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Node v1 is a pure-Python 3.10+ application with no platform-specific code. It has been tested on macOS and runs equally well on Linux and Windows. Installation takes around five minutes: clone the repository, create a virtual environment, install dependencies from requirements.txt, and edit config.yaml for your site. There is nothing to compile and no system-level packages to install beyond Python itself.

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Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have the following:
  • Python 3.10 or later — check with python3 --version
  • ZWO Seestar S50 (or any ALPACA-compatible telescope) connected to the same LAN as your computer — the node communicates with it over HTTP, so no USB cables are required
  • ASTAP plate solver (optional) — only needed if your FITS files lack WCS (World Coordinate System) headers; the Seestar S50 typically solves onboard, so most users can skip this initially
  • macOS, Linux, or Windows — no platform-specific code paths exist in Node v1
The Seestar ALPACA server must be reachable via UDP broadcast on port 32227 (for discovery) and HTTP on the device’s IP address (default port 32323). Some routers block UDP broadcast between subnets — if Discover times out, confirm the node computer and the Seestar are on the same subnet.

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Install

1

Clone or download the repository

If you have Git installed, clone the repo into a local directory:
git clone https://github.com/skyrobot804/node_v1.git
cd node_v1
If you don’t use Git, download and extract the ZIP from the repository page, then open a terminal in the extracted folder.
2

Create a virtual environment

A virtual environment keeps Node v1’s dependencies isolated from the rest of your Python installation:
python3 -m venv venv
3

Activate the virtual environment

source venv/bin/activate
Your prompt will change to show (venv) when the environment is active.
4

Install dependencies

With the virtual environment active, install all required packages:
pip install -r requirements.txt
This installs eleven packages. See the Dependencies section below for a full list with descriptions.
5

Copy and edit config.yaml

config.yaml ships with safe defaults — everything disabled except the SafetyManager. Before running a live session, edit at minimum:
observatory:
  latitude: null          # ← your site latitude in decimal degrees N
  longitude: null         # ← your site longitude in decimal degrees E

photometry:
  node_id: "node_001"     # ← set a unique ID for your node

aavso:
  observer_code: ""       # ← your AAVSO OBSCODE
  username: ""            # ← your AAVSO login
  password: ""

image_watcher:
  watch_path: /mnt/seestar  # ← SMB share path where Seestar writes FITS files
For a first-time dry run you can leave everything at defaults — see the Quickstart for the minimal config.

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Dependencies

All dependencies are declared in requirements.txt and installed automatically by pip install -r requirements.txt. The table below explains the role of each package inside Node v1:
PackageVersionRole in Node v1
requests≥ 2.31.0HTTP client used by the ALPACA layer to talk to the telescope, camera, focuser, and filter wheel; also used by the AAVSO WebObs submission client
pyyaml≥ 6.0Loads and saves config.yaml; powers the live config editor in the dashboard
flask≥ 3.0The web framework behind the dashboard — serves the control panel on port 5173 and streams Server-Sent Events for the live log panel
numpy≥ 1.24Array operations throughout the photometry pipeline — pixel data, background estimation, aperture sums, and uncertainty propagation
Pillow≥ 10.0FITS-to-JPEG thumbnail generation for the observation history gallery; also used by the pier-cam stream
watchdog≥ 4.0Cross-platform filesystem events (FSEvents on macOS, inotify on Linux, kqueue on BSD/Windows) for ImageWatcher
astropy≥ 6.0FITS I/O, WCS transformations, Barycentric Julian Date (BJD_TCB) calculation, airmass from Alt/Az, and coordinate handling throughout the pipeline
photutils≥ 1.9DAOStarFinder for source detection and FWHM estimation; CircularAperture and sigma-clipped annulus background for aperture photometry
astroquery≥ 0.4.6Queries the AAVSO VSP API for comparison stars; falls back to the Gaia DR3 catalogue when VSP coverage is absent
zwoasi≥ 0.0.22SDK wrapper for ZWO ASI cameras — used by the optional pier-cam (guide camera) live video stream
pyongc≥ 1.2Messier and NGC object catalogue powering the /api/catalog endpoint and the scheduling modal’s object browser

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ASTAP Plate Solver (Optional)

ASTAP is an offline plate-solver that reads a FITS file and writes WCS (World Coordinate System) keywords back into the header. Node v1’s photometry pipeline calls it only when a FITS file arrives without an existing WCS solution. When you need it: The Seestar S50 normally solves its own images onboard, so ASTAP is rarely required. You will need it if:
  • You are feeding Node v1 FITS files from a different camera that does not plate-solve
  • The Seestar’s onboard solver fails on a particular field
How to install:
  1. Download ASTAP from hnsky.org/astap.htm and install it for your platform.
  2. Download at least one star catalogue — the D50 (down to mag 15) or H18 (down to mag 18) catalogue covers most Seestar targets.
  3. Either place the astap binary in your PATH, or set the full path in config.yaml:
photometry:
  astap_path: "astap"          # if astap is in PATH
  # astap_path: "/usr/local/bin/astap"   # or a full path
  astap_search_radius: 10      # degrees — increase for wide-field images
If plate-solving fails repeatedly, check the troubleshooting section in the README: the most common causes are ASTAP not found in PATH, the star catalogue not installed, or astap_search_radius being too small for a wide-field frame.

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Running Node v1

There are two ways to start Node v1. In both cases, the dashboard will be available at http://localhost:5173 once the server starts. Recommended — main.py (with watchdog): 
python main.py
main.py wraps dashboard.py in a watchdog loop. If dashboard.py exits with a non-zero code it is restarted automatically after a 2-second delay. If dashboard.py itself changes on disk the watchdog detects the new modification time and restarts immediately — useful during development. Single run — dashboard.py (no auto-restart): 
python dashboard.py
Runs the Flask server once with no supervisor. If the process crashes it stays down. Use this when you want a clean, single-process run for debugging or when running under an external process manager such as systemd or launchd. After either command, open http://localhost:5173 in a browser. The dashboard opens automatically in some environments.
The repository ships a convenience script run.sh that activates the virtual environment and forwards all arguments to python3. Its contents are:
#!/bin/bash
source venv/bin/activate
python3 "$@"
Use it as ./run.sh main.py or ./run.sh dashboard.py — handy if you switch between virtual environments frequently, or when launching from a cron job or shell alias.

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