MAVSDK-Python

This is the Python wrapper for MAVSDK.

The Python wrapper is based on a gRPC client communicating with the gRPC server written in C++. To use the Python wrapper the gRPC server called "backend" needs to be running on the same system. The wrapper is essentially auto-generated from the message definitions (proto files).

Important Notes

• Python 3.6+ is required (because the wrapper is based on asyncio).
• You may need to run pip3 instead of pip and python3 instead of python, depending of your system defaults.

Install from pip

To install mavsdk-python, simply run:

pip3 install mavsdk

The package contains mavsdk_server already (previously called "backend"). It needs to be run manually with start_mavlink(). Have a look at the examples to see it used in practice.

Run the examples

Once the package has been installed, the examples can be run:

examples/takeoff_and_land.py

Build and run from sources

Note: this is more involved and targetted to contributors.

Get the Python wrapper

Clone this repo and recursively update submodules:

git clone https://github.com/mavlink/MAVSDK-Python --recursive
cd MAVSDK-Python

Install prerequisites

First install the protoc plugin (protoc-gen-dcsdk):

cd proto/pb_plugins
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install -e .

You can check that the plugin was installed with $ which protoc-gen-dcsdk, as it should now be in the PATH.

Then go back to the root of the repo and install the dependencies of the SDK:

cd ../..
pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt

Generate wrapper

Run the following helper script. It will generate the Python wrappers for each plugin. If the submodules are not initialized already, the script will take care of it.

./other/tools/run_protoc.sh

Install the package locally

After generating the wrapper you can install a development (editable) version of the package using:

pip install -e .

Build mavsdk_server

MAVDSK-Python runs the mavsdk_server when start_mavlink() is called. Under the hood, this will run mavsdk/bin/mavsdk_server, which has to be built separately from MAVSDK and copied there.

For more help on this step, check the docs on how to build from source. Follow the steps for Building the Backend and copy mavsdk_server executable from MAVSDK/build/default/src/backend/src to MAVSDK-Python/mavsdk/bin/