blackoutsecure/mlat-hub

By blackoutsecure

•Updated 5 months ago

LinuxServer.io containerized MLAT hub aggregating readsb network-only feeds into one combined Beast

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blackoutsecure/mlat-hub repository overview

⁠blackoutsecure/mlat-hub

LinuxServer.io containerized MLAT hub aggregating readsb⁠ network-only feeds into one combined Beast output.

Sponsored and maintained by Blackout Secure⁠.

Important
This is not an official LinuxServer.io image release.

⁠Overview

When you feed ADS-B data to multiple aggregation services (ADSBExchange, adsb.fi, airplanes.live, etc.), each service runs its own MLAT client that produces multilateration results on separate ports. mlat-hub combines all of these MLAT result feeds into a single, deduplicated Beast output for visualization tools like tar1090⁠ or data collectors.

Warning
MLAT results must **never** be forwarded back to feeders — doing so contaminates MLAT calculations and will get you banned from aggregation services. mlat-hub runs as a separate readsb instance specifically to prevent this cross-contamination.


Docker Hub	blackoutsecure/mlat-hub⁠
GitHub	blackoutsecure/docker-mlat-hub⁠
Balena Hub	mlat-hub block⁠
Upstream	wiedehopf/readsb⁠

⁠Table of Contents

⁠Quick Start

docker run -d \
  --name=mlathub \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -e TZ=Etc/UTC \
  -e MLATHUB_INPUTS="mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in" \
  -p 30104:30104 \
  -p 30105:30105 \
  --security-opt no-new-privileges:true \
  blackoutsecure/mlat-hub:latest

Combined MLAT results are available on port 30105 (Beast protocol).

⁠How It Works

┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│  mlat-client │    │  mlat-client │    │  mlat-client │
│  (ADSBx)     │    │  (adsb.fi)   │    │  (airplanes  │
│  :30105      │    │  :30105      │    │   .live)     │
└──────┬───────┘    └──────┬───────┘    └──────┬───────┘
       │                   │                   │
       │     beast_in      │     beast_in      │     beast_in
       └───────────────────┼───────────────────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼───────┐
                    │   mlat-hub   │
                    │  (readsb     │
                    │   --net-only │
                    │   --forward  │
                    │    -mlat)    │
                    └──────┬───────┘
                           │
                   Beast output :30105
                           │
              ┌────────────┼────────────┐
              │            │            │
       ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──▼───┐ ┌──────▼──────┐
       │   tar1090   │ │ adsb │ │  influxdb/  │
       │   (map UI)  │ │ -to- │ │  grafana    │
       └─────────────┘ │ mqtt │ └─────────────┘
                       └──────┘

Each mlat-client container connects to an aggregation service and produces MLAT results on port 30105
mlat-hub connects to each mlat-client (via --net-connector) and ingests the Beast data
readsb deduplicates overlapping positions from multiple sources
The combined feed is output on Beast port 30105
Visualization tools (tar1090, etc.) connect to mlat-hub for MLAT data

⁠Supported Architectures

Multi-arch manifest — pulling blackoutsecure/mlat-hub:latest retrieves the correct image for your host.

Architecture	Tag
x86-64	amd64-latest
arm64	arm64v8-latest

⁠Usage

⁠Docker Compose (recommended)

---
services:
  mlathub:
    image: blackoutsecure/mlat-hub:latest
    container_name: mlathub
    environment:
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - MLATHUB_INPUTS=mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in
    ports:
      - 30104:30104
      - 30105:30105
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
      - /run:exec
    restart: unless-stopped

⁠Full Stack Example

A complete ADS-B receiver stack with readsb, multiple MLAT clients, mlat-hub, and tar1090:

---
services:
  readsb:
    image: blackoutsecure/readsb:latest
    container_name: readsb
    environment:
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - READSB_ARGS=--net --device-type rtlsdr
      - READSB_AUTOGAIN=true
      - FEED_PROFILES=adsbexchange,adsb-fi
      - FEED_LAT=51.5074
      - FEED_LON=-0.1278
    volumes:
      - readsb-config:/config
      - readsb-run:/run/readsb
    devices:
      - /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb
    ports:
      - 30003:30003
      - 30005:30005
    restart: unless-stopped

  mlat-adsbx:
    image: blackoutsecure/mlat-client:latest
    container_name: mlat-adsbx
    environment:
      - MLAT_CLIENT_INPUT_CONNECT=readsb:30005
      - MLAT_CLIENT_SERVER=feed.adsbexchange.com:31090
      - MLAT_CLIENT_LAT=51.5074
      - MLAT_CLIENT_LON=-0.1278
      - MLAT_CLIENT_ALT=50m
      - MLAT_CLIENT_RESULTS=beast,listen,30105
    depends_on: [readsb]
    restart: unless-stopped

