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Mission Control supports three connection methods. Choose the one that fits your setup.
Connect dialog showing connection options

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Connection Methods

The most common method. Plug your flight controller into your computer with a USB cable and connect directly in the browser.Requirements:
  • Chrome 89+, Edge 89+, or another Chromium-based browser
  • USB cable connected to the FC’s USB port
  • Flight controller powered on
1

Click the Connect button

Find the connect button in the top navigation bar. It opens the connection dialog.
2

Select the Serial tab

The Serial tab shows WebSerial options. Click “Select Port” to open the browser’s port picker.
3

Choose your device

The browser lists available serial devices. Select your flight controller. Common names include “CP2102” or “STM32 Virtual COM Port”.
4

Set baud rate

The default baud rate is 115200, which works for most ArduPilot and PX4 boards. Betaflight boards typically use 115200 as well. Adjust if needed.
5

Click Connect

The GCS establishes a MAVLink or MSP connection. You will see telemetry data within a few seconds.
WebSerial is not available in Firefox or Safari. If you need cross-browser support, use the WebSocket method with a MAVLink router.

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Connection Presets

Save frequently used connections as presets. The Connect dialog remembers your recent connections and lets you create named presets with pre-filled settings (URL, baud rate, options). Build presets are also available. These bundle a connection method with a specific board profile, making it easy to switch between different drones in your fleet.

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Auto-Detection

When you connect over serial, Mission Control auto-detects the firmware type:
FirmwareDetection Method
ArduPilotMAVLink HEARTBEAT message with autopilot = MAV_AUTOPILOT_ARDUPILOTMEGA
PX4MAVLink HEARTBEAT message with autopilot = MAV_AUTOPILOT_PX4
BetaflightMSP API_VERSION response
iNavMSP API_VERSION with iNav-specific FC variant
The GCS automatically loads the correct protocol adapter, parameter set, and UI panels for the detected firmware.

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Multi-Drone

You can connect to multiple drones simultaneously. Each drone gets its own entry in the fleet sidebar. Select a drone to view its telemetry, send commands, or configure its parameters. In demo mode, five simulated drones are connected automatically. In real use, each additional connection requires its own serial port or WebSocket URL.

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Bluetooth

The Connect dialog also includes a Bluetooth tab. Bluetooth connections use the Web Bluetooth API available in Chromium browsers. This is useful for short-range connections to Bluetooth-enabled flight controllers or companion boards.

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Connection Quality

Once connected, the top bar shows connection health:
  • Link quality meter showing signal strength and packet loss
  • Telemetry freshness indicator that marks data as stale after 10 seconds and offline after 30 seconds
  • RSSI values from the radio link (if available)

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Troubleshooting

Check that your USB cable supports data (not charge-only). Try a different USB port. On Linux, your user may need to be in the dialout group: sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER and log out/in.
Verify the baud rate matches your FC configuration. For ArduPilot, the default is 115200 on the USB port. Check that no other application (like Mission Planner or QGroundControl) is holding the serial port.
Confirm the target service is running and the URL is correct. For SITL, make sure the bridge is started (see SITL Testing). Firewalls may block WebSocket connections on non-standard ports.
Cloud mode auto-activates when the page is served over HTTPS. On http://localhost, the GCS uses direct connections. To test cloud mode locally, use a tunneling service or deploy to a domain with TLS.