Data checked 2026-09-09. Data checked within the review cycle.
Review cycles are documented on the Methodology page. Methodology
Paparazzi UAV
Flight Stack Tier A flight_control GPL-2.0
Paparazzi is a free and open-source hardware and software project for unmanned (air) vehicles. This is the main software repository.
Engineering Snapshot
Use cases & tasks 6
- Best suited for
-
- Academic UAV research requiring GPL-licensed codebase
- Custom autopilot hardware development
- Swarm/multi-vehicle experiments using pprzlink protocol
- Primary tasks
-
- Fixed-wing autonomous flight research
- Rotorcraft control algorithm development
- Ground control station integration via pprzlink
Stack & ecosystem
- Resource type
- Flight Stack
- Ecosystem
- autopilot · drones · paparazzi · pprz · pprzlink · uas
License & compliance
- License
-
GPL-2.0(Inferred)
Lifecycle & freshness Show
- Maintenance
- Active
- Latest version
- Not recorded
- Last activity
- 2026-09-09
- Last checked
- 2026-09-09
- Verification
- Official confirmed
What It Solves
Need a fully open-source (GPL-2.0) flight stack with both hardware and software components for fixed-wing and rotorcraft UAVs, suitable for research and development where licensing freedom and code ownership are required.
Primary use cases
- Fixed-wing autonomous flight research
- Rotorcraft control algorithm development
- Ground control station integration via pprzlink
Secondary use cases
- Simulation-in-the-loop testing
- Custom payload integration
- Education in UAV flight control architectures
When to Use
Consider when
- GPL-2.0 license compatibility with your project is required
- You need full source access to flight control laws
- You can invest in hardware bring-up (no pre-certified HW list in verified data)
- Team has C/embedded systems expertise
Verify before adopting
- Supported airframe configurations and hardware targets (not in verified data)
- Real-time OS requirements and supported MCUs
- pprzlink protocol version and MAVLink interoperability
- Current CI/CD status and test coverage
- Regulatory compliance path for your jurisdiction
Where It Fits
Stack layer flight_control
Start Here
Adoption Checklist
- Needs verification Supported airframe configurations and hardware targets (not in verified data)
- Needs verification Real-time OS requirements and supported MCUs
- Needs verification pprzlink protocol version and MAVLink interoperability
- Needs verification Current CI/CD status and test coverage
- Needs verification Regulatory compliance path for your jurisdiction
Each check stays "needs verification" until an official source confirms it; unconfirmed items are never marked verified.
Known Limitations & Unknowns
Known limitations
- GPL-2.0 requires derivative works to be open-sourced
- No verified hardware compatibility list in source data
- No verified certification status (DO-178C, etc.)
- No verified real-time OS or MCU support matrix
Not publicly verified
- Exact supported flight controller boards
- Supported communication links (radio, LTE, satellite)
- Simulation backend options (JSBSim, Gazebo, custom)
- Python/C++ API stability guarantees
- Multi-vehicle coordination capabilities
Alternatives & Related Tools
Alternatives
- px4-autopilot — Alternative to
How is it used?
Start from the recorded entry points below, then validate against the technical checklist.
- Official site http://paparazziuav.org
- Repository https://github.com/paparazzi/paparazzi
- Documentation http://paparazziuav.org
Technical checklist
- OK License identified Recorded: GPL-2.0
- OK Maintenance signal Active
- OK Verification status Official confirmed
- OK Source evidence attached 1 source record(s)
- NEEDS REVIEW Latest version recorded Not recorded
Official Links
Metadata & Governance
| License | GPL-2.0 — Inferred |
|---|---|
| Commercial model | Unknown |
| Maintenance status | Active |
| Verification status | Official confirmed — Confirmed via the official repository API responses in SourceRefs below. |
| Latest version | Not recorded |
| Latest release | Not recorded |
| Last activity | 2026-09-09 |
| Last checked | 2026-09-09 |
| First seen | Not recorded |
Related Resources & Dependencies
- px4-autopilot — alternative to (verified)
Recent Activity
New resource: paparazzi/paparazzi
New resource added to the OpenFly index.
Related Knowledge
Guides
- Comparing Flight-Stack Repositories — A source-linked method for comparing flight-control repositories without inventing conclusions.
Collections
- Open-Source Flight Control Stacks — Open-source autopilot firmware repositories for building or evaluating a flight stack.
- Evaluating Open-Source Flight Stacks — A structured path for comparing candidate open-source flight stacks on evidence, not marketing.
Comparisons
- Open-Source Flight Stack Field Comparison — Field-level comparison of repository metadata recorded from the official GitHub API on 2026-08-02. No architecture, safety or performance comparison is attempted without field-level evidence.