Elite Dangerous Colonisation Assistant

Elite Dangerous Colonisation Assistant (EDCA) helps you track in‑game colonisation efforts and related construction sites through a local web UI.

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Fleet carrier data and journal updates

EDCA's Fleet Carrier view (cargo and market orders) is built entirely from the official Elite Dangerous journal files. The game only writes carrier trade information to the journals when you edit or refresh trade orders on your carrier (for example, by changing or cancelling a buy/sell order in the Carrier Management screen).

This has two important consequences:

• If you change your carrier's market in‑game but the game does not emit new journal events (such as CarrierTradeOrder entries), EDCA cannot see that change and the UI will continue to show the last state that was recorded in the journals.
• To ensure EDCA shows valid, up‑to‑date carrier commodity data, you may occasionally need to:
  • Open the Carrier Management screen and adjust or re‑apply your commodity orders (even if only by toggling/cancelling and re‑creating them), so that the game writes fresh carrier trade events to the journal.
  • Wait a moment for the journal watcher to ingest the new lines and for the UI to refresh.

EDCA cannot force Elite Dangerous to write new journal data; it can only reflect what is actually present in your local Journal.*.log files.

Get the app on Windows

For normal Windows use, download the prebuilt installer (no Python or Node.js required):

1. Go to the project’s GitHub Releases page.

2. Download the latest Windows installer executable, typically named:

   EDColonisationAsstInstaller.exe
   

3. Double‑click it and follow the on‑screen instructions (Install / Repair / Uninstall).

4. After installation, launch Elite: Dangerous Colonisation Assistant from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut.

Note: Because this is not a code‑signed commercial product, Windows SmartScreen (and some antivirus tools) may warn that the installer or runtime is from an unrecognised publisher. If you are unsure, you can always review the complete source code in this repository to reassure yourself before choosing to run the installer.

Run on Linux

If you are running EDCA from a local checkout on Linux, use the distro-specific helper script from the project root:

• Debian / Ubuntu / Linux Mint: ./run-edca-built-debian.sh (recommended)
• Fedora: ./run-edca-built-fedora.sh (UNTESTED helper)
• Arch Linux: ./run-edca-built-arch.sh (UNTESTED helper)
• RHEL / Rocky / Alma: ./run-edca-built-rhel.sh (UNTESTED helper)
• Void: ./run-edca-built-void.sh (UNTESTED helper)

Each script:

• Sets up a Python virtual environment and backend runtime dependencies.
• Ensures the frontend is built (or lets you skip the build via environment variables).
• Starts the backend on http://127.0.0.1:8000.
• Opens your browser at http://127.0.0.1:8000/app/.

For full Linux prerequisites and advanced usage (including environment variables and alternative workflows), see DEVELOPMENT_README.md.

The installed runtime starts a local web server and opens your browser to:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/app/

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Elite Dangerous journal log location

EDCA reads Elite Dangerous journal files directly from your local save folder. On a default Windows installation of the game (non‑Horizons4), the journals are typically located at:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Saved Games\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous

If you run Elite via Steam Proton or Wine on Linux, the journal directory is usually under your Proton/Wine prefix, for example:

~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/359320/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Saved Games/Frontier Developments/Elite Dangerous

You can point EDCA at a different journal directory via the Settings page in the web UI (Journal directory field). The backend will monitor whatever path is configured there for Journal.*.log files.

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Access from a tablet or phone on the same network

You can open the EDCA UI from another device (for example, a tablet) as long as:

• The PC running EDCA and the tablet/phone are on the same local network (Wi‑Fi/LAN).
• Your firewall allows local access to port 8000 on the PC.

1. Find your PC’s LAN IP address (Windows)

On the Windows PC where EDCA is installed:

1. Press Win + R, type cmd and press Enter to open Command Prompt, or open PowerShell.

2. Run:

   ipconfig
   

3. Find your active network adapter (for example Wi‑Fi or Ethernet).

4. Under that adapter, look for the line:

   IPv4 Address . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.238
   

   The 192.168.x.x (or 10.x.x.x) value is your LAN IP.

2. Use that IP on your tablet/phone (local network only)

On your tablet/phone (connected to the same Wi‑Fi/LAN):

1. Open a browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, etc.).

2. Enter the following URL, replacing <PC-LAN-IP> with the IPv4 address you found:

   http://<PC-LAN-IP>:8000/app/
   

   Example:

   http://192.168.1.238:8000/app/
   

This works only on your local network; EDCA is not intended to be exposed directly to the internet.

Keep the tablet screen awake (Android/Chrome)

If your tablet dims/turns off the screen during long viewing sessions, EDCA provides an in-browser keep-awake feature.

• Enable it in Settings → Display / Power → “Keep screen awake while EDCA is open”.
• Default behaviour: ON by default on mobile/tablet devices (can be turned off; it persists in localStorage).

How it works:

1. Preferred: Screen Wake Lock API (when supported).
   • Requires a secure context (HTTPS or localhost).
2. Fallback (for typical LAN access over HTTP like http://<PC-LAN-IP>:8000/app/):
   • EDCA uses a safe fallback that requires a single tap to start (mobile autoplay restrictions).

The current state is shown in the header via the “Keep awake” indicator in App().

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Development / source checkout

If you have cloned the repository and want to build or run EDCA from source (backend/frontend dev, tests, installer builds), see:

• DEVELOPMENT_README.md