Ident

Live traffic from your own ADS-B receiver, in a fast modern display for desktop, tablet, and phone.

Ident gives a local receiver a clearer day-to-day screen: map, traffic list, aircraft details, receiver status, and range overlays in one place. It runs beside the decoder and feeder software you already use, so your receiver can keep hearing and sharing aircraft the same way it does today.

What You Get

A modern ADS-B traffic screen built around your receiver data.
Omnibar search and filters for flights, registrations, squawks, aircraft types, altitude bands, and route hints.
Day and night themes with map labels, panels, and telemetry tuned for each mode.
First-class mobile views with the same map, filters, and aircraft details as desktop.
Aircraft inspector for live telemetry, signal quality, message age, route context, photos, and raw receiver fields.
One embedded identd service for Docker, systemd, packages, and standalone binary installs.

Ident is a display and operator console. It is not a radio decoder, feeder client, or MLAT client.

Receiver Compatibility

Ident is built for common self-hosted ADS-B receiver stacks.

Stack	Support
readsb	Live aircraft, receiver metadata, stats, and range outline.
ultrafeeder	readsb-compatible live aircraft, receiver metadata, stats, and range outline.
dump1090-fa	Live aircraft display from JSON output. Optional metadata depends on the install.
PiAware	Installs that expose dump1090-fa JSON output.

The basic requirement is read-only access to the directory where your receiver writes aircraft.json. If optional files are missing, Ident still shows live traffic with fewer receiver details.

Install

Ident ships as identd, a single local service that serves the web app and streams receiver updates to browsers. Release builds embed the web UI into the Go binary with go:embed.

Pick the install style that matches how you manage the receiver today:

Debian package for PiAware, readsb, and other Debian/Raspberry Pi OS receiver boxes.
Docker Compose when your receiver stack already runs in containers.
Standalone binary for manual installs, non-Debian systems, and testing.

Debian Package

Run this on the receiver host to download the latest .deb for its CPU and install it:

set -eu
case "$(dpkg --print-architecture)" in
  amd64) ident_arch=linux-amd64 ;;
  arm64) ident_arch=linux-arm64 ;;
  armhf) ident_arch=linux-armv7 ;;
  *)
    echo "Unsupported Debian architecture: $(dpkg --print-architecture)" >&2
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

curl -fL \
  "https://github.com/Ident-1090/Ident/releases/latest/download/identd-${ident_arch}.deb" \
  -o identd.deb
sudo apt install ./identd.deb

This covers amd64, arm64, and 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS armhf installs.

Start Ident:

sudo systemctl enable --now identd

Then open this from another device on the same network:

http://receiver.local:8080/

If your receiver is not named receiver.local, use its hostname or IP address.

Most readsb and PiAware-style installs need no config change. If Ident cannot find traffic, edit /etc/ident/identd.env and set the receiver JSON directory:

IDENT_DATA_DIR=/run/readsb

Then restart:

sudo systemctl restart identd

Docker Compose

For Docker installs, use Compose so the service starts again after reboot and keeps the receiver data mount in one place.

If the decoder writes JSON on the host, mount that directory read-only:

services:
  ident:
    image: ghcr.io/ident-1090/ident:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      IDENT_ADDR: ":8080"
      IDENT_DATA_DIR: "/run/readsb"
    volumes:
      - /run/readsb:/run/readsb:ro

The left side of the volume is the path on the receiver host. The right side is the path inside the Ident container, and should match IDENT_DATA_DIR. Recent trails are kept by identd; Docker's writable container layer preserves the compressed trail cache across a normal docker restart.

If Ident is being added to an existing Compose stack, share the same receiver JSON volume with the decoder service:

services:
  receiver:
    # Your existing readsb, dump1090-fa, or ultrafeeder service.
    volumes:
      - receiver-json:/run/readsb

  ident:
    image: ghcr.io/ident-1090/ident:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      IDENT_ADDR: ":8080"
      IDENT_DATA_DIR: "/run/readsb"
    volumes:
      - receiver-json:/run/readsb:ro

volumes:
  receiver-json:

In that layout, the decoder writes aircraft.json into the shared volume and Ident reads the same files without needing direct access to the host filesystem.

