# mavlink/mavlink

Marshalling / communication library for drones.

Repository: https://github.com/mavlink/mavlink
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mavlink
Homepage: http://mavlink.io
Language: Python
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-26T05:51:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5500, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2404, forks 2238 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:43.958129+00:00)

## What it is
MAVLink is a lightweight, header-only message marshalling library and protocol for communication between drones, onboard components, and ground control stations. It defines message sets (dialects) in XML and provides Python tooling to generate libraries for multiple languages, optimized for low-bandwidth and resource-constrained systems.

## Use cases
- communicate between a drone and ground control station
- generate MAVLink C headers from XML dialect definitions
- build telemetry links for UAVs over low-bandwidth links
- integrate autopilots like PX4 or ArduPilot with custom software
- control multiple drones from a single ground station
- implement drone communication on resource-constrained microcontrollers

## When to choose
- you need a field-proven, bandwidth-efficient drone communication protocol
- you work with PX4, ArduPilot, or other MAVLink-compatible autopilots
- you need interoperability between components from different manufacturers
- you target embedded systems with limited RAM and flash

## When to avoid
- you need message encryption rather than just signing
- you want a high-level drone API rather than a low-level message protocol (consider MAVSDK)
- your project has nothing to do with drones or ground control stations

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: serialization, networking, sdk, developer-tools
- domain: robotics, embedded-systems
- platform: cross-platform, python, cpp, c, embedded, windows
- tags: mavlink, drones, uav, message-marshalling, ground-control-station, autopilot, telemetry, header-only, protocol, automation, linux, macos, android, ios

## Member repositories
- mavlink/mavlink (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:43.958129+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:34:10.743797+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mavlink/mavlink (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:43.958129+00:00, sha 295809a629b5)
  - homepage: http://mavlink.io (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:34.036455+00:00, sha ce98d5d60862)
  - site_page: https://mavlink.io/en/about/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:34.045393+00:00, sha d4124dac0f9e)
  - site_page: https://mavlink.io/en/about/implementations.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:34.047390+00:00, sha 5e29fcf26f46)
  - site_page: https://mavlink.io/en/about/support.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:14:34.048950+00:00, sha ee1a4e91ba97)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.