rigctld communicates to a client through a TCP socket using text commands shared with rigctl. The protocol is simple; commands are sent to rigctld on one line and rigctld responds to "get" commands with the requested values, one per line, when successful, otherwise, it responds with one line "RPTR x", where x is a negative number indicating the error code. Commands that do not return values respond with the line "RPTR x", where x is zero when successful, otherwise is a regative number indicating the error code. Each line is terminated with a newline '\n' character. This protocol is primarily for use by the NET rigctl (rig model 2)backend.
A separate Extended Response protocol extends the above behavior by echoing the received command string as a header, any returned values as a key: value pair, and the "RPTR x" string as the end of response marker which includes the Hamlib success or failure value. See the PROTOCOL section for details. Consider using this protocol for clients that will interact with rigctld directly through a TCP socket.
Keep in mind that Hamlib is BETA level software. While a lot of backend libraries lack complete rig support, the basic functions are usually well supported. The API may change without publicized notice, while an advancement of the minor version (e.g. 1.1.x to 1.2.x) indicates such a change.
Please report bugs and provide feedback at the e-mail address given in the REPORTING BUGS section. Patches and code enhancements are also welcome.
Here is a summary of the supported options:
N.B.: The id is in decimal notation, unless prefixed by 0x for a hexadecimal value.
N.B.: As rotctld's default port is 4533, it is advisable to use even numbered ports for rigctld, e.g. 4532, 4534, 4536, etc.
Use -L option for a list.
N.B.: This option should be considered obsolete. Please consider using the Extended Response protocol instead (see PROTOCOL below). This option will be removed in a future Hamlib release.
N.B. Some options may not be implemented by a given backend and will return an error. This is most likely to occur with the --set-conf and --show-conf options.
Please note that the backend for the radio to be controlled, or the radio itself may not support some commands. In that case, the operation will fail with a Hamlib error code.
Since most of the Hamlib operations have a set and a get method, an upper case letter will be used for set methods whereas the corresponding lower case letter refers to the get method. Each operation also has a long name; prepend a backslash to send a long command name.
Example (Perl): `print $socket "\\dump_caps\n";' to see what the radio's
backend can do
(N.B.: In Perl and many other languages a '\' will need to be
escaped with a preceding '\' so that even though two backslash characters
appear in the code, only one will be passed to rigctld. This is a
possible bug, beware!).
Please note that the backend for the radio to be controlled, or the radio itself may not support some commands. In that case, the operation will fail with a Hamlib error message.
Here is a summary of the supported commands (In the case of "set" commands the quoted string is replaced by the value in the description. In the case of "get" commands the quoted string is the key name of the value returned.):
Set 'Passband' in Hz, or '0' for the Hamlib backend default.
Returns Mode as a string from set_mode above and Passband in Hz.
In VFO mode only a single VFO parameter is required.
Returns VFO as a string from set_vfo above.
A value of '0' resets RIT and *should* turn RIT off. If not, file a bug report against the Hamlib backend.
A value of '0' resets RIT and *should* turn RIT off. If not, file a bug report against the Hamlib backend.
The 'TX Passband' is the exact passband in Hz, or '0' for the Hamlib backend default.
Returns TX mode as a string from set_split_mode above and TX passband in Hz.
Func is one of: FAGC, NB, COMP, VOX, TONE, TSQL, SBKIN, FBKIN, ANF, NR, AIP, APF, MON, MN, RF, ARO, LOCK, MUTE, VSC, REV, SQL, ABM, BC, MBC, AFC, SATMODE, SCOPE, RESUME, TBURST, TUNER.
Func Status argument is a non null value for "activate", "de-activate" otherwise, much as TRUE/FALSE definitions in C language.
Returns Func as a string from set_func above and Func status as a non null value.
Level is one of: PREAMP, ATT, VOX, AF, RF, SQL, IF, APF, NR, PBT_IN, PBT_OUT, CWPITCH, RFPOWER, MICGAIN, KEYSPD, NOTCHF, COMP, AGC, BKINDL, BAL, METER, VOXGAIN, ANTIVOX. SLOPE_LOW, SLOPE_HIGH, RAWSTR, SQLSTAT, SWR, ALC, STRENGTH.
The Level Value can be a float or an integer.
Returns Level as a string from set_level above and Level value as a float or integer.
Parm is one of: ANN, APO, BACKLIGHT, BEEP, TIME, BAT, KEYLIGHT.
Returns Parm as a string from set_parm above and Parm Value as a float or integer.
Mem VFO operation is one of: CPY, XCHG, FROM_VFO, TO_VFO, MCL, UP, DOWN, BAND_UP, BAND_DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, TUNE, TOGGLE.
Scan function/channel is one of: STOP, MEM, SLCT, PRIO, PROG, DELTA, VFO, PLT.
0 = None, 1 = Software reset, 2 = VFO reset, 4 = Memory Clear reset, 8 = Master reset. Since these values are defined as a bitmask in rig.h, it should be possible to AND these values together to do multiple resets at once, if the backend supports it or supports a reset action via rig control at all.
0 = Power Off, 1 = Power On, 2 = Power Standby. Defined as a bitmask in rig.h.
N.B.: This command will produce many lines of output so be very careful if using a fixed length array! For example, running this command against the Dummy backend results in over 5kB of text output.
VFO parameter not used in 'VFO mode'.
