INDI clients are the programs you use to directly control your devices. There are numerous clients implementations that are tailored to specific requirements. But the most popular clients are the generic GUI clients. GUI clients are capable of running any INDI driver.
The following is a list of popular INDI clients:
Name | Description | Cost | License | Operating Systems | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
KStars | KStars is free, open source, cross-platform Astronomy Software. It provides an accurate graphical simulation of the night sky, from any location on Earth, at any date and time. The display includes upto 100 million stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects,all 8 planets, the Sun and Moon, and thousands of comets and asteroids. In addition, it provides tools to perform many astronomical calculations, an observation planner, and lots of information and resources to help you explore the universe! | Free | GPL | Linux, BSD, OSX, Windows | INDI Library for KStars is only available for Linux, BSD, and OSX. |
Ekos | Ekos is an advanced cross-platform observatory control and automation tool with particular focus on Astrophotography. It is based on a modular extensible framework to perform common astrophotography tasks. This includes highly accurate GOTOs using astrometry solver, ability to measure andcorrect polar alignment errors , auto-focus & auto-guide capabilities, and capture of single or stack of images with filter wheel support. | Free | GPL | Linux, BSD, OSX | Ekos is part of KStars. |
KStars Lite | KStars Lite supports many features of the desktop version optimized for tablet/phone use. It supports telescope and camera control, color schemes, and different projection systems. Just point it any where in the night sky and identify what objects and constellations you are looking at, plus a lot more! | Free | GPL | Android | KStars Lite in Google Play Store |
AstroImager | AstroImager is a powerful, but easy to use image capture application for the astrophotography for OSX. | €14.99 | Proprietary | OSX | AstroImager in Apple Store. |
AstroTelescope | AstroTelescope is a simple planetarium for astrophotography integrated with imaging application for OSX. | €9.99 | Proprietary | OSX | AstroTelescope in Apple Store. |
AstroGuider | AstroGuider is a simple to use guiding application for your telescope mount. It can be calibrated semi-automatically or manually, you do not need to take care about camera orientation or pixel scale. | €9.99 | Proprietary | OSX | AstroGuider in Apple Store. |
IPARCOS | IPARCOS is a INDI client for Android phones and tablets. It supports connecting and controlling your INDI devices including easy to use telescope and camera controls. | Free | GPL | Android | |
Remote Observatory | Remote Observatory in a multilanguage INDI client for the Android platform. It is under active development and allows to control any number of INDI Servers and Devices simultaneously, including handling of BLOB properties, multiple usar interfaces for particular devices and so on. It has been designed to be extensible in the way that the information is presented to the user. | Free | GPL | Android | Remote Observatory in Google Play |
Cartes Du Ciel | Cartes du Ciel is a free planetarium program for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. With the change to version 3, Linux has been added as a target platform, licensing has changed from freeware to GPL and the project moved to a new website. The software maps out and labels most of the constellations, planets, and objects you can see with a telescope. It can also download Digitized Sky Survey Charts and superimpose images over these charts. Numerous star charts and indexes can be installed. There are also telescope interfaces and many versatile display options. | Free | GPL | Linux, OSX, Windows | Cartes Du Ciel only supports telescope control. |
CCDCiel | CCDCiel is a CCD capture software intended for the amateur astronomer. It include all the features required to perform digital imaging CCD observation of celestial objects. Using the standard drivers protocol INDI and ASCOM it can connect and control the CCD camera, the focuser, the filter wheel and the telescope mount. | Free | GPL | Linux, Windows | |
DCD | DCD is a platform independent user interface for remote telescope and device control, compatible with the INDI standard. | Free | GPL | Linux, BSD, OSX, Windows | |
INDI For Java | The INDI for Java is a set of libraries (written in the Java programming language) to implement Clients (graphical and not graphical ones), Drivers and Servers that follow the INDI distributed control protocol, a protocol designed to operate astronomical instrumentation. The library provides an Android client as well (version 8 or higher). | Free | GPL | Linux, OSX, Windows | |