  mlat-adsbfi:
    image: blackoutsecure/mlat-client:latest
    container_name: mlat-adsbfi
    environment:
      - MLAT_CLIENT_INPUT_CONNECT=readsb:30005
      - MLAT_CLIENT_SERVER=feed.adsb.fi:31090
      - MLAT_CLIENT_LAT=51.5074
      - MLAT_CLIENT_LON=-0.1278
      - MLAT_CLIENT_ALT=50m
      - MLAT_CLIENT_RESULTS=beast,listen,30105
    depends_on: [readsb]
    restart: unless-stopped

  mlathub:
    image: blackoutsecure/mlat-hub:latest
    container_name: mlathub
    environment:
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - MLATHUB_INPUTS=mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in
    ports:
      - 30105:30105
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp
      - /run:exec
    depends_on:
      - mlat-adsbx
      - mlat-adsbfi
    restart: unless-stopped

  tar1090:
    image: mikenye/tar1090:latest
    container_name: tar1090
    environment:
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - BEASTHOST=readsb
      - MLATHOST=mlathub
      - LAT=51.5074
      - LONG=-0.1278
    ports:
      - 8078:80
    depends_on:
      - readsb
      - mlathub
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  readsb-config:
  readsb-run:

⁠Docker CLI

docker run -d \
  --name=mlathub \
  -e TZ=Etc/UTC \
  -e MLATHUB_INPUTS="mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in" \
  -p 30104:30104 \
  -p 30105:30105 \
  --security-opt no-new-privileges:true \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  blackoutsecure/mlat-hub:latest

⁠Balena Deployment

Deploy to Balena-powered IoT devices using the included docker-compose.yml:

balena push <your-app-slug>

See the Balena Hub listing⁠ for details.

⁠Parameters

⁠Ports

Port	Function
`30104`	Beast input — feeder containers can push MLAT data here
`30105`	Beast output — combined MLAT results

⁠Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`TZ`	`Etc/UTC`	Timezone (TZ database⁠)
`MLATHUB_INPUTS`	(empty)	Required. Semicolon-separated `host,port,protocol` entries. Example: `mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in`
`MLATHUB_BEAST_OUTPUT_PORT`	`30105`	Beast output port for combined MLAT results
`MLATHUB_BEAST_INPUT_PORT`	`30104`	Beast input listen port (push mode)
`MLATHUB_SBS_OUTPUT_PORT`	(disabled)	Optional SBS/Basestation output port
`MLATHUB_EXTRA_ARGS`	(empty)	Additional readsb arguments
`MLATHUB_USER`	`abc`	Runtime user
`PUID`	`911`	User ID for file ownership
`PGID`	`911`	Group ID for file ownership

⁠Input Protocol Options

The protocol field in MLATHUB_INPUTS entries supports:

Protocol	Description
`beast_in`	Beast binary format (most common for MLAT results)
`raw_in`	Raw AVR format
`sbs_in`	SBS/Basestation format

⁠Connection Modes

There are two ways to get MLAT data into the hub:

Pull mode (recommended): mlat-hub connects to each mlat-client via MLATHUB_INPUTS:

MLATHUB_INPUTS=mlat-adsbx,30105,beast_in;mlat-adsbfi,30105,beast_in

Push mode: MLAT clients connect to the hub's Beast input port:

# mlat-client config
MLAT_CLIENT_RESULTS=beast,connect,mlathub:30104

# mlat-hub config (MLATHUB_INPUTS not required)
MLATHUB_BEAST_INPUT_PORT=30104

Both modes can be used simultaneously.

⁠Troubleshooting

⁠No MLAT Data Showing

Verify mlat-client containers are running and connected to their MLAT servers
Check mlat-hub logs: docker logs mlathub
Verify network connectivity between containers (must be on the same Docker network)
Ensure mlat-clients are outputting Beast data on the expected port

⁠Check Combined Output

docker exec mlathub ps aux | grep readsb
docker exec mlathub s6-svstat /run/service/svc-mlathub

⁠Common Log Messages

Message	Meaning
`No MLAT inputs configured`	No outbound connections — use push mode or set `MLATHUB_INPUTS`
`N input(s), beast-out=30105`	Hub will connect to N mlat-client containers

⁠User / Group Identifiers

Runs as the LinuxServer.io abc user (non-root) by default. Set PUID and PGID to match a specific host user for file ownership.

⁠Support & Getting Help

Open an issue⁠ on GitHub
Blackout Secure⁠ — maintainer

⁠References

wiedehopf/readsb⁠ — upstream decoder used by mlat-hub
LinuxServer.io base images⁠ — container infrastructure

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Last updated

5 months ago

docker pull blackoutsecure/mlat-hub