See live air traffic on a true 3D radar scope — and hear the controllers working it.
FreqScope puts real ADS-B traffic, 3D airspace, and a credited LiveATC handoff in one view. Search any major US airport, watch aircraft move through tower, TRACON, and center volumes on a globe you can tilt and orbit, then open the matching LiveATC.net feed with one click.
Download · Quick start · Highlights · Contributing · Setup guide · Report a bug · Security
New here? Download the desktop app — no Node or terminal required. Developers can jump to the quick start below.
Installers for macOS, Windows, and Linux are published on GitHub Releases.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel) | DMG · ZIP |
| Windows (x64) | Installer |
| Linux (x64) | AppImage |
On first launch, enter your name and email when prompted — that's all the live aircraft feed needs.
Safe to install. FreqScope is source-available — every line of code is in this repo. Installers are built publicly on GitHub Actions from tagged commits. The app has no ads, no telemetry, and no bundled malware. It runs a local server on your machine and only talks to documented aviation APIs (ADS-B feeds, weather, reference data) plus GitHub when checking for updates. Your name and email stay on your device for feed identification only.
macOS: “Apple can’t check app for malicious software”?
This warning is not Apple saying FreqScope contains malware. It means the app is not yet signed with an Apple Developer ID, so macOS cannot verify who published it. That is normal for independent apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. FreqScope is built from the public source in this repository.
To open the app the first time:
- Try to open FreqScope once (double-click or from the DMG). macOS will block it.
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Scroll to Security — you should see a message about FreqScope being blocked.
- Click Open Anyway (this option appears for about an hour after you try to open the app).
- Enter your Mac login password and confirm.
FreqScope is then saved as an exception and opens normally from then on. Full notes (Windows SmartScreen, code signing plans) are in SETUP.md § Desktop app.
Windows may show a similar SmartScreen prompt for the same reason — the build is not yet Authenticode-signed. See SETUP.md.
Verify your download matches our official build
Each release includes a
SHA256SUMS
file, generated automatically when installers are built. This lets you confirm
the file on your machine is byte-for-byte identical to the one we published
— nothing was corrupted or swapped during download.
macOS / Linux (in the folder where the installer was saved):
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/strawmanode/freqscope/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS
shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS # macOS
# sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS # LinuxWindows (PowerShell):
Get-FileHash .\FreqScope-win.exe -Algorithm SHA256Compare the output to the matching line in SHA256SUMS. A match means you have
the authentic FreqScope installer from this repository's release pipeline.
Found a security concern? Please report it privately via SECURITY.md.
For local development in a browser:
git clone https://github.com/strawmanode/freqscope.git
cd freqscope
npm install
cp .env.example .env.local # add your name and email
npm run devOpen http://localhost:5173.
Desktop app from source:
npm run electron:dev # dev window with hot reload
npm run electron:build # installer for your OS into release/Airport, frequency, and airspace data ship prebuilt in src/data/. Full
configuration, feed setup, optional 3D models, and troubleshooting are in
SETUP.md.
- True 3D scope — Cesium globe with tilt, orbit, and zoom; not a flat map.
- 3D airspace — tower / TRACON / ARTCC boundaries, SUA, and TFRs as shells you can look inside.
- Live ADS-B radar — real aircraft positions polled every few seconds around your airport.
- Scope symbology — altitude-banded targets, VFR and emergency-squawk detection, data blocks, trails.
- Weather layer — METAR plus SIGMET / G-AIRMET advisories for the area.
- Scope themes — STARS, ERAM, and a modern light theme.
- LiveATC handoff — credited Listen button opens the airport's LiveATC page.
- Desktop app — double-click install with bundled server and automatic updates via GitHub Releases.
- Optional 3D aircraft — swap 2D symbols for GLB models on supported types (setup).
FreqScope is source-available and built in the open. We'd love your help making it better — whether you fly, code, write docs, or just love watching traffic.
| Try it & report bugs | Open an issue with steps to reproduce, your OS, and a screenshot if you can. |
| Contribute code | Read CONTRIBUTING.md, pick an issue (or propose one), and open a pull request. |
| Improve docs | Setup guides, screenshots, and README polish are always welcome. |
| Aviation & data | Airport defaults, frequency mappings, airspace edge cases, and reference-data scripts live in scripts/. |
| Scope & UI | Themes, symbology, performance with heavy traffic, and radar UX feedback. |
| Desktop & packaging | Electron builds, code signing, and cross-platform testing (especially Windows and Linux). |
Before opening a PR: npm run lint and npm run build should pass. Security
issues go through SECURITY.md — please don't file them
publicly.
| Doc | What's in it |
|---|---|
| SETUP.md | Install, feed configuration, data sources, desktop app, scripts |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | How to contribute, PR checklist, license note |
| SECURITY.md | Reporting vulnerabilities |
| NOTICE.md | Third-party services, data, and license notices |
| scripts/README.md | Regenerating airport, frequency, and airspace data |
Vite · React · TypeScript · Tailwind CSS · CesiumJS · Electron · airplanes.live (with adsb.lol fallback)
FreqScope is source-available, not open source. It is licensed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0 for personal, educational, research, public-safety, government, charitable, and other non-commercial use. Commercial use requires a separate license from the copyright holder.
The license covers only what the copyright holder can grant in FreqScope itself. It does not grant rights to third-party services, feeds, audio streams, datasets, or trademarks. FreqScope is provided "as is" and is not for aviation, operational, safety-critical, or reliance-based use. Users must comply with LiveATC.net's Terms of Use and all other provider terms. See NOTICE.md.