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Then open it from the receiver host or another device on the same network:

http://receiver.local:8080/

Standalone Binary

For manual installs, download the latest binary archive for the current OS and CPU:

set -eu

case "$(uname -s)" in
  Linux) ident_os=linux ;;
  Darwin) ident_os=darwin ;;
  FreeBSD) ident_os=freebsd ;;
  *)
    echo "Unsupported OS: $(uname -s)" >&2
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

case "$(uname -m)" in
  x86_64|amd64) ident_arch=amd64 ;;
  aarch64|arm64) ident_arch=arm64 ;;
  armv7l|armv7*) ident_arch=armv7 ;;
  *)
    echo "Unsupported CPU: $(uname -m)" >&2
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

curl -fL \
  "https://github.com/Ident-1090/Ident/releases/latest/download/identd-${ident_os}-${ident_arch}.tar.gz" \
  -o identd.tar.gz
tar -xzf identd.tar.gz

./identd \
  --addr 0.0.0.0:8080 \
  --data-dir /run/readsb

Use --addr 127.0.0.1:8080 when Ident is behind a same-host reverse proxy. Use --addr 0.0.0.0:8080 when other devices on your LAN should connect directly.

Finding Receiver Data

Ident needs read-only access to the directory containing aircraft.json. Common paths are:

/run/readsb
/run/dump1090-fa

Check the receiver host:

ls /run/readsb/aircraft.json
ls /run/dump1090-fa/aircraft.json

Use the path that exists as IDENT_DATA_DIR or --data-dir.

Configuration

Most installs only need an address and a receiver data directory.

IDENT_ADDR=127.0.0.1:8080

When IDENT_DATA_DIR is unset, identd looks for aircraft.json in common receiver runtime directories such as /run/readsb and /run/dump1090-fa. Set IDENT_DATA_DIR when your receiver writes JSON somewhere else.

Ident serves at the URL root by default. If your reverse proxy passes a path prefix through to identd, set the same prefix on the service:

IDENT_BASE_PATH=/ident

If your reverse proxy strips the prefix before forwarding, leave IDENT_BASE_PATH unset. Do not both strip the prefix and set IDENT_BASE_PATH.

Receiver file names are configurable for stacks that use a different layout.

IDENT_DATA_DIR=/run/readsb
IDENT_AIRCRAFT_FILE=aircraft.json
IDENT_RECEIVER_FILE=receiver.json
IDENT_STATS_FILE=stats.json
IDENT_OUTLINE_FILE=outline.json

For PiAware and dump1090-fa, set IDENT_DATA_DIR to the directory where aircraft.json is written.

Trails

Ident keeps recent aircraft trails inside identd instead of requiring a separate history producer. The defaults retain two hours, sample each aircraft at most once every five seconds, and write a compressed restart cache once a minute.

IDENT_TRAILS_MEMORY_WINDOW_SEC=7200
IDENT_TRAILS_SAMPLE_INTERVAL_SEC=5
IDENT_TRAILS_RESTART_CACHE=true
IDENT_TRAILS_RESTART_CACHE_DIR=/var/cache/ident
IDENT_TRAILS_RESTART_CACHE_INTERVAL_SEC=60

Disabling the restart cache keeps trails memory-only; they will be lost when identd exits.

Replay

Replay is opt-in because it writes longer-lived history blocks. When enabled, identd samples live aircraft.json, closes one compressed block every five minutes, writes an index, and prunes old blocks by both age and byte budget. The byte budget is mandatory so a misconfigured receiver cannot fill the host disk.

IDENT_REPLAY_ENABLE=true
IDENT_REPLAY_DIR=/var/lib/ident/replay
IDENT_REPLAY_RETENTION_SEC=259200
IDENT_REPLAY_MAX_BYTES=524288000
IDENT_REPLAY_BLOCK_SEC=300
IDENT_REPLAY_SAMPLE_INTERVAL_SEC=5

With the example above, Ident keeps up to three days of replay data and never keeps more than 500 MiB of finalized blocks. The currently open block is not listed or served until it rolls over, so the smallest replay unit is five minutes.

identd can serve replay blocks itself through /api/replay/blocks/*. Replay blocks are JSON compressed with zstd. For busy public displays, put the replay directory behind the reverse proxy and let the proxy serve finalized .json.zst files directly:

handle_path /api/replay/blocks/* {
	root * /var/lib/ident/replay/blocks
	header Content-Type application/json
	header Content-Encoding zstd
	header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"
	file_server
}

reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8080

Keep the normal identd reverse proxy for /api/replay/manifest.json and /api/ws; the browser uses the local manifest to discover finalized block URLs. The block URLs are relative to the current Ident mount path, so the same setup works at / or behind a prefix such as /ident.

