PiLNK turns your existing Raspberry Pi ADS-B station into a live Aviation Audio Scanner. Track flights and listen to real air traffic control — simultaneously.
Live Right Now
The PiLNK Network
Real aircraft tracked by real community nodes — right now.
LIVE: 0 aircraft tracked
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Sign up to unlock full flight details, watchlist alerts, and your own node on the map
PiLNK combines live flight tracking with real-time ATC audio in a single beautiful interface, running entirely on your existing Raspberry Pi. The audio is local — your dongle, your browser, nothing leaves your Pi.
📡
Track
Live ADS-B flight tracking with beautiful aircraft icons, flight phase colour trails, route data, and detailed tooltips for every aircraft in range.
🎙️
Listen
Real-time ATC audio from your own RTL-SDR, played right in your browser. Tune any VHF frequency, search airports, and click to tune instantly.
🌐
Share
The PiLNK Network is live — a community-powered global aviation network spanning multiple continents. Every node contributes ADS-B coverage. Every member benefits from a shared global map.
How It Works
Three steps. One command.
01
You have the gear
Raspberry Pi + ADS-B receiver + RTL-SDR dongle. PiAware users are almost there already.
02
One command
Run the PiLNK installer. Everything configures automatically.
03
Open your browser
See every plane. Hear every transmission. In real time.
About
Built by an aviation enthusiast, for everyone.
Auckland, NZ. Aviation nerd. Raspberry Pi tinkerer. I built PiLNK because the tools I wanted didn't exist. Now they do.
Everything you need to know before you install — straight answers, no marketing fluff.
What is PiLNK?
PiLNK is a free, open-source aviation network that runs on a Raspberry Pi. It combines live ADS-B aircraft tracking with real-time VHF air traffic control audio reception in a single web interface. Every node on the PiLNK network contributes anonymous coverage data, building a shared global map of aircraft and ATC channels. The whole platform is community powered and remains free forever under an MIT license.
What hardware do I need to run PiLNK?
PiLNK runs on a Raspberry Pi 4 (4 GB or 8 GB) or Pi 5. You also need an RTL-SDR USB dongle (the RTL-SDR Blog v3 is the most popular) and a suitable antenna — a small mag-mount ADS-B antenna on a window sill works for tracking, while a rooftop airband antenna unlocks the best ATC audio. If you're already running PiAware or another ADS-B feeder, you have the hardware you need. PiLNK also works on Ubuntu Server 22.04+ for non-Pi installations.
Is PiLNK free?
Yes. PiLNK is free and open source under the MIT license. There are no subscriptions, no premium tier, and no ads. Every feature is available to every user. If you want to support development, a "Buy Me a Coffee" link is available in the footer — but it's entirely optional. The platform is committed to being free forever.
How is PiLNK different from FlightAware or FlightRadar24?
FlightAware and FlightRadar24 are commercial flight-tracking services that aggregate ADS-B data from contributors and resell it. PiLNK is open source and community-owned: your data stays in your community, you can see exactly what every endpoint does because the code is public, and the platform includes live VHF ATC audio — which neither commercial service offers. PiLNK can run alongside your existing feeders without conflict, so you don't have to choose.
Can I listen to live ATC audio with PiLNK?
Yes. PiLNK ships with a built-in VHF radio tab that tunes any airband frequency (typically 118-137 MHz) through your RTL-SDR. You can search for an airport, click a frequency, and start listening immediately. Tower, ground, approach, departure, ATIS, and centre frequencies are all supported. Future versions will automatically follow aircraft as they get handed off between controllers, with synchronised audio for any selected plane.
Will PiLNK work alongside my existing PiAware or dump1090 setup?
Yes. PiLNK reads from the same dump1090-fa instance you're already running, so if you're a PiAware, ADS-B Exchange, or FlightAware contributor, you can install PiLNK on top of your existing setup without breaking anything. You can continue feeding multiple aggregators at once. For ATC audio you'll need a second RTL-SDR dongle, since ADS-B uses 1090 MHz and VHF airband uses 118+ MHz — one dongle cannot do both simultaneously.
How do I install PiLNK?
