Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
This section introduces the types of Lua scripts supported by EdgeTX and how they may be used.
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
WARNING - Do not use Lua Custom scripts for controlling any aspect of your model that could cause a crash if the script stops executing!
Each model can have several custom scripts associated with it, and these scripts are run periodically. They behave similarly to standard OpenTX mixers, but at the same time they provide a much more flexible and powerful tool. Custom scripts take one or more values as inputs, do some processing in Lua code, and output one or more values.
Please note: the firmware must be compiled with the option LUA=YES for Custom scripts to be available.
Please note: the scripts should be as short as possible, to avoid delays. It is also important to keep in mind that other loaded Telemetry and Function scripts can add to the response time, or worse: hang the system!
replacement for complex mixes that are not critical to model function
complex processing of inputs and reaction to their current state and/or their history
filtering of telemetry values
cannot update LCD screen or perform user input.
should not exceed allowed run-time/ number of instructions.
custom scripts are run with less priority than built-in mixes. Their execution period is around 30ms and is not guaranteed!
can be disabled/killed anytime due to logic errors in script, not enough free memory, etc...)
Custom scripts are loaded from SD card when model is selected
init
function is called first
run
function is called periodically (about 30 times per second)
the script is killed (stopped and disabled) if it misbehaves (e.g. run-time error or low memory)
all Custom scripts are stopped while a One-Time script is running (see Lua One-time scripts)
If the script output is used as a mixer source
, and the script is killed for whatever reason, then the whole mixer line is disabled ! This can be used for example to provide a fallback in case Lua Custom script is killed.
Example where Lua mix script is used to drive ailerons in some clever way, but control falls back to the standard aileron mix if script is killed. Second mixer line replaces the first one when the script is alive:
Place them on SD card in folder /SCRIPTS/MIXES/. File name length (without extension) must be 6 characters or less (this limit was 8 characters in OpenTX 2.1).
Every script must include a return
statement at the end, defining its interface to EdgeTX. This statement returns a table with the following fields:
input
table (optional)
output
table (optional)
init
function (optional)
run
function
The input table defines what values are available as input(s) to custom scripts. There are two forms of input table entries.
SOURCE inputs provide the current value of a selected OpenTX variable. The source must be selected by the user when the script is configured. Source can be any value that EdgeTX knows about (inputs, channels, telemetry values, switches, custom functions etc.). Note: the typical input range is -1024 thru +1024. Simply divide the input value by 10.24 to convert to a percentage from -100% to +100%.
VALUE inputs provide a constant value that is set by the user when the script is configured.
name - maximum length of 8 characters
min - minimum value of -128
max - maximum value of 127
default - must be within the valid range specified
Maximum of 6 inputs per script (was 8 in 2.1)
The output table defines only name(s), as the actual values are returned by the script's run function.
Note: the above names are only visible as source values on the radio screen when the script is running. If the model is edited in Companion, then the values show as LUA1a
and LUA1b
etc.
The latest version of this guide will always be available here. At the top of the left sidebar there is a version option if you are running an older version of EdgeTX or OpenTX and need the docs for that specific version.
This guide covers the development of user-written scripts for R/C transmitters running the EdgeTX 2.4 operating system with Lua support. Readers should be familiar with EdgeTX/OpenTX, the OpenTX Companion, and know how to transfer files the SD card in the transmitter.
Part I of the guide shows how to enable Lua support for Taranis and includes basic examples of each types of script.
Part II is a programming guide that introduces the types of EdgeTX Lua scripts and how to use them.
Part III is the EdgeTX Lua API Reference
Part IV addresses common issues in converting Lua scripts that were originally written for OpenTX 2.0
Part V addresses common issues in converting Lua scripts that were originally written for OpenTX 2.1
Part VI covers advanced topics with examples
Most of the time, widget scripts show some info in a zone either in the top bar or in one of the user defined main views, and they cannot receive direct input from the user via key events like e.g. Telemetry scripts.
But widgets on the main views can also be shown in full screen mode, where they take over the entire screen area. And here they receive user input via key events, and for radios with touch screen, also touch events.
Each model can have up to five main views, with up to 8 widgets per screen, depending on their size and layout. Each instance of a widget has his own options table.
Please note: Widget scripts are only available on radios with color screens, e.g. FrSky Horus models, Radiomaster TX16 and Jumper T16.
All widget scripts on the SD card are loaded into memory when the model is selected; even widgets that are not used. This has the side effect that any global functions defined in a widget script will always be available to other widget scripts. It also means that any script on the SD card will consume part of the radio's memory - even if it is not being used. Therefore, it is important to either keep widget scripts small, or to use Lua's loadScript() function to load code dynamically.
They can be added to the top bar or a main view through the telemetry setup menu. When a widget has been added to a screen, then the widget functions are called as follows:
create
is called once when the widget instance is registered (started).
update
is called when widget settings are changed by the user.
background
is called periodically when the widget instance is not visible.
Note: this is different from the way that telemetry scripts are handled.
refresh
is called periodically when the widget instance is visible.
Note: if you want background
to run when the widget is visible, then call it from refresh
.
A widget script is stopped and disabled if it misbehaves (e.g. too long runtime, run-time error, or low memory)
All widgets are stopped while a One-Time script is running (see One-Time scripts).
