planetaryutilities/kotar repository overview

⁠Kotar – Browser-Based SysML v2 IDE

Kotar is a browser-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for SysML v2 and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), developed by Planetary Utilities as part of the Starforge⁠ ecosystem.

Kotar enables engineers to create, edit, navigate, and work with SysML v2 models directly in their browsers.

Kotar is available in two deployment configurations:

• Kotar Community – Standalone, local-first modeling environment for individual users.
• Kotar Enterprise – Centrally deployed modeling environment with authentication, access control, and GitLab integration.

Both configurations run the core modeling environment in the browser and maintain the user's working model locally by default. Both images can run without a separate database or persistent Docker volume.

⁠Kotar Community

⁠Overview

Kotar Community provides a standalone, browser-based SysML v2 modeling environment for individual engineers, researchers, students, and developers.

The application runs locally in the user's browser, including its modeling engine and local Flexo model repository.

Kotar Communitydoes not require a centrally managed model repository, authentication service, or enterprise infrastructure.

⁠Key Capabilities

• Browser-based SysML v2 modeling environment
• Model editing, navigation, parsing, and validation
• Local Flexo model repository
• Local browser-based model processing
• Model import and export
• Access to local model files
• No mandatory user authentication
• No external database or persistent server storage

⁠Data Storage and Privacy

Models are stored locally in the browser by default.

Model editing and other local modeling operations do not require transferring model data to a remote Kotar backend.

Users can export or synchronize model files to their local file system.

Important: Browser storage is not a permanent backup. Clearing browser data may remove locally stored models. Important work should be exported or backed up regularly.

⁠Installation

Run Kotar Community using Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name kotar-community \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  planetaryutilities/kotar:0.3.5-static

Open:

http://localhost:8080⁠

⁠Docker Compose

Create compose.yaml:

services:
  kotar:
    image: planetaryutilities/kotar:0.3.5-static
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    restart: unless-stopped

Start:

docker compose up -d

⁠Network Requirements

Kotar Community requires network access to initially load the application from its hosting server.

Core modeling operations execute locally in the browser and do not inherently require network communication.

Continued offline operation depends on application caching and browser configuration.

When accessed using a hostname other than localhost, HTTPS is required.

⁠Limitations

• No built-in server-side user authentication
• No remote Git operations (clone, fetch, pull, push)
• No integrated GitLab OAuth authentication
• Browser storage must be backed up to preserve important work

For centralized authentication and GitLab-based collaboration, use Kotar Enterprise: https://hub.docker.com/r/planetaryutilities/kotar-enterprise⁠

⁠Documentation and Support

• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/planetaryutilities/kotar⁠
• Kotar User Manual: https://github.com/planetaryutilities/kotar-support/wiki/User-Manual⁠
• Kotar FAQ: https://github.com/planetaryutilities/kotar-support/wiki/FAQ⁠
• Starforge: https://starforge.app⁠

Kotar is developed by Planetary Utilities as part of the Starforge MBSE ecosystem.

Current documented release: v0.3.5

For production deployments, use explicit version tags rather than relying on latest.