Welcome, Data Provider
Thank you for contributing to PlaneTrack. Your account is ready. Save your credentials below, then install the data feeder on your receiver.
Your Credentials
Premium membership stays active while your feeder is sending data. You have 7 days to get set up; if the feeder goes quiet for more than 7 days, premium pauses and resumes automatically once data flows again.
Add PlaneTrack to Your Receiver
You already have a receiver decoding aircraft, so you only need to send a copy of that same data to PlaneTrack as well. Nothing you feed today stops or changes, and you do not need a second Pi or dongle. Pick the one option below that matches how your Pi is set up. If you are not sure, start with Option A.
The easy way: one command
RecommendedBest if you installed your feeders the usual way (FlightAware / PiAware, FlightRadar24, adsbexchange, or plain dump1090-fa / readsb). This adds a small background feeder that reads the data your Pi already produces and forwards a copy to us. Your key is already filled in below, so there is nothing to type in.
Step 1. Connect to your Pi. On a Mac or Linux computer, open Terminal. On Windows, open PowerShell or PuTTY. Then type this (change the name if your Pi is not the default "raspberrypi"):
Step 2. Copy this whole line, paste it in, and press Enter. It installs the feeder and starts it automatically:
curl -sSL https://planetrack.ai/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- YOUR_PROVIDER_KEYStep 3. Done. Within about a minute your receiver shows up on the map. To confirm it is running any time, use:
sudo systemctl status planetrack-feederYou should see the word active (running) in green. Press q to exit that screen.
Using Docker / Ultrafeeder? Add one line.
Choose this if your feeders run in Docker. You have a docker-compose.yml file with an ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG section (common on the adsb.im image and "adsb-feeder" setups). You are just adding PlaneTrack as one more destination.
Step 1. Open your docker-compose.yml and find the ULTRAFEEDER_CONFIG list. Add this as a new line alongside the ones already there (leave the others as they are):
adsb,feed.planetrack.ai,30004,beast_reduce_plus_outStep 2. In the same service's environment section, add your unique feeder ID (this credits your feed so your Premium stays active):
UUID=YOUR_FEEDER_UUIDStep 3. Save the file, then from that same folder restart the container:
docker compose up -dRunning plain readsb (not Docker)? Instead, add to /etc/default/readsb: --net-connector feed.planetrack.ai,30004,beast_reduce_plus_out --uuid=YOUR_FEEDER_UUID then run sudo systemctl restart readsb.
Turn on MLAT (help track planes with no GPS)
Beast feedersSome older aircraft only send a Mode-S ID, not a GPS position. When three or more nearby receivers hear the same one, PlaneTrack can work out where it is by comparing the tiny differences in when each receiver heard it (multilateration, or MLAT). Turning this on adds those aircraft to the map. It needs the Beast connection from Option B, and it needs your receiver's exact location.
Step 1. Make sure your receiver's location is set accurately (within about 25 metres). On Ultrafeeder that is the LAT, LONG and ALT environment values. MLAT will not work without this.
Step 2. Add PlaneTrack to your MLAT_CONFIG line (alongside any MLAT servers you already use):
mlat,feed.planetrack.ai,31090Step 3. Restart with docker compose up -d. On plain readsb instead, run mlat-client: mlat-client --input-connect 127.0.0.1:30005 --server feed.planetrack.ai:31090 --user YOURNAME --lat LAT --lon LON --alt ALT --results beast,connect,127.0.0.1:30104
MLAT only produces results once enough receivers overlap, so if you are one of the first in your area it may stay quiet until more neighbours join. Nothing else about your feed changes.
No receiver yet?
A Raspberry Pi with a $20 USB SDR dongle and a small antenna is all it takes. Install dump1090-fa or readsb so it is decoding aircraft, then come back here and follow Option A. Email us if you would like a hand getting started.