Widgets are located on the SD card, each in their specific folder /WIDGETS/<name>/main.lua (<name> must be in 8 characters or less).
Every script must include a return
statement at the end, defining its interface to EdgeTX. This statement returns a table with the following fields:
name
string
options
table
create
function
update
function
background
function (optional)
refresh
function
The name
must be max. 10 characters long.
options
is passed to create
and then stored in Lua. Changing it has no effect on EdgeTX.
If options
is changed by the user in the Widget Settings menu, then update
will be called with a new options
table, unaffected by any changes made by Lua code to the old options
table.
Maximum five options
are allowed, with names of max. 10 characters, and no spaces.
If local variables are declared outside functions in the widget script, then they are shared between all instances of the widget.
Therefore, local variables that are private for each instance should be added to the widget
table in the create
function before returning the widget
table to EdgeTX.
When the widget is in fullscreen mode, then event
is either 0, a key event value, or a touch event value.
If event
is a touch event value, then touchState
is a table. Otherwise, it is nil
.
When the widget is not in fullscreen mode, then both event
and touchState
are nil
.
The size of the widget's screen area is as follows:
Fullscreen mode: LCD_W
by LCD_H
Not fullscreen mode: zone.w
by zone.h
Lua makes it easy to load and unload code modules on the fly, to save memory or to provide program extensions.
The loadScript(<file>)
function will load a script from a the file and return a function that is the body of the script, as described in the previous section. So you could have the following Lua script file saved on the SD card:
You can load and use the above file with the following code:
So here we put together what we learned in the previous section. The body of the script is an anonymous function returned by loadScript
and stored in the variable chunk
. It returns the function f
when it is called. The local variable c
in the script is assigned to the first vararg passed to the call. Since a new closure is created every time we call chunk
, f1
and f2
have different closures with different values of c
.
TODO
WARNING - Running a One-Time script will suspend execution of all other currently loaded Lua scripts (Custom, Telemetry, and Functions)
One-Time scripts start when called upon by a specific radio function or when the user selects them from a contextual menu. They do their task and are then terminated and unloaded. Please note that all persistent scripts are halted during the execution of One-Time scripts. They are automatically restarted once the One-Time script is finished. This is done to provide enough system resources to execute the one time script.
Script is executed when user selects Execute on a script file from SD card browser screen.
Script executes until:
it returns value different from 0
is forcefully closed by user by long press of EXIT key
is forcefully closed by system if if it misbehaves (e.g. run-time error or low
memory)
Place them anywhere on SD card, the folder /SCRIPTS/ is recommended. The only exception is official model wizard script, that should be put into /SCRIPTS/WIZARD/ folder that way it will start automatically when new model is created.
Every script must include a return
statement at the end, defining its interface to EdgeTX. This statement returns a table with the following fields:
init
function (optional)
run
function
The event
parameter indicates which transmitter key has been pressed (see Key Events).
A non-zero return value from run
will halt the script.
TODO
This section describes the Lua libraries, functions and constants that are provided by EdgeTX.
This section includes Acknowledgments and Getting Started.
Telemetry scripts are used for building customized screens. Each model can have up to three active scripts as configured on the model's telemetry configuration page. The same script can be assigned to multiple models.
Please note: Telemetry scripts are only available on radios with telemetry screens, such as e.g. FrSky Taranis models (including Xlite), Radiomaster TX12 and and Jumper T12.
Telemetry scripts are loaded when the model is selected.
init
function is called one time when the script is loaded
background
function is periodically; both when the telemetry screen is visible and when it is not.
run
function is called periodically only when the telemetry screen is visible
script is stopped and disabled if it misbehaves (e.g. run-time error or low memory)
all telemetry scripts are stopped if a one-time script is running (see One-time scripts)
Scripts are located on the SD card in the folder /SCRIPTS/TELEMETRY/<name>.lua. File name length (without extension) must be 6 characters or less (this limit was 8 characters in OpenTX 2.1).
Every script must include a return
statement at the end, defining its interface to EdgeTX. This statement returns a table with the following fields:
init
function (optional)
background
function (optional)
run
function
The event
parameter indicates which transmitter key has been pressed (see Key Events).
In addition to the key events described in the previous section, radios with a color touch screen also provide touch events to the widget scripts.
The following touch events are passed in the event
argument to the widget script refresh
function (when in full screen mode), just like the key events. The following touch events are provided:
Touch Event Name
Description
EVT_TOUCH_FIRST
When the finger touches down on the screen
EVT_TOUCH_TAP
If the finger leaves the screen after a quick tap
EVT_TOUCH_BREAK
If the finger leaves the screen without tap or slide
EVT_TOUCH_SLIDE
Repeats while the finger is sliding on the screen
In addition to the above touch events a touchState
table is passed to refresh
with the following addional data fields:
touchState fields
Description
x, y
Current touch point
startX, startY
Point where slide started
slideX, SlideY
Movement since previous SLIDE event (or start of slide)
swipeUp / swipeDown / swipeLeft / swipeRight
The field is present and equal to true
if a swipe event occurred in that direction
touchState
is nil
if event
is not a touch event. This can be used to test if we have a touch event or a key event.
