SimConnect 0.4.21

Adds a pythonic wrapper for SimConnect SDK.

Python-SimConnect

Python interface for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS2020) using SimConnect

This library allows Python scripts to read and set variables within MSFS2020 and trigger events within the simulation.

It also includes, as an example, "Cockpit Companion", a flask mini http server which runs locally. It provides a web UI with a moving map and simulation variables. It also provides simulation data in JSON format in response to REST API requests.

Full documentation for this example can be found at https://msfs2020.cc and it is included in a standalone repo here on Github as MSFS2020-cockpit-companion.

Python interface example

from SimConnect import *

# Create SimConnect link
sm = SimConnect()
# Note the default _time is 2000 to be refreshed every 2 seconds
aq = AircraftRequests(sm, _time=2000)
# Use _time=ms where ms is the time in milliseconds to cache the data.
# Setting ms to 0 will disable data caching and always pull new data from the sim.
# There is still a timeout of 4 tries with a 10ms delay between checks.
# If no data is received in 40ms the value will be set to None
# Each request can be fine tuned by setting the time param.

# To find and set timeout of cached data to 200ms:
altitude = aq.find("PLANE_ALTITUDE")
altitude.time = 200

# Get the aircraft's current altitude
altitude = aq.get("PLANE_ALTITUDE")
altitude = altitude + 1000

# Set the aircraft's current altitude
aq.set("PLANE_ALTITUDE", altitude)

ae = AircraftEvents(sm)
# Trigger a simple event
event_to_trigger = ae.find("AP_MASTER")  # Toggles autopilot on or off
event_to_trigger()

# Trigger an event while passing a variable
target_altitude = 15000
event_to_trigger = ae.find("AP_ALT_VAR_SET_ENGLISH")  # Sets AP autopilot hold level
event_to_trigger(target_altitude)
sm.quit()
exit()

HTTP interface example

Run glass_server.py using Python 3.

http://localhost:5000

Method: GET

Variables: None

Output: Web interface with moving map and aircraft information

http://localhost:5000/dataset/<dataset_name>

Method: GET

Arguments to pass:

Argument	Location	Description
dataset_name	in path	can be navigation, airspeed compass, vertical_speed, fuel, flaps, throttle, gear, trim, autopilot, cabin

Description: Returns set of variables from simulator in JSON format

http://localhost:5000/datapoint/<datapoint_name>/get

Method: GET

Arguments to pass:

Argument	Location	Description
datapoint_name	in path	any variable name from MS SimConnect documentation

Description: Returns individual variable from simulator in JSON format

http://localhost:5000/datapoint/<datapoint_name>/set

Method: POST

Arguments to pass:

Argument	Location	Description
datapoint_name	in path	any variable name from MS SimConnect documentation
index (optional)	form or json	the relevant index if required (eg engine number) - if not passed defaults to None
value_to_use (optional)	value to set variable to - if not passed defaults to 0

Description: Sets datapoint in the simulator

http://localhost:5000/event/<event_name>/trigger

Method: POST

Arguments to pass:

Argument	Location	Description
event_name	in path	any event name from MS SimConnect documentation
value_to_use (optional)	value to pass to the event

Description: Triggers an event in the simulator

Running SimConnect on a separate system.

Note: At this time SimConnect can only run on Windows hosts.

Create a file called SimConnect.cfg in the same folder as your script.

Sample SimConnect.cfg:

; Example SimConnect client configurations
[SimConnect]
Protocol=IPv4
Address=<ip of server>
Port=500

To enable the host running the sim to share over network,

add <Address>0.0.0.0</Address>

under the <Port>500</Port> in SimConnect.xml

SimConnect.xml can be located at

%AppData%\Microsoft Flight Simulator\SimConnect.xml

Sample SimConnect.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1252"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="SimConnect" version="1,0">
    <Descr>SimConnect Server Configuration</Descr>
    <Filename>SimConnect.xml</Filename>
    <SimConnect.Comm>
        <Descr>Static IP4 port</Descr>
        <Protocol>IPv4</Protocol>
        <Scope>local</Scope>
        <Port>500</Port>
        <Address>0.0.0.0</Address>
        <MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
        <MaxRecvSize>41088</MaxRecvSize>
    </SimConnect.Comm>
...

Notes:

Python 64-bit is needed. You may see this Error if running 32-bit python:

OSError: [WinError 193] %1 is not a valid Win32 application

Events and Variables

Below are links to the Microsoft documentation

Function

Event IDs

Simulation Variables