How It Works

browser
  -> /              web UI
  -> /api/ws        live traffic, config, and routes
  -> /api/trails/*  recent trail seed
  -> /api/replay/*  replay manifest and finalized replay blocks
  -> /api/update.json
  -> /healthz       service health

identd
  -> serves the embedded web app
  -> watches receiver JSON files
  -> maintains recent aircraft trails
  -> optionally writes bounded compressed replay blocks
  -> sends typed updates to connected browsers

The browser talks to Ident endpoints under the current mount path. identd handles receiver-specific paths and file names, so the web app does not need to know where the decoder stores files on disk.

Updates

Ident checks GitHub Releases through identd and shows a settings indicator when a newer release is available. Browsers only call the local Ident service; they do not call GitHub directly.

Ident does not replace the running binary, package, or container. Updates are installed by the operator through the release artifact, package, or container tag they choose.

Update checks can be disabled or pointed at a fork:

IDENT_UPDATE_CHECK=true
IDENT_UPDATE_REPO=Ident-1090/Ident
IDENT_UPDATE_INTERVAL_SEC=86400

Network Access

Ident is meant to run on a private receiver network or behind your own reverse proxy.

Core live traffic display only needs local receiver files. Optional integrations may contact outside services:

map tile providers for selected map styles
route lookup services when route hints are enabled
aircraft photo APIs when photo cards are enabled

Put authentication in front of Ident before exposing it outside a private network.

Development

Repository layout:

ident/      React web UI
identd/     Go service and embedded release binary
packaging/  systemd, Docker, and package assets
docs/       install and compatibility notes

Development runs the frontend and service separately.

cd ident
pnpm install
pnpm dev

cd ../identd
go run .

For a self-contained Docker development stack with generated receiver data:

docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yaml up --build

Then open:

http://localhost:8080/

Receiver Fixture

For UI work and end-to-end tests without a live decoder, generate readsb-style receiver and trail history files into an ignored local directory:

node scripts/generate-receiver-fixture.mjs \
  --seed demo \
  --out fixtures/receiver-sample \
  --aircraft 150 \
  --frames 1

Point identd at those files:

cd identd
IDENT_DATA_DIR="../fixtures/receiver-sample" go run .

To keep aircraft moving while a browser is open, run the generator from the repo root in another terminal:

node scripts/generate-receiver-fixture.mjs \
  --seed demo \
  --out fixtures/receiver-sample \
  --live \
  --interval-ms 1000

The default fixture uses synthetic movement with real aircraft identities, so photo and registration lookups behave like they do with live receiver data.

Useful checks:

node --test scripts/*.test.mjs

cd ident
pnpm test
pnpm check
pnpm build

cd ../identd
go test ./...

Build the embedded release binary:

./scripts/build-identd.sh

The script builds the web app, stages it for go:embed, and writes dist/identd.

Nix users can enter the development shell or run the build helpers:

nix develop
nix run .#build-identd
nix run .#package-identd

See CONTRIBUTING.md before opening issues or pull requests.

Security

Ident reads local receiver data and serves it to browsers that can reach the service.

Default operating posture:

bind identd to localhost by default, including when a same-host reverse proxy is used
bind to a LAN interface only when direct LAN access or a proxy on another host is intentional
mount receiver data read-only
do not expose Ident publicly without authentication

Do not paste feeder credentials, private station details, or exact receiver location information into public issues.

Report vulnerabilities through GitHub private vulnerability reporting:

https://github.com/Ident-1090/Ident/security/advisories/new

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 27 Commits
.github		.github
ident		ident
identd		identd
packaging		packaging
scripts		scripts
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
SUPPORT.md		SUPPORT.md
docker-compose.dev.yaml		docker-compose.dev.yaml
docker-entrypoint.sh		docker-entrypoint.sh
flake.lock		flake.lock
flake.nix		flake.nix

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