Alpaca Weather API Simulator

A simple ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor API simulator for testing purposes. This simulator provides a mock SafetyMonitor device that can have its weather status (safe/unsafe) changed in real-time through the console.

Features

Implements the essential /safetymonitor/{device_number}/issafe endpoint
Weather status can be changed on-the-fly without restarting
Simple console interface for controlling the weather state
Compatible with your existing Alpaca weather client

Requirements

Python 3.6 or higher

Usage

Starting the simulator

python alpaca_simulator.py [--port PORT]

Options:

--port PORT: Port to run the server on (default: 11111)

Controlling the simulator

Once the simulator is running, you can use the following commands in the console:

safe: Set weather to safe conditions
unsafe: Set weather to unsafe conditions
toggle: Toggle between safe and unsafe
status: Display current weather status
exit or quit: Exit the simulator

Example client configuration

Configure your client to connect to the simulator with the following settings:

alpaca:
  host: "127.0.0.1"  # Local machine
  port: 11111        # Default simulator port
  device_number: 0   # Device number (default)

Response format

The simulator follows the Alpaca API response format:

{
  "ClientTransactionID": 1747081479, 
  "ErrorNumber": 0, 
  "ErrorMessage": "", 
  "ServerTransactionID": 717774164, 
  "Value": false
}

Where Value indicates whether the conditions are safe (true) or unsafe (false).

API Endpoints

The simulator implements the following endpoints:

GET /api/v1/server/interfaces - Returns available interfaces
GET /api/v1/safetymonitor/0/issafe - Returns current weather safety status
GET /api/v1/safetymonitor/0/connected - Always returns true
PUT /api/v1/safetymonitor/0/connected - Connection control (always succeeds)

License

This project is provided as free software.

grm/alpaca_monitor