Betaflight CLI Explained and How to Use It

Betaflight CLI (Command Line Interface) is a powerful tool that gives FPV drone pilots direct access to all the flight controller’s settings and parameters. This guide will help you understand what Betaflight CLI is, why it’s useful, and how to use it effectively.

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these affiliate links. This helps support the free content for the community on this website. Please read our Affiliate Link Policy for more information.

What is Betaflight CLI

Betaflight CLI is a command line interface that allows users to interact with their flight controller’s firmware directly. Similar to Windows and Linux, while you can access most of the settings via the graphical user interface (GUI), there are more advanced settings that can be accessed only through the command line. Furthermore, for some advanced users, the command line interface is a more efficient and effective method to access settings compared to GUI. CLI is also a great way to backup and restore configurations, as it can be saved in a text file.

Why Use Betaflight CLI

1. Access to Advanced Settings: CLI provides access to all settings, including those not available in the GUI.
2. Easy Backup and Restore: You can easily save and restore settings by copying and pasting commands.
3. Efficient Troubleshooting: Quickly identify and adjust parameters that might be causing issues with your drone’s performance.

How to Use Betaflight CLI

The CLI tab is available in the Betaflight Configurator. You will have access to it once you’ve connected the flight controller to the configurator. Here’s a tutorial if you are new to Betaflight Configurator: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-firmware-setup/

You can type commands in the text input field at the bottom of the screen and press the “Enter” key to execute them.

Typically, a command in CLI looks like this:

[command] [setting] = [value]

For example, to set expo for roll to zero:

set roll_expo = 0

Once you have changed a setting, you also need to enter the command “save” to save the changes. The flight controller will immediately reboot after that. If you exit the CLI without saving, your changes will be lost.

To exit the CLI without changing settings, simply enter the command “exit” and press Enter, click on another tab, or click the top-right “disconnect” button.

Syntax

The syntax in Betaflight CLI is simple and beginner-friendly.

Case Sensitivity

Everything is case-insensitive, you can type commands in any case you want, big letters, small letters, don’t matter, all of the following will work the same:

set serialrx_inverted = on
SET SERIALRX_INVERTED = ON
seT serialRX_inverTED = oN

Space

It doesn’t matter if you put spaces around the equal sign “=”, the CLI can figure out the command, the setting name, and the value regardless of spaces. All the following will work:

set serialrx_inverted = on
set serialrx_inverted=on
set serialrx_inverted =on
set serialrx_inverted =         on

Checking Settings in CLI

The most used commands in Betaflight CLI are probably “dump” and “diff.”

When entering “dump,” it will display all the settings in Betaflight in the console. This can be a huge list (typically over 1000 lines).

That’s why we often use the command “diff” instead. If you only want to check the settings that are different from the default, you can enter “diff.” The returned list is much shorter and easier to digest if you only want to check altered settings.

See this article for more info about the “diff” command.

The command “get” is another one I use all the time. Simply type “get,” followed by a space and a few letters of the setting you want to check/change, and CLI will return all the settings that begin with those letters. It’s very useful as you don’t have to memorize all the names. For example:

get gps

This will return all the settings that begin with gps, and most likely to be all related to GPS functionality. And if you type get osd, it will suggest all the OSD related settings. Very useful.

Backup and Restore of Betaflight Settings Using CLI

It’s good practice to back up your Betaflight CLI settings before making changes, so you can revert if something goes wrong.

• To back up, enter “diff all” and copy the text to a text file.
• To restore, simply copy and paste the text file in the CLI and hit enter. Don’t forget to enter “save” before closing CLI.

Alternatively you can just use the Preset tab’s Backup and Restore feature, which achieve the same result. And there are multiple ways to backup Betaflight as explained here: https://oscarliang.com/backup-restore-betaflight-config/

Tips and Tricks

Press Tab to Complete a Command

You can start typing the beginning of a CLI command and then press the TAB key to complete it. If there are multiple options, the CLI will suggest all possibilities. This is convenient, especially for long commands.

Don’t Forget to SAVE!

Always enter the command “save” before exiting CLI if you want to save the changes.

Task Command

The task command shows the CPU load of different processes running on the flight controller. This is great for troubleshooting if your FC is experiencing CPU load issues.

Commands Are Always Changing – Get Help!

Different firmware such as BetaFlight and iNav, even though they come from the same origin, could have different sets of commands and command names, and they can also change from version to version.

When in doubt, you can always check the available commands using the help command in CLI.

Other Useful Betaflight CLI Commands

Here are some frequently used commands that I think you should know about:

Conclusion

Betaflight CLI is an essential tool for any FPV drone pilot looking to fine-tune their setup. By understanding and using CLI commands, you can access advanced features, efficiently troubleshoot issues, and maintain backups of your configurations. Happy flying!

Edit History

• May 2018 – Guide created
• Feb 2019 – Updated guide, added “Syntax”
• May 2021 – Added “tips and tricks”
• Aug 2024 – Updated