Command-Line Utility: `indi-allsky-ctl`

indi-allsky-ctl is the unified command-line control and maintenance utility for indi-allsky. Installed automatically at /usr/bin/indi-allsky-ctl with the .deb package, it wraps common maintenance tasks, service operations, hardware diagnostics, and database utilities into a single command without requiring you to manually activate python virtual environments or remember script paths.

Quick Reference

indi-allsky-ctl <command> [options/arguments...]

To see all available commands from the terminal:

indi-allsky-ctl --help

1. User & Authentication Management

Manage web interface user accounts directly from the command line:

List Users

List all active and inactive web users, their admin status, and contact info:

indi-allsky-ctl user-list

Reset / Change Password

Change or reset the password for an existing web account:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl passwd -u <username>
# Or alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl reset-pass -u <username>

Add a New User

Create a new user account with administrative privileges:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl user-add -u <username> -p <password> -n "Full Name" -e "[email protected]" --admin

(Omit --admin for a standard view-only account).

Delete a User

Remove a user account:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl user-del -u <username>

2. Database & Storage Management

Immediate Database Backup

Create an immediate gzipped SQLite database backup inside /var/lib/indi-allsky/backup/:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl backup-db

Repair File & Directory Permissions

Recursively verify and repair ownership and permissions across all system and web directories (/var/log/indi-allsky, /etc/indi-allsky, /var/lib/indi-allsky, /var/www/html/allsky, and your active IMAGE_FOLDER):

sudo indi-allsky-ctl fix-perms
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl repair-perms

Tip

Use this command if you have manually copied images, darks, or config files with sudo or non-standard permissions and the web interface or capture daemon cannot write to them.

Rebuild Missing Thumbnails

Scan your historical image collection and generate any missing thumbnails for timelapses, keograms, and startrails:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl rebuild-thumbnails

Expire Images & Purge Old Files

Manually trigger image retention policies and delete expired captures:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl expire-images

Audit & Validate Database

Check the integrity of image, timelapse, and keogram records against files on disk, fixing orphaned or broken database entries:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl validate-db

Convert Database (SQLite to MySQL)

Migrate database records from SQLite to a MySQL/MariaDB server:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl convert-db

Flush Camera Images & Videos from Database

Purge all image records (and optionally video records) associated with a specific camera ID from the database:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl flush-images --camera_id 1
# Include videos as well:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl flush-images --camera_id 1 --flush-videos
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl purge-images --camera_id 1

Flush Recent Images (Last 16 Minutes)

Flush images taken in the last 16 minutes from the database to reset recent exposure/gain/bin adaptation heuristics without clearing full history:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl flush-16min-images
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl flush-recent-images

Merge Camera Entries

When upgrading INDI driver versions or switching camera configurations, a camera may be assigned a new database ID. Merge historical records and images from the old camera entry to the new one:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl merge-cameras -orig <old_camera_id> -n <new_camera_id>

Optimize MySQL / MariaDB Database

Analyze and reclaim unused storage space across all indi_allsky MySQL tables:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl optimize-mysql
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl mysql-optimize

(Ensure indi-allsky service is stopped before optimizing tables).

Import Dark Frames & Bad Pixel Maps

Interactively import pre-existing dark calibration frames and bad pixel maps into the database:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl import-darks

Retry / Sync Pending Uploads

Manually trigger synchronization of pending or failed uploads (SFTP, S3, Sync API) for images and videos:

# Display upload sync report:
indi-allsky-ctl retry-uploads report

# Run synchronization:
indi-allsky-ctl retry-uploads sync --days 30 --threads 2

# Aliases:
indi-allsky-ctl upload-sync sync
indi-allsky-ctl sync-uploads sync

Add System Alert Notification

Inject a user notification directly into the database to display in the web interface notification center:

indi-allsky-ctl notify <CATEGORY> <ITEM> <MESSAGE> <EXPIRE_MINUTES>

# Example:
indi-allsky-ctl notify GENERAL "Maintenance" "Scheduled system reboot in 10 minutes" 60

Categories: GENERAL, MISC, MEDIA, HARDWARE, CAMERA, etc.

3. Hardware & Diagnostics

Diagnostic Camera Test

Probe your configured camera interface and take a diagnostic test exposure:

indi-allsky-ctl test-camera

List Detected INDI Cameras

Scan the local INDI server and list all detected camera devices:

indi-allsky-ctl list-cameras

Detailed Camera Information

Connect to the running INDI server and print a detailed summary table of sensor parameters, gain ranges, resolutions, pixel dimensions, and supported video formats:

indi-allsky-ctl camera-info

Inspect Camera Properties

Dump all INDI driver properties, controls, switches, and exposed parameters for attached camera devices:

indi-allsky-ctl camera-props
# Alias:
indi-allsky-ctl camera-properties

Test Camera Linearity

Measure camera sensor linearity across progressive exposure times:

indi-allsky-ctl test-linearity -C 3 -M 1.0 -m 0.01 -g 100 -l 25
# Alias:
indi-allsky-ctl camera-linearity -C 3 -M 1.0

Options:

-C, --Count: Number of exposures per level (default: 3)
-M, --Max_exposure: Maximum exposure in seconds (default: 1.0)
-m, --min_exposure: Minimum exposure in seconds
-g, --gain: Camera gain to test
-l, --level: Exposure increment step percentage (default: 25%)
--calibrate: Enable dark calibration subtraction during test

Test Environmental Sensors

Probe configured I2C, SPI, 1-Wire, and serial hardware sensors (e.g. BME280, BMP280, INA219, MLX90614) and display live telemetry readings:

indi-allsky-ctl test-sensors

Test Fans, Heaters & GPIO Devices

Test auxiliary hardware controllers such as enclosure fans, dew heaters, and GPIO outputs:

# Test fan operation:
indi-allsky-ctl test-devices fan

# Test dew heater operation:
indi-allsky-ctl test-devices dew_heater

# Test automatic GPIO pins:
indi-allsky-ctl test-devices auto_gpio

# Aliases:
indi-allsky-ctl test-fans fan
indi-allsky-ctl test-hardware dew_heater

Test Upload Protocols

Validate configured file transfer destinations and cloud storage connections:

# Test SFTP / FTP transfers:
indi-allsky-ctl test-upload filetransfer

# Test S3 / Object Storage:
indi-allsky-ctl test-upload s3

# Test Sync API endpoint:
indi-allsky-ctl test-upload syncapi

Test ADS-B Aircraft Tracking

Validate dump1090 connection and inspect live aircraft tracking data:

indi-allsky-ctl test-adsb

Test Oracle Cloud (OCI) Configuration

Verify that the configured OCI credentials file and API keys are valid:

indi-allsky-ctl test-oci

Test WebSocket Events & Remote Actions

Connect to the real-time WebSocket event stream or send immediate action commands:

# Interactive listener mode (listens for events and accepts interactive commands):
indi-allsky-ctl test-websocket

# Send a single control action:
indi-allsky-ctl test-websocket --action pause
indi-allsky-ctl test-websocket --action ping
indi-allsky-ctl test-websocket --action get_status
indi-allsky-ctl test-websocket --action keogram

# Aliases:
indi-allsky-ctl test-ws --action ping

Generate Diagnostic Support Bundle

Generate a redacted diagnostic report containing system logs, hardware configurations, and environment details for troubleshooting:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl support-info

4. Peripheral Configuration & Integrations

Interactive setup helpers for common hardware accessories and integrations:

Disable Raspberry Pi Onboard LEDs

Disable status, power, and ethernet LEDs on Raspberry Pi 3, 4, or 5 to eliminate stray dome reflections:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl disable-leds
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl setup-leds

Setup Mosquitto MQTT Broker

Install and configure the local Mosquitto MQTT message broker:

indi-allsky-ctl setup-mqtt
# Alias:
indi-allsky-ctl setup-mosquitto

(Run as your normal user with sudo privileges; do not run directly as root).

Home Assistant MQTT Auto-Discovery

Publish Home Assistant auto-discovery MQTT payloads so all camera sensors, temperatures, and status indicators immediately populate in Home Assistant:

indi-allsky-ctl ha-discovery
# With custom device topic prefix:
indi-allsky-ctl ha-discovery --device_topic allsky
# Alias:
indi-allsky-ctl setup-ha-discovery

Setup GPS / GPSD

Configure gpsd and serial GPS receivers for hardware time synchronization:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl setup-gps

Setup WiFi Hotspot Failover

Set up automatic WiFi hotspot fallback using NetworkManager when home WiFi is unreachable:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl setup-hotspot

Setup Hardware RTC (Real-Time Clock)

Configure an I2C DS3231 or PCF8563 real-time clock module:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl setup-rtc

Setup USB Drive Automount

Configure udisks2 rules to automatically mount external USB flash storage:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl setup-usb-mount

5. Package & Driver Management (INDI)

Prevent upstream package updates from inadvertently replacing working camera drivers:

Pin (Hold) INDI Packages

Lock installed INDI packages (indi-bin, indi-3rdparty, libindi*) so that system-wide apt upgrade will not touch them:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl hold-indi
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl pin-indi

Unpin (Unhold) INDI Packages

Release the hold on INDI packages to allow them to upgrade normally:

sudo indi-allsky-ctl unhold-indi
# Alias:
sudo indi-allsky-ctl unpin-indi

Check Hold Status

View which INDI packages are currently held:

indi-allsky-ctl status-indi-hold

Protect Custom Source-Built INDI

If you compiled INDI or INDI 3rd-party drivers from source, register your build in the APT database using an equivs dummy package (indi-local-source version 99.0.0):

sudo indi-allsky-ctl protect-source-indi

Note

This satisfies all APT package dependencies without allowing package managers to overwrite your custom compiled binaries.

6. Service Control & Logs

View Service Status

Check the status of indi-allsky.service and gunicorn-indi-allsky.service:

indi-allsky-ctl status

Restart Services

Restart both the capture daemon and web server:

indi-allsky-ctl restart

Stream Live Logs

Follow real-time systemd journal logs from both indi-allsky and gunicorn:

indi-allsky-ctl logs