A single command. SSH to your Raspberry Pi and run curl -sSL https://pilnk.io/install.sh | bash. The installer auto-detects your location, prompts for your unique PiLNK code (which you get when you register a free account), installs the required services, and starts the dashboard on port 5000. The whole process takes about 30 seconds on a Pi 5.
⚡
Complete your setup
Install PiLNK on your Raspberry Pi, then claim the pairing code it shows. Your node joins the network automatically!
Enter your email and we'll send you your callsign.
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📡 My PiLNK Node
Your node will appear here automatically once you install PiLNK on your Pi and it sends its first ping. During setup your Pi shows a short pairing code on screen — claim it here and you're linked.
📍 Node Location
Drag the pin to your receiver, or tap Use my location. Your node picks this up automatically on its next ping — nothing to edit on the Pi.
MAP PRIVACY:
🔗 Pair a new node
Just installed PiLNK? Your Pi shows a 6-character pairing code (on its dashboard and in the installer output). Enter it here to link the node to your account — no codes to copy onto the Pi.
IS THIS A NEW NODE, OR ARE YOU RE-PAIRING AN EXISTING ONE?
🔁 Re-installed your node?
If you've just re-installed PiLNK on your Pi, it will show a new pairing code. Enter that code in the box above to re-pair it to your existing node — there's no need to set up a new account. (PiLNK is currently one node per account; multi-node support is on the way.)
📊 My Node Stats
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APPROACH
TODAY'S LEADERBOARD
TOP AIRCRAFT TYPES
ALL TIME RECORDS
💬 Messages 0
CONVERSATIONS
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🎯 My Watchlist
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📸 My Photos
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🛒 My Orders
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✦ ARIA Conversations
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📋 My Forum Posts
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📈 Activity
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Edit Profile
🔑 Change Password
📬 Notifications
🛡️ Moderator Management
Assign or remove moderator roles.
ONE COMMAND INSTALL
Install PiLNK
Works alongside your existing PiAware setup. Open source, free forever.
RUN THIS ON YOUR RASPBERRY PI
curl -sSL https://pilnk.io/install.sh | bash
The installer handles everything automatically — including an interactive map to pinpoint your exact location!!
✓ OPERATING SYSTEM
PiLNK now runs on Raspberry Pi OS / Debian Trixie (13) — the recommended choice, using the modern readsb decoder. When flashing with Raspberry Pi Imager, the newest Trixie (64-bit) image is ideal. Bookworm (12) still works too if that's what you're already running — the installer detects either and sets up the right decoder path automatically.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
MINIMUM — ADS-B TRACKING ONLY
🍓
Raspberry Pi 3B+
Pi 4 or 5 recommended
📡
ADS-B Dongle
FlightAware Pro Stick recommended
💾
8GB+ SD Card
32GB recommended
🌐
Network Connection
Ethernet or WiFi
FULL EXPERIENCE — ADS-B + LIVE ATC AUDIO
🍓
Raspberry Pi 4 or 5
4GB+ RAM recommended
📡
FlightAware Pro Stick
ADS-B 1090MHz dongle
📻
RTL-SDR Blog V4
VHF ATC audio 118-137MHz
🔌
Official PSU
27W USB-C for Pi 5
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED
💾
NVMe SSD
Pi 5 only — 10x faster than SD
📶
Wideband LNA
Improves ATC audio quality
🗼
Outdoor Antenna
Increases tracking range
ALREADY RUNNING PIAWARE?
PiLNK runs alongside PiAware — you keep feeding data to FlightAware exactly as before. Just add a second RTL-SDR dongle for ATC audio and run the installer!!
Ask questions, share your setup, request features and help others get PiLNK running.
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ARIA ONLINE
Meet ARIA
Aviation Radio Intelligence Assistant. Ask her anything about PiLNK.
✦
ARIA
Hi! I'm ARIA — Aviation Radio Intelligence Assistant for PiLNK. I know everything about installing and running PiLNK on your Raspberry Pi. What can I help you with today?
Watchlist Alerts
0 NEW
Get notified when specific aircraft enter your node's coverage area. Add presets below or create custom watches.