Converts a Power value in a range of 0.0 ... 1.0 to the real transmit power in milli-Watts (integer). The frequency and mode also need to be provided as output power may vary according to these values.
VFO parameter not used in 'VFO mode'.
Converts the real transmit power in milli-Watts (integer) to a Power value in a range of 0.0 ... 1.0. The frequency and mode also need to be provided as output power may vary according to these values.
VFO parameter not used in 'VFO mode'.
For binary protocols enter values as \0xAA\0xBB. Expect a 'Reply' from the rig which will likely be a binary block or an ASCII string.
When in VFO mode the client will need to pass 'VFO' as the first parameter to \set or \get commands. 'VFO' is one of the strings defined for \set_vfo above.
The rigctld protocol is intentionally simple. Commands are entered on a single line with any needed values. In Perl, reliable results are obtained by terminating each command string with a newline character, '\n'.
Example set (Perl code):
print $socket "F 14250000\n";
print $socket "\\set_mode LSB 2400\n"; # escape leading '\'
A one line response will be sent as a reply to set commands, "RPTR x\n" where x is the Hamlib error code with '0' indicating success of the command.
Responses from rigctld get commands are text values and match the same tokens used in the set commands. Each value is returned on its own line. On error the string "RPTR x\n" is returned where x is the Hamlib error code.
Example get (Perl code):
print $socket "f\n";
"14250000\n"
Most get functions return one to three values. A notable exception is the \dump_caps function which returns many lines of key:value pairs.
This protocol is primarily used by the NET rigctl (rigctl model 2) backend which allows applications already written for Hamlib's C API to take advantage of rigctld without the need of rewriting application code. An application's user can select rig model 2 ("NET rigctl") and then set rig_pathname to "localhost:4532" or other network host:port.
Extended Response Protocol
An EXPERIMENTAL Extended Response protocol has been introduced into rigctld as of February 16, 2010. This protocol adds several rules to the strings returned by rigctld and adds a rule for the command syntax.
1. The command received by rigctld is echoed with its long command name followed by the value(s) (if any) received from the client terminated by the specified response separator as the record line of the response.
2. The last line of each block is the string "RPTR x\n" where x is the numeric return value of the Hamlib backend function that was called by the command.
3. Any records consisting of data values returned by the rig backend are prepended by a string immediately followed by a colon then a space and then the value terminated by the response separator. e.g. "Frequency: 14250000\n" when the command was prepended by '+'.
4. All commands received will be acknowledged by rigctld with lines from rules 1 and 2. Lines from rule 3 are only returned when data values must be returned to the client.
An example response to a +\set_mode command (note the prepended '+'):
$ echo "+M USB 2400" | nc -w 1 localhost 4532
set_mode: USB 2400
RPRT 0
In this case the long command name and values are returned on the first line and the second line contains the end of block marker and the numeric rig backend return value indicating success.
An example response to a \get_mode query:
$ echo "+\get_mode" | nc -w 1 localhost 4532
get_mode:
Mode: USB
Passband: 2400
RPRT 0
In this case, as no value is passed to rigctld, the first line consists only of the long command name. The final line shows that the command was processed successfully by the rig backend.
Invoking the Extended Response protocol requires prepending a command with a punctuation character. As shown in the examples above, prepending a '+' character to the command results in the responses being separated by a newline character ('\n'). Any other punctuation character recognized by the C ispunct() function except '\', '?', or '_' will cause that character to become the response separator and the entire response will be on one line.
Separator character summary:
Common record separators for text representations of spreadsheet data, etc.
Other punctuation characters have not been tested! Use at your own risk.
For example, invoking a ;\get_mode query with a leading ';' returns:
get_mode:;Mode: USB;Passband: 2400;RPRT 0
Or, using the pipe character '|' returns:
get_mode:|Mode: USB|Passband: 2400|RPRT 0
And a \set_pos command prepended with a '|' returns:
set_mode: USB 2400|RPRT 0
Such a format will allow reading a response as a single event using a prefered response separator. Other punctuation characters have not been tested!
The following commands have been tested with the Extended Response protocol and the
included testctld.pl script:
\set_freq \get_freq \set_split_freq \get_split_freq
\set_mode \get_mode \set_split_mode \get_split_mode
\set_vfo \get_vfo \set_split_vfo \get_split_vfo
\set_rit \get_rit
\set_xit \get_xit
\set_ptt \get_ptt
\power2mW \mW2power
\dump_caps
$ rigctld -m 114 -r /dev/ttyUSB1 &
Start rigctld for a Yaesu FT-920 using a USB to serial adapter while setting baud rate and stop bits, and backgrounding:
$ rigctld -m 114 -r /dev/ttyUSB1 -s 4800 -C stop_bits=2 &
Connect to the already running rigctld, and set current frequency to 14.266 MHz with a 1 second read timeout using the default protocol:
$ echo "\set_freq 14266000" | nc -w 1 localhost 4532
A given verbose level is useful for providing needed debugging information to the email address below. For example, TRACE output shows all of the values sent to and received from the radio which is very useful for radio backend library development and may be requested by the developers. See the README.betatester and README.developer files for more information.
As rigctld does not need any greater permissions than rigctl, it is advisable to not start rigctld as root or another system user account in order to limit any vulnerability.
Much testing needs to be done.
We are already aware of the bugs in the previous section :-)
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.