Since Lua evaluates a nil
value to false
and everything else to true
:
if touchState then
we have a touch event.
x, y
are present for all touch events.
startX, startY, slideX, slideY
are only present with EVT_TOUCH_SLIDE
.
swipeUp
/ swipeDown
/ swipeLeft
/ swipeRight
may be present only withEVT_TOUCH_SLIDE
.
TODO: Need to determine status of wizard in 2.2
This section provides more specifics on the EdgeTX Lua implementation. Here you will find syntax rules for interface tables and functions.
Function scripts are invoked via the 'Lua Script' option of Special Functions configuration page.
Typical uses of Function scripts are:
specialized handling in response to switch position changes
customized announcements
Please be aware that:
all function scripts are stopped if a One-Time Lua script is running
Function scripts DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO LCD DISPLAY
init
function is called once when the model is selected
depending on the switch associated with the Special Function, either the run
function (switch = on) or the background
function (switch = off) is called periodically
the script is stopped and disabled if it misbehaves (e.g. run-time error or low memory)
Scripts are located on the SD card in the folder /SCRIPTS/FUNCTIONS/<name>.lua. File name length (without extension) must be 6 characters or less (this limit was 8 characters in OpenTX 2.1).
Every script must include a return
statement at the end, defining its interface to EdgeTX. This statement returns a table with the following fields:
init
function (optional)
run
function
background
function (optional)
Lua is a small but powerful language. This section will explain a few of the most important concepts.
Lua was chosen for OpenTX, and hence also EdgeTX, because it is a small language designed to be highly extensible by libraries written in C and C++, so it can be integrated into other systems like EdgeTX. It is also relatively efficient, both in terms of memory and CPU usage, and hence well suited for the radios.
In addition to the provided libraries, Lua has a very elegant mechanism for loading new Lua code modules during run-time. A lot of the elegance comes from the way that the loading mechanism meshes with another concept supported by Lua: first class functions with closures.
Computer science pioneer Christopher Strachey introduced the concept of functions as first-class objects in his paper Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages from 1967. What it means is that functions can be treated as other variables: as arguments passed in function calls, as results returned from function calls, and a function identifier can be re-assigned to another chunk of function code, just like a variable ca be assigned to a new value.
In Lua, a function declaration is really "syntactic sugar" for assigning a variable to the chunk of code that is called when the function is invoked, i.e.
local function f(x) return x + 1 end
is the same as
local f = function(x) return x + 1 end
You can even add functions to Lua tables, i.e.
t = { f = f }
will add the above function to the table t
, as a field that is also called f
. Does that look familiar to the return statement required at the end of a Lua script?
Yes indeed, because a script is really an anonymous function that returns a list of functions to the system. The function declarations assign variables to chunks of function code, these variables are added to the list returned at the end of the script, and the system then calls the functions periodically to run the script. So the script itself is run one time initially, and subsequently the functions returned by the last statement are called periodically.
Another important concept that goes with first-class functions, is closures. This is the environment of the function with the variable names that the function can see. Please consider the following function counter
that returns another function:
The function is returned directly without being assigned to a variable name. The closure of the function returned is the body of the function counter
, containing both the arguments start
and step
, and the local variable x
. So if c1 = counter(1, 1)
then c1()
will return 1, 2, 3, ... when called repeatedly, and if c2 = counter(2, 3)
then c2()
will return 2, 5, 8, ...
Likewise, the local variables that you declare outside the functions of your script can be used by all of the functions in your script, and they persist between function calls, but they are not visible to other scripts.
The widget scripts are a little trickier, as you can register multiple instances of the same widget script, and all of these instances run within the same Lua closure. Therefore, local variables declared outside any functions in a widget script are shared among all of the instances of that script. But each call to the create(...)
function returns a new widget
list to the system. And since this list is unique to each instance, you can add private instance variables to it.
Please consider this function:
It takes an argument x
and a vararg list ...
A vararg list is just like a list of arguments separated by commas, and you can call the function with any number of arguments greater than 1. Inside the function, you can also treat ...
like a comma separated list of variables, e.g. in the above function, ...
is converted to a table by {...}
just like you could construct a table by e.g. {a, b, c}
. The table is iterated with the ipairs
function to look for an element matching the first argument x
. So e.g. the following statement
if event == EVT_VIRTUAL_ENTER or event == EVT_VIRTUAL_EXIT then
can be replaced by
if match(event, EVT_VIRTUAL_ENTER, EVT_VIRTUAL_EXIT) then
You can also use ...
directly as a comma separated list of values, e.g. local a, b, c = ...
will assign the three variables to the three first arguments following x
, or nil
if none are given.
The Lua 5.2 Reference Manual helpful, both if you want to learn more about Lua, and if you want to search for answers to specific questions.
TODO
On radios with color display, a color may be added to the flags described above.
There are two types of color constants: one that is an index into a table holding a palette of theme colors, and one that is just a color.
These are the theme colors plus CUSTOM_COLOR, and they can be changed with the function lcd.setColor(color_index, color). Please note: if an indexed color is changed, then it changes everywhere that it is used. For the theme colors, this is not only in other widgets, but everywhere throughout the radio's user interface!
COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY1
COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY2
COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY3
COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY2
COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY3
COLOR_THEME_FOCUS
COLOR_THEME_EDIT
COLOR_THEME_ACTIVE
COLOR_THEME_WARNING
COLOR_THEME_DISABLED
CUSTOM_COLOR
These color constants cannot be changed:
BLACK
WHITE
LIGHTWHITE
YELLOW
BLUE
DARKBLUE
GREY
DARKGREY
LIGHTGREY
RED
DARKRED
GREEN
DARKGREEN
LIGHTBROWN
DARKBROWN
BRIGHTGREEN
ORANGE
These should no longer be used, but they are included for backwards compatibility. The old OpenTX API had a large number of indexed theme colors, and these have been mapped to the new theme colors as follows:
ALARM_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_WARNING
BARGRAPH_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY3
BARGRAPH1_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
BARGRAPH2_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY2
CURVE_AXIS_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY2
CURVE_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
CURVE_CURSOR_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_WARNING
HEADER_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_FOCUS
HEADER_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
HEADER_CURRENT_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_FOCUS
HEADER_ICON_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
LINE_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY3
MAINVIEW_GRAPHICS_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
MAINVIEW_PANES_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY2
MENU_TITLE_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
MENU_TITLE_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY2
MENU_TITLE_DISABLE_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY3
OVERLAY_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY1
SCROLLBOX_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY3
TEXT_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY3
TEXT_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
TEXT_DISABLE_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_DISABLED
TEXT_INVERTED_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_FOCUS
TEXT_INVERTED_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY2
TITLE_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_SECONDARY1
TRIM_BGCOLOR -> COLOR_THEME_FOCUS
TRIM_SHADOW_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_PRIMARY1
WARNING_COLOR -> COLOR_THEME_WARNING
This section describes various constants that are provided for Lua by EdgeTX.
Many of the lcd functions accept parameters named flags and patterns. The names and their meanings are described below.
Name
Description
Version
Notes
0
normal font, default precision for numeric
XXLSIZE
jumbo font
2.0.6
DBLSIZE
double size font
MIDSIZE
mid sized font
SMLSIZE
small font
BOLD
bold font
Only color displays
SHADOWED
shadow font
Only color displays
INVERS
inverted display
BLINK
blinking text
LEFT
left justify
2.0.6
Default for most functions not related to bitmaps
RIGHT
right justify
CENTER
center justify
Only color displays
VCENTER
center vertically
2.5.0
Only color displays
PREC1
single decimal place
PREC2
two decimal places
GREY_DEFAULT
grey fill
TIMEHOUR
display hours
Only for drawTimer
Name
Description
FORCE
pixels will be black
ERASE
pixels will be white
DOTTED
lines will appear dotted
This page describes the value that is passed to scripts in the event parameter. It is used in Telemetry and One-Time scripts, as well as widget scripts in full screen mode.
Each time a key is pressed, held and released a number of events get generated. Here is a typical flow:
when a key is pressed a FIRST
event is generated
if the key continues to be pressed, then after a while a LONG
event is generated
if the key continues to be pressed, then a REPEAT
events are being generated
when the key is released a BREAK
event is generated
Couple of examples:
a short press on key would generate: FIRST
, BREAK
a longer pres on key would generate: FIRST
, LONG
, BREAK
even longer press: FIRST
, LONG
, REPEAT,
REPEAT, ..., BREAK
This normal key event sequence can be altered with the killEvents(key) function. Any time this function is called (after the FIRST
event) all further key events for this key will be suppressed until the next key press of this key. Examples:
kill immediately after the key press would generate: FIRST
kill after the long key press would generate: FIRST
, LONG
The event
parameter in the Telemetry and One-Time scripts run function actually carries two pieces of information:
key number
type of event
The two fields are combined into one single number. Some of these combinations are defined as constants and are available to Lua scripts:
Key Event Name
Comments
EVT_MENU_BREAK
MENU key release
EVT_PAGE_BREAK
PAGE key release
EVT_PAGE_LONG
MENU key long press
EVT_ENTER_BREAK
ENT key release
EVT_ENTER_LONG
ENT key long press
EVT_EXIT_BREAK
EXIT key release
EVT_PLUS_BREAK
+ key release
EVT_MINUS_BREAK
- key release
EVT_PLUS_FIRST
+ key press
EVT_MINUS_FIRST
- key press
EVT_PLUS_REPT
+ key repeat
EVT_MINUS_REPT
- key repeat
Radios with rotary encoder (X7 and Horus) have also:
Key Event Name
Comments
EVT_ROT_BREAK
rotary encoder release
EVT_ROT_LONG
rotary encoder long press
EVT_ROT_LEFT
rotary encoder rotated left
EVT_ROT_RIGHT
rotary encoder rotated right
Given the large number of radios supported by OpenTX, and the large difference in keys available on those, a set of VIRTUAL KEYS has been defined and are mapped to best fit available hardware
Virtual Key Event Name
Comments
EVT_VIRTUAL_NEXT_PAGE
for PAGE navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_PREVIOUS_PAGE
for PAGE navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_ENTER
EVT_VIRTUAL_ENTER_LONG
EVT_VIRTUAL_MENU
EVT_VIRTUAL_MENU_LONG
EVT_VIRTUAL_NEXT
for FIELDS navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_NEXT_REPT
for FIELDS navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_PREVIOUS
for FIELDS navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_PREV_REPT
for FIELDS navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_INC
for VALUES navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_INC_REPT
for VALUES navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_DEC
for VALUES navigation
EVT_VIRTUAL_DEC_REPT
for VALUES navigation
Name
Description
LCD_W
width in pixels
LCD_H
height in pixels
The EdgeTX team has no intention of making a profit from their work. EdgeTX is free and open source and will remain free and open source. But EdgeTX is more expensive to maintain than most open source projects. The reason is that there is a never ending flood of hardware to integrate and maintain code for. Hardware that costs.
