer apps for ardupilot vehicles
• simulate drone flight in sitl before flying
• monitor vehicle battery and gps state programmatically

When to choose

• you need python access to an ardupilot or mavlink-compatible drone
• you're building onboard companion computer logic like computer vision or path planning
• you want a high-level vehicle API instead of raw mavlink messages

When to avoid

• you need an actively maintained project with fast issue turnaround
• you're using PX4 or a non-ardupilot stack where MAVSDK may fit better
• you need a ground control station GUI rather than a programmatic API

Facets

library · maturity maintenance

sdk developer-tools robotics autonomous-vehicles developer-tools python windows cross-platform drones uav mavlink ardupilot companion-computer telemetry mission-planning linux macos

Member repositories

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="dronekit/dronekit-python")