QUICK ADD PRESETS
C-17 Globemaster III
AIRCRAFT TYPE: C17
USAF heavy strategic transport. One of the most spotted military aircraft worldwide.
AN-124 Ruslan
AIRCRAFT TYPE: A124
World's second largest cargo aircraft. Rare and always impressive when spotted.
🇳🇿
RNZAF Aircraft
OPERATOR: RNZAF
Royal New Zealand Air Force. Track all RNZAF movements in your area.
USAF Aircraft
OPERATOR: USAF
United States Air Force. C-17s, C-5s, KC-135s and more.
Air Force One
CALLSIGN: AF1
The President's aircraft. Callsign AF1 when POTUS is aboard.
🚨
Emergency 7700
SQUAWK: 7700
General emergency. Aircraft in distress — mayday situation.
🔇
Radio Failure 7600
SQUAWK: 7600
Communications failure. Aircraft has lost radio contact with ATC.
⚠️
Hijack 7500
SQUAWK: 7500
Hijack code. Extremely rare — would be a major event if spotted.
👻
Ghost Aircraft
TYPE: GHOST
Aircraft broadcasting position but with identifying data scrubbed. Often military, government, or VIP.
ADD CUSTOM
YOUR WATCHLIST
No watchlist items yet. Add presets above or create custom watches!
👻 GHOST HEX QUEUE — ADD AS MANY AS YOU WANTDB: —
No hex codes queued yet
RECENT ALERTS
No alerts yet. When a watched aircraft enters your coverage area, it'll appear here!
0 selected
LIVE NETWORK
NETWORK
Every node contributes ADS-B coverage. Every member is part of the global community-powered aviation network.
You're seeing the live PiLNK network. Add your Pi to join.
Every aircraft that squawked an emergency code, caught and recorded across the PiLNK receiver network. Each event is reconstructed from the raw transponder data of every node that heard it. Last 7 days.
Community-identified aircraft that broadcast without identification
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DOCUMENTATION
📖 Docs
Everything you need to get up and running
What is PiLNK?
PiLNK is an open-source platform that turns your Raspberry Pi ADS-B station into a live flight tracker with ATC audio played in your browser. It works alongside your existing PiAware or dump1090-fa setup — you keep feeding FlightAware while PiLNK adds a beautiful dashboard, ghost aircraft detection, community features, and the ARIA AI assistant.
Hardware Requirements
Minimum (ADS-B tracking only): Raspberry Pi 3B+ or newer, ADS-B dongle (FlightAware Pro Stick recommended), 8GB+ SD card, network connection.
Full experience (ADS-B + ATC audio): Add a second RTL-SDR dongle (RTL-SDR Blog V4 recommended) for VHF ATC audio on 118-137 MHz.
Step 1: Create an account on pilnk.io. No code to copy — setup is handled by pairing.
Step 2: SSH into your Raspberry Pi and run:
curl -sSL https://pilnk.io/install.sh | bash
Step 3: The installer does everything — installs dependencies, configures dump1090-fa, sets up the PiLNK service, and starts your dashboard. You aren't asked for any code.
Step 4: Open your browser to http://your-pi-ip:5000. Your dashboard shows a short pairing code.
Step 5: Back on pilnk.io, go to your Profile and enter that pairing code to claim your node. Set its location on the map and you're live — your node appears on the network automatically.
PiAware Users
PiLNK runs alongside PiAware — you keep feeding FlightAware exactly as before. The installer detects PiAware automatically, uses your existing dump1090-fa, and fixes any stale FlightAware apt mirrors. Just add a second RTL-SDR dongle for ATC audio and run the installer.
Pairing your node
After install, your Pi's dashboard shows a short pairing code. Log in at pilnk.io, open your Profile, and enter that code to claim the node — that's what links the Pi to your account. The code is generated by the node itself, so there's nothing to copy beforehand and nothing to type during installation. Once claimed, your node's identity is written to config.json (gitignored) so you can safely git pull updates without conflicts.
Note: the old 8-character "PiLNK Code" was retired on 1 July 2026 and is no longer shown on the site or used for setup. If you're following an older guide that mentions it, use the pairing flow above instead.