OpenTX Companion 2.2 is available for download at http://www.open-tx.org/downloads.html
If you intend to use mixer scripts, when updating the firmware on your transmitter you need to make sure the lua
option is checked in the settings for your radio profile (Main menu -> Settings ->Settings...) as shown below. This is not required if you only intend to run telemetry, one-time and function scripts, support for those is included by default.
Also note that the SD Structure path should contain a valid path to a copy of your transmitter's SD card contents, although that's not specific to Lua.
Lua Standard Libraries
Included
package
-
coroutine
-
table
-
since OpenTX 2.1.0 (with limitations)
os
-
string
since OpenTX 2.1.7
bit32
since OpenTX 2.1.0
math
since OpenTX 2.0.0
debug
-
This functions allows for sending SPORT / ACCESS telemetry data toward the receiver, and more generally, to anything connected SPORT bus on the receiver or transmitter.
When called without parameters, it will only return the status of the output buffer without sending anything.
@status current Introduced in 2.3
module
module index (0 = internal, 1 = external)
rxUid
receiver index
sensorId
physical sensor ID
frameId
frame ID
dataId
data ID
value
value
boolean
data queued in output buffer or not.
This functions allows for sending telemetry data toward the TBS Crossfire link.
When called without parameters, it will only return the status of the output buffer without sending anything.
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0, retval nil added in 2.3.4
command
command
data
table of data bytes
boolean
data queued in output buffer or not.
nil
incorrect telemetry protocol.
Return current system date and time that is kept by the RTC unit
none
table
current date and time, table elements:
year
(number) year
mon
(number) month
day
(number) day of month
hour
(number) hours
hour12
(number) hours in US format
min
(number) minutes
sec
(number) seconds
suffix
(text) am or pm
Return the RAS value or nil if no valid hardware found
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
none
number
representing RAS value. Value bellow 0x33 (51 decimal) are all ok, value above 0x33 indicate a hardware antenna issue.
This is just a hardware pass/fail measure and does not represent the quality of the radio link
RAS was called SWR in the past
Return the internal GPS position or nil if no valid hardware found
@status current Introduced in 2.2.2
none
table
representing the current radio position
lat
(number) internal GPS latitude, positive is North
lon
(number) internal GPS longitude, positive is East
'numsat' (number) current number of sats locked in by the GPS sensor
'fix' (boolean) fix status
'alt' (number) internal GPS altitude in 0.1m
'speed' (number) internal GPSspeed in 0.1m/s
'heading' (number) internal GPS ground course estimation in degrees * 10
'hdop' (number) internal GPS horizontal dilution of precision
Returns (some of) the general radio settings
@status current Introduced in 2.0.6, imperial
added in TODO, language
and voice
added in 2.2.0, gtimer added in 2.2.2.
none
table
with elements:
battWarn
(number) radio battery range - warning value
battMin
(number) radio battery range - minimum value
battMax
(number) radio battery range - maximum value
imperial
(number) set to a value different from 0 if the radio is set to the
IMPERIAL units
language
(string) radio language (used for menus)
voice
(string) voice language (used for speech)
gtimer
(number) radio global timer in seconds (does not include current session)
Return flight mode data.
@status current Introduced in 2.1.7
mode
(number) flight mode number to return (0 - 8). If mode parameter
is not specified (or contains invalid value), then the current flight mode data is returned.
multiple
returns 2 values:
(number) (current) flight mode number (0 - 8)
(string) (current) flight mode name
Return detailed information about field (source)
The list of valid sources is available:
OpenTX Version
Radio
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
@status current Introduced in 2.0.8, 'unit' field added in 2.2.0
name
(string) name of the field
table
information about requested field, table elements:
id
(number) field identifier
name
(string) field name
desc
(string) field description
'unit' (number) unit identifier Full list
nil
the requested field was not found
,
, ,
, , ,
Return the time since the radio was started in multiple of 10ms
The timer internally uses a 32-bit counter which is enough for 497 days so overflows will not happen.
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
none
number
Number of 10ms ticks since the radio was started Example:
run time: 12.54 seconds, return value: 1254
Load a Lua script file. This is similar to Lua's own loadfile() API method, but it uses OpenTx's optional pre-compilation feature to save memory and time during load.
Return values are same as from Lua API loadfile() method: If the script was loaded w/out errors then the loaded script (or "chunk") is returned as a function. Otherwise, returns nil plus the error message.
