# merbanan/rtl_433

Program to decode radio transmissions from devices on the ISM bands (and other frequencies)

Repository: https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rtl_433
Language: C
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: rtl-sdr, sdr, signal-processing, 433mhz, sensors, rf
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:02:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 28, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4974, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 264, "gap_med": 203.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7682, forks 1572 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:02.361904+00:00)

## What it is
rtl_433 is a generic data receiver written in C that decodes radio transmissions from devices on ISM bands such as 433.92 MHz, 868 MHz, 315 MHz, 345 MHz, and 915 MHz. It works with RTL-SDR and SoapySDR hardware, runs on low-resource embedded systems, and outputs decoded sensor data for further processing.

## Use cases
- decode weather station sensor data from 433 mhz radio signals
- read data from wireless doorbells and motion sensors with an rtl-sdr dongle
- capture tire pressure monitoring system transmissions
- log rf sensor readings to influxdb or mqtt for home automation
- reverse engineer unknown ism band device protocols
- run a low-power sensor receiver on a raspberry pi

## When to choose
- you have an RTL-SDR or SoapySDR-compatible receiver and want to decode ISM band sensor transmissions
- you need broad device protocol support with active community maintenance
- you want a lightweight C tool that runs on embedded or low-resource hardware
- you need decoded output in JSON or other formats for integration with home automation systems

## When to avoid
- you need to transmit RF signals rather than receive and decode them
- you work with cellular, WiFi, or other non-ISM frequencies
- you need a graphical interface rather than a command-line tool
- your device protocol is unsupported and you cannot contribute a decoder

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: parser, developer-tools
- domain: hardware, iot, embedded-systems
- platform: windows, bsd, cli, embedded
- tags: rtl-sdr, sdr, rf-decoding, 433mhz, sensors, ism-band, soapy-sdr, home-automation, signal-processing, automation, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- merbanan/rtl_433 (main) score 74

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:02.361904+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 2026-08-29T17:36:02.411091+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:02.361904+00:00, sha 271dffc201b3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.