PHD2 | The Open PHD Guiding PHD2 software for Linux, Mac OSX and Windows is the continuation of the popular and free Stark Labs PHD Guiding package for telescope autoguiding on Macs and PCs. Only supports INDI on Linux, has open tickets for INDI support on Mac OSX and Windows | Free | BSD | Linux, OSX, Windows | GIT repo |
wINDI | wINDI is an INDI wrapper and INDI server for ASCOM drivers. It was developed as a supporting module for jINDI cross platform observatory control software, but can be used for personal or educational purposes for free with any other INDI client running on the same or a remote machine (e.g. KStars, XEphem or CdC). | Free | Propietary | Windows | |
jINDI | jINDI is a project of cross platform observatory control software based on INDI protocol. It consists of jINDI protocol and jINDI GUI. | Propietary | Windows, Linux, OSX | Not officially released yet. | |
iINDI | iINDI is a mobile control panel for the remote INDI servers for iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. It offers the same functionality as jINDI Device Manager or KStars Control panel for indiserver and INDI drivers or wINDI and ASCOM drivers. The only limitation is, that it doesn't support BLOB transfer. | €3.99 | Propietary | iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad | |
Xephem | Xephem is a Motif based ephemeris and planetarium program for Unix-like operating systems. | $19.95 | Propietary | Unix-like | |
GoQat | GoQat is a hardware control and data acquisition program for astronomy on the Linux platform. It has an INDI client to control any device with an INDI driver and has native support for any CCD camera from Quantum Scientific Imaging and any Starlight Xpress USB 2.0 camera. | Free | GPL | Linux | |
EqmodGui | EqmodGui is a user interface for Linux INDI Eqmod telescope driver. It allow to easily set the main parameters require to use this driver and manage the alignment data. |
Free | GPLv3 | Linux | |
INDI starter | INDI starter is a user interface to run a INDI server. You can configure different profile for your astronomical equipment. The INDI server can be launched locally or remotely on another computer. In this last case a ssh tunnel is established to allow local client connection. |
Free | GPLv3 | Linux | |
indiprop | indiprop provides a generic user interface for browsing device properties published by an INDI server. | Free | GPL | Linux | |
AstroDSLR | AstroDSLR is an application similar to AstroImager, an easy to use tool for astrophotography, but intended for use with Canon EOS cameras. | €14.99 | Propriietary | OSX | |
PixInsight |
PixInsight is an advanced image processing software platform. It has been designed specifically for astrophotography and other technical imaging fields. PixInsight is a modular, open-architecture system where the entire processing and file handling capabilities are implemented as external installable modules. INDI support is via INDIClient module which is an open-source project released under a BSD-like license. |
€230 | Proprietary | FreeBSD, Linux, OSX, Windows |
You can try out the PixInsight Platform at no charge for 45 days. |
HNSky |
Hallo Northern Sky or HNSKY is a full feature planetarium program for Windows and Linux (under development). Contains 30.000 deep sky objects, a comet and asteroid database and the TYCHO2++ 4.5 million star database up to magnitude 12.5. The Sun, Moon, the planets and their major moons are all displayed with surface features. It is supplied with hundreds of DSS deep sky images which will blend in at the correct size and orientation. Online access to UCAC4 en NOMAD star catalog or download the complete GSC 1.2 up to magnitude 15 and the USNO UCAC4 up to magnitude 16. Online access to the DSS2 survey. Menu is adjustable in 21 languages. |
Free | Proprietary | Windows, Linux | Linux beta edition |
Stellarium | Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. | Free | GPLv2+ | Linux OSX Windows |
Yes! You can use Stellarium for telescope control with INDI drivers. |
MoonPanoramaMaker | MoonPanoramaMaker automates the process of taking high-resolution panoramas of the Moon. Since the USB cameras employed cover a very small field of view, multiple views must be combined to produce a complete panorama. MoonPanoramaMaker covers the current Moon phase with an optimal grid of single views and automatically steers the telescope mount and camera during their exposure. | Free | GPLv3 | Windows, Linux | |
ZWO ASIAIR | The ASIAIR Wi-Fi Camera Controller is a smart Wi-Fi device that allows you to control all ASI USB 3.0 cameras, ASI Mini series cameras, and an INDI equatorial mount. With this device, you can plate solve, autoguide, sequence, and capture deep space images with your phone or tablet! | $179 | Proprietary | iOS/Android |