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
file
(string) Full path and file name of script. The file extension is optional and ignored (see mode
param to control which extension will be used). However, if an extension is specified, it should be ".lua" (or ".luac"), otherwise it is treated as part of the file name and the .lua/.luac will be appended to that.
mode
(string) (optional) Controls whether to force loading the text (.lua) or pre-compiled binary (.luac) version of the script. By default OTx will load the newest version and compile a new binary if necessary (overwriting any existing .luac version of the same script, and stripping some debug info like line numbers). You can use mode
to control the loading behavior more specifically. Possible values are:
b
only binary.
t
only text.
T
(default on simulator) prefer text but load binary if that is the only version available.
bt
(default on radio) either binary or text, whichever is newer (binary preferred when timestamps are equal).
Add x
to avoid automatic compilation of source file to .luac version.
Eg: "tx", "bx", or "btx".
Add c
to force compilation of source file to .luac version (even if existing version is newer than source file).
Eg: "tc" or "btc" (forces "t", overrides "x").
Add d
to keep extra debug info in the compiled binary.
Eg: "td", "btd", or "tcd" (no effect with just "b" or with "x").
env
(integer) See documentation for Lua function loadfile().
function
The loaded script, or nil
if there was an error (e.g. file not found or syntax error).
string
Error message(s), if any. Blank if no error occurred.
Note that you will get an error if you specify mode
as "b" or "t" and that specific version of the file does not exist (eg. no .luac file when "b" is used). Also note that mode
is NOT passed on to Lua's loader function, so unlike with loadfile() the actual file content is not checked (as if no mode or "bt" were passed to loadfile()).
Return OpenTX version
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, expanded in 2.1.7, radio type strings changed in 2.2.0, os name added in EdgeTX 2.4.0
This example also runs in OpenTX versions where the function returned only one value:
Output of the above script in simulator:
none
string
OpenTX version (ie "2.1.5")
multiple
values (available since 2.1.7):
(string) OpenTX version (ie "2.1.5")
(string) radio type: x12s
, x10
, x9e
, x9d+
, x9d
or x7
.
If running in simulator the "-simu" is added
(number) major version (ie 2 if version 2.1.5)
(number) minor version (ie 1 if version 2.1.5)
(number) revision number (ie 5 if version 2.1.5)
Since EdgeTX 2.4.0, sixth value added
(string) OS name (i.e. EdgeTX or nil if OpenTX)
Stops key state machine. See Key Events for the detailed description.
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
key
(number) key to be killed, can also include event type (only the key part is used)
none
Returns the value of a source.
The list of fixed sources:
OpenTX Version
Radio
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
In OpenTX 2.1.x the telemetry sources no longer have a predefined name. To get a telemetry value simply use it's sensor name. For example:
Altitude sensor has a name "Alt"
to get the current altitude use the source "Alt"
to get the minimum altitude use the source "Alt-", to get the maximum use "Alt+"
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, changed in 2.1.0, Cels+
and Cels-
added in 2.1.9
source
can be an identifier (number) (which was obtained by the getFieldInfo())
or a name (string) of the source.
value
current source value (number). Zero is returned for:
non-existing sources
for all telemetry source when the telemetry stream is not received
far all non allowed sensors while FAI MODE is active
table
GPS position is returned in a table:
lat
(number) latitude, positive is North
lon
(number) longitude, positive is East
pilot-lat
(number) pilot latitude, positive is North
pilot-lon
(number) pilot longitude, positive is East
table
GPS date/time, see getDateTime()
table
Cells are returned in a table (except where no cells were detected in which case the returned value is 0):
table has one item for each detected cell:
key (number) cell number (1 to number of cells)
value (number) current cell voltage
Getting a value by its numerical identifier is faster then by its name. While Cels
sensor returns current values of all cells in a table, a Cels+
or Cels-
will return a single value - the maximum or minimum Cels value.
,
, ,
, , ,
Generate haptic feedback
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
duration
(number) length of the haptic feedback in milliseconds
pause
(number) length of the silence after haptic feedback in milliseconds
flags
(number):
0 or not present
play with normal priority
PLAY_NOW
play immediately
none
Play a numerical value (text to speech)
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
value
(number) number to play. Value is interpreted as integer.
unit
(number) unit identifier [Full list]((../appendix/units.html))
attributes
(unsigned number) possible values:
0 or not present
plays integral part of the number (for a number 123 it plays 123)
PREC1
plays a number with one decimal place (for a number 123 it plays 12.3)
PREC2
plays a number with two decimal places (for a number 123 it plays 1.23)
none
Play a file from the SD card
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, changed in 2.1.0
path
(string) full path to wav file (i.e. “/SOUNDS/en/system/tada.wav”)
Introduced in 2.1.0: If you use a relative path, the current language is appended
to the path (example: for English language: /SOUNDS/en
is appended)
none
Play a tone
@status current Introduced in 2.1.0
frequency
(number) tone frequency in Hz (from 150 to 15000)
duration
(number) length of the tone in milliseconds
pause
(number) length of the silence after the tone in milliseconds
flags
(number):
0 or not present
play with normal priority.
