A single Linux computer
Everything on one machine, with the drivers and the application in one place.
Choose one of the basic setups that looks like yours to see what you need to install, or read on for what the pieces are and how they fit together.
A single Mac
Everything on one Mac, with the INDIGO Server running in the background.
Raspberry Pi + Linux PC
The server runs on the Pi at the telescope, the application on your Linux computer.
Raspberry Pi + Mac
The server runs on the Pi, and you control it from macOS, iPadOS or iOS.
Raspberry Pi + Windows PC
The server runs on the Pi, and you control it from Windows or from a browser.
More complex setups
Several servers, a remote observatory, or drivers linked straight into your own application.
The components
Whatever the setup, it is built from the same few pieces. The server is the part that talks to the equipment, and everything else is an application that connects to it, either on the same computer or across the network.
| Component | What it does | Runs on | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDIGO Server | Runs the device drivers and the INDIGO agents that carry out imaging, guiding, focusing and plate solving. Your cameras, mounts and the rest of the equipment are plugged into the computer where the drivers run, so this is the machine that sits at the telescope. See the Guide to indigo_server and INDIGO Drivers and INDIGO Agents. | Linux and macOS. On Linux it is a package of its own, and a Raspberry Pi with INDIGO Sky is the usual choice. On macOS it is not distributed separately: it comes as part of INDIGO A1, free of charge. Windows is not released yet. | Free. |
| INDIGO Control Panel | Connects to INDIGO servers to load and unload drivers, to manage the configuration and to read and change every property of every device. Sooner or later you will want to tweak a property or add a driver, so on Linux and Windows treat it as part of the basic installation rather than an extra. On Apple systems it is built into INDIGO A1, so a separate application is not needed. | All platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS and iPadOS. | Free. |
| Ain INDIGO Imager | Connects to an INDIGO server and runs the observation itself: image acquisition, focusing, guiding, plate solving and viewing the images as they arrive. See the Ain users guide. | Linux and Windows. | Free. |
| INDIGO A1 | The all-in-one application for Apple systems, and the only way to get the INDIGO server on a Mac. The server and the control panel inside it are free; the paid part is the imaging interface, which runs the observation the way Ain does. With the free part alone a Mac can drive the equipment attached to it, and it can just as well connect to a server elsewhere on the network. | macOS, iOS and iPadOS. | Partly paid: the server and the control panel are free, the imaging interface is paid. |
On Windows, INDIGO Control Panel and Ain INDIGO Imager need the Bonjour service installed separately before they can discover INDIGO servers on the network by themselves. It is linked next to both of them on the Downloads page. Without it the applications still work, but you have to type in the address of the server yourself.
Before you start, it is worth checking that your equipment is supported in the list of device drivers.
A single Linux computer
Install: add the DEB repository from the Downloads page and install the INDIGO infrastructure, which is the INDIGO Server together with all the drivers, then Ain INDIGO Imager to run the observation and INDIGO Control Panel to manage the drivers and the device properties. Your equipment is plugged into this computer.
To run: start the server as described on the For Users page, or in the Guide to indigo_server and INDIGO Drivers for the full detail. Then run INDIGO Control Panel to load the drivers you need and configure them.
A single Mac
Install: INDIGO A1 for macOS, from the Downloads page. There is no separate INDIGO server for macOS: the server is part of INDIGO A1 and is only available that way.
What it costs: the server and the control panel inside INDIGO A1 are free, so installing it gives you a complete working setup at no cost, with your equipment plugged into the Mac and the drivers and properties managed from the built-in control panel. The paid part is the astrophotography and macrophotography interface, which adds imaging, guiding, mount control and configurable dashboards.
Raspberry Pi + Linux PC
On the Raspberry Pi: write the INDIGO Sky image to an SD card. It is a ready made system with the INDIGO server, all the drivers and a web panel already set up, and on first boot it opens its own WiFi access point. Plug your cameras, mount and the rest of the equipment into the Pi.
On the Linux computer: add the DEB repository from the Downloads page and install Ain INDIGO Imager, which runs the observation, and INDIGO Control Panel, which loads the drivers you need on the Pi and lets you change device properties. Nothing else has to be installed here, because the server and the drivers are already on the Pi.
To connect: the Linux computer has to be on the same network as the Pi, so either join the WiFi access point that the Pi opens, or put both on the same router. The service then announces itself and appears in the application on its own.
Raspberry Pi + Mac
On the Raspberry Pi: write the INDIGO Sky image to an SD card. It is a ready made system with the INDIGO server, all the drivers and a web panel already set up, and on first boot it opens its own WiFi access point. Plug your cameras, mount and the rest of the equipment into the Pi.
On the Mac: install INDIGO A1 from the Downloads page. It runs the observation and it has the control panel built in, so it also loads the drivers on the Pi and changes device properties, and nothing else has to be installed. A1 carries a server of its own, but here it is not needed: it connects to the one running on the Pi. The same application is available for iOS and iPadOS, so the setup can be driven from an iPad in the field. The control panel part of INDIGO A1 is free; the imaging interface that runs the observation is the paid part.
To connect: the Mac has to be on the same network as the Pi, so either join the WiFi access point that the Pi opens, or put both on the same router. There is nothing else to configure, because service discovery is built into macOS and the Pi shows up on its own.
Raspberry Pi + Windows PC
On the Raspberry Pi: write the INDIGO Sky image to an SD card. It is a ready made system with the INDIGO server, all the drivers and a web panel already set up, and on first boot it opens its own WiFi access point. Plug your cameras, mount and the rest of the equipment into the Pi. This is the way to use INDIGO from Windows today, because the INDIGO server itself is not released for Windows yet.
On the Windows computer: install Ain INDIGO Imager to run the observation and INDIGO Control Panel to load the drivers on the Pi and change device properties, both from the Downloads page. Install 64-bit Bonjour as well, linked next to them, so that the Pi is discovered automatically.
To connect: the Windows computer has to be on the same network as the Pi, so either join the WiFi access point that the Pi opens, or put both on the same router.
Or install nothing at all: the Pi serves a web panel, so you can point a browser at it and control the whole setup from there.
More complex setups
The setups described above are only the simplest and common ones. INDIGO is a software bus, and the pieces can be combined in any way that suits your observatory.
One server can attach the bus of another, so a mount driven by one computer and cameras attached to a second appear as a single setup. A client can be connected to several servers at once. An application can load the drivers directly, with no server at all. The agents run on the server, so a sequence keeps going with no client connected, which is what makes a remote observatory practical. And ASCOM clients can reach INDIGO devices through the ALPACA agent.
All of it is described in the documentation: start from the INDIGO documentation index, and in particular the Guide to indigo_server and INDIGO Drivers for attaching remote servers and choosing drivers, INDIGO Agents for what the agents do, and the INDIGO Scripting Guide for automating a whole night.
Where to go next
The For Users page goes into detail about running the server and collects the guides for polar alignment, autofocus, guiding and plate solving. If a device does not behave as expected, its driver has a README of its own, linked from the list of device drivers.