A full dashboard is not always the fastest route to an answer. dump1090-cli offers focused commands for looking at a compatible receiver's data, whether you are working locally, over SSH, or inside a script. Its output can be read directly or requested as JSON for further processing.
Ask a specific question
The command set includes ls, watch, info, nearest, box, stats, squawks, and emergency. Together these provide ways to list aircraft, follow updates, inspect receiver information, and narrow observations by location or reported codes. Endpoint discovery can reduce setup work when a receiver uses a familiar local port.
Respect the shape of the data
Aircraft fields are not always present, and altitude can be represented by a ground sentinel rather than a number. A tool built for decoder output needs to account for those cases. JSON output makes the result useful in a larger workflow without requiring downstream scripts to scrape a formatted table.
Keep the receiver as the source
The CLI reads what the receiver supplies. It is an inspection tool, not an independent source of flight status or an operational alerting service. Use the repository's command reference to choose the endpoint and output mode that match your setup.
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