PLAY_BACKGROUND
play in background (built in vario function uses this context)
PLAY_NOW
play immediately
freqIncr
(number) positive number increases the tone pitch (frequency with time), negative number decreases it. The frequency changes every 10 milliseconds, the change is freqIncr * 10Hz
. The valid range is from -127 to 127.
none
Raises a pop-up on screen that asks for confirmation
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0, changed from (title, event) to (title, message, event) in 2.3.8
title
(string) title to display
message
(string) text to display
event
(number) the event variable that is passed in from the Run function (key pressed)
"CANCEL"
user pushed EXIT key
Use only from stand-alone and telemetry scripts.
Raises a pop-up on screen that allows uses input
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
title
(string) text to display
event
(number) the event variable that is passed in from the Run function (key pressed)
input
(number) value that can be adjusted by the +/- keys
min
(number) min value that input can reach (by pressing the - key)
max
(number) max value that input can reach
number
result of the input adjustment
"OK"
user pushed ENT key
"CANCEL"
user pushed EXIT key
Use only from stand-alone and telemetry scripts.
Raises a pop-up on screen that shows a warning
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
title
(string) text to display
event
(number) the event variable that is passed in from the Run function (key pressed)
"CANCEL"
user pushed EXIT key
Use only from stand-alone and telemetry scripts.
@param num (optional): maximum number of bytes to read. If non-zero, serialRead will read up to num characters from the buffer. If 0 or left out, serialRead will read up to and including the first newline character or the end of the buffer. Note that the returned string may not end in a newline if this character is not present in the buffer.
Reads characters from the serial port. The string is allowed to contain any character, including 0.
@status current Introduced in 2.3.8
none
str
string. Empty if no new characters were available.
Pops a received SPORT packet from the queue. Please note that only packets using a data ID within 0x5000 to 0x50FF (frame ID == 0x10), as well as packets with a frame ID equal 0x32 (regardless of the data ID) will be passed to the LUA telemetry receive queue.
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
none
nil
queue does not contain any (or enough) bytes to form a whole packet
multiple
returns 4 values:
sensor ID (number)
frame ID (number)
data ID (number)
value (number)
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
id
Id of the sensor, valid range is from 0 to 0xFFFF
subID
subID of the sensor, usually 0, valid range is from 0 to 7
instance
instance of the sensor (SensorID), valid range is from 0 to 0xFF
value
fed to the sensor
unit
unit of the sensor Full list
precision
the precision of the sensor
0 or not present
no decimal precision.
!= 0
value is divided by 10^precision, e.g. value=1000, prec=2 => 10.00.
name
(string) Name of the sensor if it does not yet exist (4 chars).
not present
Name defaults to the Id.
present
Sensor takes name of the argument. Argument must have name surrounded by quotes: e.g., "Name"
true,
if the sensor was just added. In this case the value is ignored (subsequent call will set the value)
All three parameters id
, subID
and instance
can't be zero at the same time. At least one of them must be different from zero.
This functions allows for sending SPORT telemetry data toward the receiver, and more generally, to anything connected SPORT bus on the receiver or transmitter.
When called without parameters, it will only return the status of the output buffer without sending anything.
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0, retval nil added in 2.3.4
sensorId
physical sensor ID
frameId
frame ID
dataId
data ID
value
value
boolean
data queued in output buffer or not.
nil
incorrect telemetry protocol.
Get Custom Function parameters
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, TODO rename function
function
(unsigned number) custom function number (use 0 for CF1)
nil
requested custom function does not exist
table
custom function data:
switch
(number) switch index
func
(number) function index
name
(string) Name of track to play (only returned only returned if action is play track, sound or script)
value
(number) value (only returned only returned if action is not play track, sound or script)
mode
(number) mode (only returned only returned if action is not play track, sound or script)
param
(number) parameter (only returned only returned if action is not play track, sound or script)
active
(number) 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled
Get Curve parameters
Note that functions returns the tables starting with index 0 contrary to LUA's usual index starting with 1
@status current Introduced in 2.0.12
curve
(unsigned number) curve number (use 0 for Curve1)
nil
requested curve does not exist
table
curve data:
name
(string) name
type
(number) type
smooth
(boolean) smooth
points
(number) number of points
y
(table) table of Y values:
key
is point number (zero based)
value
is y value
x
(table) only included for custom curve type:
key
is point number (zero based)
value
is x value
Return input data for given input and line number
@status current Introduced in 2.3.10
index
(unsigned number) flight mode number (use 0 for FM0)
nil
requested input or line does not exist
table
input data:
name
(string) input line name
switch
(number) input switch index
fadeIn
(number) fade in value (in 0.1s)
fadeOut
(number) fade out value (in 0.1s)
trimsValues
(table) table of trim values:
key
is trim number (zero based)
value
is trim value
trimsModes
(table) table of trim mode:
