About APRS Service Registry
What is this registry and why does it exist?
TL;DR
The APRS Service Registry is a public directory of APRS message-based services. It helps ham radio operators discover services they can interact with over APRS, and helps service operators make their services visible to the community.
What is APRS Service Registry?
The APRS Service Registry is a centralized directory of APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) services available on the amateur radio network. Think of it as a "yellow pages" for APRS services.
APRS services are automated stations that respond to messages sent by ham radio operators. For example, you might send a message to a weather service to get current conditions, or query a repeater finder to locate nearby repeaters.
This registry collects information about these services in one place, making it easy for operators to discover what's available and how to use them.
Why Use This Registry?
For Ham Radio Operators
- Discover services — Find APRS services you didn't know existed
- Check availability — See which services are currently online and responding
- Get details — Learn what each service does and how to use it
For Service Operators
- Visibility — Make your service discoverable to the APRS community
- Monitoring — Get automated health checks to know if your service is responding
- Simple registration — Register via a simple REST API call
How It Works
The registry operates on a simple model:
- Registration — Service operators register their service via the API, providing their callsign, description, and website URL.
- Health Checks — The registry periodically checks if registered services are responding by sending APRS messages and waiting for replies.
- Status Display — The website displays all registered services with their current health status (active, pending, or down).
Service Status Meanings
- Active — Service is responding to health checks
- Pending — Service recently failed health checks (may be temporarily unavailable)
- Down — Service has been unresponsive for 24+ hours
Who Maintains This?
The APRS Service Registry is an open-source project maintained by the amateur radio community. The source code is available on GitHub, and contributions are welcome.
The registry is hosted and operated as a free service for the ham radio community. There are no fees or commercial interests involved.
Next Steps
- Register your service — Learn how to add your APRS service to the registry
- Build an integration — Use the API to query the registry from your application
- Learn about service types — Understand the different types of APRS services