Data checked 2026-09-13. Data checked within the review cycle.
Review cycles are documented on the Methodology page. Methodology
QGroundControl
Ground Control Station Tier A gcs_ground_station Apache-2.0
Cross-platform ground control station for drones (Android, iOS, Mac OS, Linux, Windows)
Engineering Snapshot
Use cases & tasks 6
- Best suited for
-
- UAV operators needing Android/iOS/desktop GCS
- PX4 and ArduPilot developers
- MAVLink ecosystem integrators
- Primary tasks
-
- Telemetry monitoring and vehicle control
- Mission planning and waypoint upload
- Autopilot parameter configuration
Stack & ecosystem
- Resource type
- Ground Control Station
- Ecosystem
- ardupilot · drone · hacktoberfest · mavlink · pixhawk · px4
License & compliance
- License
-
Apache-2.0(Inferred)
Lifecycle & freshness Show
- Maintenance
- Active
- Latest version
- Not recorded
- Last activity
- 2026-09-13
- Last checked
- 2026-09-13
- Verification
- Official confirmed
What It Solves
Provide a cross-platform ground control station for monitoring, configuring, and commanding MAVLink-based drones.
Primary use cases
- Telemetry monitoring and vehicle control
- Mission planning and waypoint upload
- Autopilot parameter configuration
Secondary use cases
- MAVLink protocol testing and development
When to Use
Consider when
- Target platforms include mobile (Android/iOS) and desktop (Win/Mac/Linux)
- Working with PX4 or ArduPilot autopilots
- Need open-source GCS (license inferred Apache-2.0)
Verify before adopting
- License is inferred Apache-2.0, confirm in repo
- No latest version/release date provided
- Exact supported hardware/firmware matrix not listed
Start Here
Adoption Checklist
- Needs verification License is inferred Apache-2.0, confirm in repo
- Needs verification No latest version/release date provided
- Needs verification Exact supported hardware/firmware matrix not listed
Each check stays "needs verification" until an official source confirms it; unconfirmed items are never marked verified.
Known Limitations & Unknowns
Known limitations
- License status inferred not explicitly confirmed
- No hardware targets or protocols field populated
- Latest version unknown
Not publicly verified
- Specific MAVLink dialect version
- Mobile performance constraints
- Compatibility with non-PX4/ArduPilot autopilots
Alternatives & Related Tools
Related tools
- mavlink — Integrates with
- px4-autopilot — Supports
- ardupilot — Supports
- mavlink — depends on
How is it used?
Start from the recorded entry points below, then validate against the technical checklist.
- Official site http://qgroundcontrol.io
- Repository https://github.com/mavlink/qgroundcontrol
- Documentation http://qgroundcontrol.io
Technical checklist
- OK License identified Recorded: Apache-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 | Apache-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 | 2026-09-13 |
| Last checked | 2026-09-13 |
| First seen | Not recorded |
Related Resources & Dependencies
- mavlink — integrates with (verified)
- px4-autopilot — supports (verified)
- ardupilot — supports (verified)
- mavlink — depends on (confirmed)
Recent Activity
New resource: mavlink/qgroundcontrol
New resource added to the OpenFly index.
Related Knowledge
Guides
- How ArduPilot, MAVLink, and Ground Control Stations Fit Together — A practical guide for routing ArduPilot MAVLink telemetry to primary GCS applications and MAVProxy companion nodes.
- How to Evaluate a UAV Open-Source Project — A repeatable checklist for deciding whether an open-source UAV project is worth adopting.
- Choosing a Ground Control Station — A checklist for choosing a ground control station against your protocol and workflow needs.
- Setting Up a PX4 SITL Loop with Gazebo — Build a local PX4 software-in-the-loop environment with Gazebo and QGroundControl.
- Tracing MAVLink and GCS Dependencies — Trace the protocol and ground control repositories before selecting an integration path.
- How PX4, MAVLink, and QGroundControl Fit Together — An architectural guide explaining how PX4 firmware, MAVLink telemetry protocol, and QGroundControl ground station interact across networks.
- How to Review a Source-Backed UAV Resource — A checklist for checking provenance, license evidence and update time before adopting a UAV resource.
Collections
- ArduPilot Development and SITL Toolkit — Open components for developing against ArduPilot with software-in-the-loop simulation.
- Open-Source Flight Control Stacks — Open-source autopilot firmware repositories for building or evaluating a flight stack.
- GCS and Telemetry Protocols — Ground control software and telemetry protocol repositories for command, monitoring and integration work.
- Ground Control and Mission Planning — Open components for mission planning, telemetry and ground control around MAVLink-based vehicles.
- MAVLink Ecosystem — The protocol and its reference consumers for building or evaluating MAVLink-based UAV integrations.
- Evaluating Open-Source Flight Stacks — A structured path for comparing candidate open-source flight stacks on evidence, not marketing.
- PX4 Development and Simulation Toolkit — The components needed to build a local PX4 development and software-in-the-loop verification loop.
Comparisons
- QGroundControl vs Mission Planner GCS — Metadata and repository facts recorded from the official GitHub API on 2026-08-13. Flight-testing behavior, UX preference and hardware certification are deliberately not compared because the indexed sources do not provide field-level evidence.