key
is trim number (zero based)
value
is trim mode
Return input data for given input and line number
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, curveType/curveValue/carryTrim added in 2.3, inputName added 2.3.10, flighmode reworked in 2.3.11
input
(unsigned number) input number (use 0 for Input1)
line
(unsigned number) input line (use 0 for first line)
nil
requested input or line does not exist
table
input data:
name
(string) input line name
inputName
(string) input input name
source
(number) input source index
weight
(number) input weight
offset
(number) input offset
switch
(number) input switch index
curveType
(number) curve type (function, expo, custom curve)
curveValue
(number) curve index
carryTrim
(boolean) input trims applied
'flightModes' (number) bit-mask of active flight modes
Get Logical Switch parameters
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
switch
(unsigned number) logical switch number (use 0 for LS1)
nil
requested logical switch does not exist
table
logical switch data:
func
(number) function index
v1
(number) V1 value (index)
v2
(number) V2 value (index or value)
v3
(number) V3 value (index or value)
and
(number) AND switch index
delay
(number) delay (time in 1/10 s)
duration
(number) duration (time in 1/10 s)
Get configuration for specified Mix
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, parameters below multiplex
added in 2.0.13
channel
(unsigned number) channel number (use 0 for CH1)
line
(unsigned number) mix number (use 0 for first line(mix))
nil
requested channel or line does not exist
table
mix data:
name
(string) mix line name
source
(number) source index
weight
(number) weight (1024 == 100%) value or GVAR1..9 = 4096..4011, -GVAR1..9 = 4095..4087
offset
(number) offset value or GVAR1..9 = 4096..4011, -GVAR1..9 = 4095..4087
switch
(number) switch index
multiplex
(number) multiplex (0 = ADD, 1 = MULTIPLY, 2 = REPLACE)
curveType
(number) curve type (function, expo, custom curve)
curveValue
(number) curve index
flightModes
(number) bit-mask of active flight modes
carryTrim
(boolean) carry trim
mixWarn
(number) warning (0 = off, 1 = 1 beep, .. 3 = 3 beeps)
delayUp
(number) delay up (time in 1/10 s)
delayDown
(number) delay down
speedUp
(number) speed up
speedDown
(number) speed down
Get RF module parameters
Type
values:
0 NONE
1 PPM
2 XJT_PXX1
3 ISRM_PXX2
4 DSM2
5 CROSSFIRE
6 MULTIMODULE
7 R9M_PXX1
8 R9M_PXX2
9 R9M_LITE_PXX1
10 R9M_LITE_PXX2
11 R9M_LITE_PRO_PXX1
12 R9M_LITE_PRO_PXX2
13 SBUS
14 XJT_LITE_PXX2
subType
values for XJT_PXX1:
-1 OFF
0 D16
1 D8
2 LR12
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
index
(number) module index (0 for internal, 1 for external)
nil
requested module does not exist
table
module parameters:
subType
(number) protocol index
modelId
(number) receiver number
firstChannel
(number) start channel (0 is CH1)
channelsCount
(number) number of channels sent to module
Type
(number) module type
if the module type is Multi additional information are available
protocol
(number) protocol number (Multi only)
subProtocol
(number) sub-protocol number (Multi only)
channelsOrder
(number) first 4 channels expected order (Multi only)
Get servo parameters
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0
index
(unsigned number) output number (use 0 for CH1)
nil
requested output does not exist
table
output parameters:
name
(string) name
min
(number) Minimum % * 10
max
(number) Maximum % * 10
offset
(number) Subtrim * 10
ppmCenter
(number) offset from PPM Center. 0 = 1500
symetrical
(number) linear Subtrim 0 = Off, 1 = On
revert
(number) irection 0 = ---, 1 = INV
curve
(number) Curve number (0 for Curve1)
or nil
if no curve set
Get Telemetry Sensor parameters
@status current Introduced in 2.3.0
sensor
(unsigned number) sensor number (use 0 for sensor 1)
nil
requested sensor does not exist
table
with sensor data:
type
(number) 0 = custom, 1 = calculated
name
(string) Name
unit
(number) See list of units in the appendix of the OpenTX Lua Reference Guide
prec
(number) Number of decimals
id
(number) Only custom sensors
instance
(number) Only custom sensors
formula
(number) Only calculated sensors. 0 = Add etc. see list of formula choices in Companion popup
Get model timer parameters
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, name added in 2.3.6
timer
(number) timer index (0 for Timer 1)
nil
requested timer does not exist
table
timer parameters:
mode
(number) timer trigger source: off, abs, stk, stk%, sw/!sw, !m_sw/!m_sw
start
(number) start value [seconds], 0 for up timer, 0> down timer
value
(number) current value [seconds]
countdownBeep
(number) countdown beep (0 = silent, 1 = beeps, 2 = voice)
minuteBeep
(boolean) minute beep
persistent
(number) persistent timer
name
(string) timer name
Insert an Input at specified line
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, curveType/curveValue/carryTrim added in 2.3, inputName added 2.3.10
input
(unsigned number) input number (use 0 for Input1)
line
(unsigned number) input line (use 0 for first line)
value
(table) input data, see model.getInput()
none
Insert a mixer line into Channel
@status current Introduced in 2.0.0, parameters below multiplex
added in 2.0.13
channel
(unsigned number) channel number (use 0 for CH1)
line
(unsigned number) mix number (use 0 for first line(mix))
value
(table) see model.getMix() for table format
none
Set Curve parameters
The first and last x value must -100 and 100 and x values must be monotonically increasing
@status current Introduced in 2.2.0
Example setting a 4-point custom curve:
setting a 6-point standard smoothed curve
curve
(unsigned number) curve number (use 0 for Curve1)
params
see model.getCurve return format for table format. setCurve uses standard lua array indexing and arrays start at index 1
`` 0 - Everything okay