Updating PiLNK
To update your Pi to the latest version:
cd ~/pilnk && git pull && sudo systemctl restart pilnk
Your config.json is gitignored so your node's identity and settings are preserved.
👻 Ghost Plane Hunter
Ghost aircraft broadcast ADS-B position data but withhold identification. PiLNK automatically detects these and adds them to your watchlist. Use the batch scanner to identify them — ARIA cross-references hexdb.io, ADSBexchange, ads-b.nl, and Google to find registration, owner, and type. Results are saved to the community ghost database.
Common Issues
No planes on map: Check that dump1090-fa is running: sudo systemctl status dump1090-fa. Verify your antenna is connected and you have a clear view of the sky.
Service won't start: Check logs: journalctl -u pilnk -n 20 --no-pager. Most common cause is the whisper import — the installer comments it out automatically.
Map centered on wrong location: Your receiver coordinates are read from /etc/default/dump1090-fa. Check that RECEIVER_LAT and RECEIVER_LON are set correctly.
git pull conflicts: Run git stash && git pull. Your node's identity is in config.json (gitignored) so it won't conflict.
Everything you can do in the PiLNK community. Most of it is one tap — here's what each feature does and where to find it.
Posting & conversation
📂 Categories
Threads are grouped by topic, so you can find the right place to post or read.
Open the Forum and tap any category card to see its threads.
✍️ Threads & replies
Start a thread to ask a question or show your setup; reply to join any conversation. Full rich-text editor with images and emoji.
Tap + New Post in a category, or Reply at the bottom of a thread.
🏷️ Tags
Label your thread so others can find it, and jump to related threads by tag.
Add comma-separated tags when posting; tap any tag to search by it.
✏️ Edit your posts
Fix a typo or update your own thread or reply any time after posting.
Tap Edit on your own post.
Finding things
🔍 Search
Find threads by keyword, and order the results by Recent, Popular or Solved.
Use the search bar at the top of the Forum; switch sorts with the Recent / Popular / Solved filters.
Engaging with posts
😀 Reactions
React to a post with 👍 ❤️ 😂 🎯 🚀 😮 instead of writing a whole reply.
Tap an emoji on the reaction bar under any thread or reply.
✓ Mark as Solution
Started a thread? Mark the reply that answered it — that reply gets a SOLUTION badge and the thread shows as SOLVED for everyone.
On your own thread, tap Mark as Solution on the best reply.
🔖 Save (bookmark)
Keep a thread to come back to later.
Tap 🔖 Save on a thread; find them all under Saved Posts.
🔔 Watch
Follow a thread and get notified whenever someone replies to it.
Tap 🔔 Watch on a thread (tap again to stop).
@ Mentions
Tag another member in your post and they'll be notified.
Type @ while writing and pick a name — they get a bell and an email.
Aircraft
✈ Aircraft references
Drop a real, live aircraft straight into a post — it appears as a tappable chip showing its registration, type and operator.
Tap ✈ Add aircraft in the editor, or hit 🔗 Share to forum on any aircraft on the live map.
Staying in the loop
🔔 Notifications
A bell (and email) for replies to your posts, @mentions, and threads you watch — with unread badges so you never miss activity.
Check the bell in the top bar; unread threads are badged in the Forum.
Keeping it clean
⚑ Report
Flag a post that breaks the rules for a moderator to review. You'll see this on other people's posts, not your own.
Tap ⚑ Report on any post and add an optional note.
New Post
Post a Reply
Edit
PiLNK
STEP 1 OF 3
🛫
Welcome to PiLNK!
You're now part of the world's most advanced community ADS-B and ATC network. Let's get you set up in 3 quick steps.
👤
Your Profile
Your callsign is your identity on PiLNK. Find your profile anytime by clicking your callsign at the bottom of the left sidebar.
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YOUR CALLSIGN
● ONLINE · MY PROFILE →
📡
Install PiLNK on Your Pi
Run the installer on your Raspberry Pi — no code needed. Your Pi's dashboard then shows a short pairing code; claim it from your Profile here and your node joins the network automatically on first ping!