Reference

Files, settings and variables

Where Corvus keeps what it stores, the config file behind the Settings page, the command-line arguments, the connection string forms, and the environment variables that change its behaviour.

Where Corvus keeps its files

Everything lives in one folder in your home directory: ~/.corvus on macOS and Linux, %USERPROFILE%\.corvus on Windows. An update replaces the app and leaves this folder alone, so settings, maps, logs and plugins survive it.

Path	Contents	Config key to move it
`config.json`	Every setting. Readable by you alone.
`tiles/`	The offline map store: imagery, elevation and buildings.	`tile_cache_dir`
`logs/`	The tlogs Corvus records, one per flight, and exported console transcripts.	`tlog_dir`
`flightlogs/`	Logs downloaded from the vehicle (ULog, DataFlash).	`log_download_dir`
`params/`	Parameter exports.	`params_dir` (also under Settings, Files)
`missions/`	Saved mission plans, as JSON.	`missions_dir`
`firmware/`	Downloaded firmware images and the release list.	`firmware_dir`
`plugins/`	Your own plugins, each with its own `config.json`.
`param-metadata/`	Copies of PX4 parameter descriptions, when that option is on.
`known_hosts`	SSH host keys of the companion computers you connected to.
`branding/`	Your company logo.
`corvus.lock`	The lock that keeps a second Corvus from starting. Held by the running process; nothing to clean up after a crash.
`webengine/`	The desktop app's browser profile.

An empty value for a folder key means the default above; any other value pins the folder where you want it, for example on a larger disk for tiles.

The config file

~/.corvus/config.json is written by the Settings page, and most people never open it. It is plain JSON and safe to edit while Corvus is closed. Every key is optional: a file written by an older version loads exactly as it did, and a value of the wrong type falls back to the default rather than being guessed at. Switches that decide something safety relevant (auto-connect, forwarding, commands from a second station) accept only a real true or false, so a typo such as "true" in quotes reads as "not set", never as yes.

Key	What it holds
`mavlink_connection`	The saved connection, used when nothing is plugged in (default `udp:0.0.0.0:14550`).
`http_port`	The local HTTP port (default 8000).
`autoconnect`	`enabled`, `usb`, `sik`, `udp_fallback`. See Automatic connection.
`forwarding`	Mirroring the link to a second station: `enabled`, `allow_commands`, the other station's `host` and `port`, and Corvus's own `listen_port` (0 for any free port).
`ssh_connections`	Saved SSH hosts: `name`, `host`, `port`, `username`, `key_path`.
`map`, `map_tokens`	The map service and layer, and the saved API keys.
`theme`, `ui`, `controls`, `branding`	Appearance, pages, the flown track, the compass, windows, manual controls and the logo.
`battery`, `rtk`, `remote_id`, `video`	The settings of those setup pages that live in the ground station rather than on the aircraft.
`checklists`	Your preflight checklists.
`parameters`	`cache_defaults`: whether copies of PX4 parameter descriptions are kept.
`review`	`sensitivity`: `relaxed`, `normal` or `strict`.
`updates`	Whether to look for new releases, and a skipped version.
`stream_rates`	MAVLink message rates to ask the aircraft for.

To move a station's settings to another laptop, use Export and import rather than copying this file: the export can leave secrets out and is applied part by part.

Command-line arguments

All three ways of starting Corvus take the same two optional arguments:

corvus-gcs [PORT] [CONNECTION]
./run.sh [PORT] [CONNECTION]
python serve.py [PORT] [CONNECTION]      # backend only, UI in a browser

PORT: The local HTTP port, 1 to 65535. Overrides http_port. If it is taken, Corvus tries the next ones, up to twenty, and reports the one it got.
CONNECTION: A MAVLink connection string. Wins over every automatic choice for this launch.

Connection strings

Form	Meaning
`serial:/dev/ttyUSB0:57600`	A serial device and baud rate. On macOS `/dev/tty.usbserial-…`, on Windows `COM7` (or `\\.\COM12` past COM9).
`udp:0.0.0.0:14550`	Bind a local UDP port and wait for the aircraft (the same as `udpin:`).
`udpout:192.168.1.10:14550`	Send to a remote UDP port and speak first, for example to a mavlink-router server endpoint.
`tcp:192.168.1.10:5760`	Connect to a TCP server.
`tcpin:0.0.0.0:5760`	Listen for a TCP connection.

Environment variables

Variable	Effect
`CORVUS_BIND`	Listen on another interface than `127.0.0.1`, for example `0.0.0.0`. No authentication; see Network and security.
`CORVUS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN`	One exact web origin, besides loopback, allowed to read the API's answers.
`CORVUS_ALLOW_MULTI=1`	Allow a second Corvus to start. See One Corvus at a time.
`CORVUS_SSH_HOST_KEYS=strict`	Refuse SSH hosts whose key is not already known.
`CORVUS_MAVLINK_SIGNING_KEY_FILE`	Turn on MAVLink 2 signing with the key in this file. See MAVLink signing.
`CORVUS_FFMPEG`	The ffmpeg to use for RTSP cameras, when it is not on the path and not set on the Video page.
`CORVUS_TILE_CACHE_DIR`	Where the offline map store lives, overriding the default.
`CORVUS_PYTHON`	`run.sh` only: the Python interpreter to create `.venv/` from.
`CORVUS_DIST`, `CODESIGN_IDENTITY`	Build only; see Build the apps.

The local API

Everything the interface does goes through a local HTTP API on the same port, with live telemetry pushed over Server-Sent Events. Two endpoints are useful from a script or another tool on the same machine:

GET /api/version: the product name and the running version.
GET /api/mavlink/capabilities: which features the connected autopilot supports, and why a missing one is missing.

The rest of the API is internal and may change between releases. The auto-connect part of it is documented as a contract in the auto-connect interface reference.