Data Package Management - FreeTAKServer

Data packages allow you to share files between TAK clients through FreeTAKServer, including maps, imagery, overlays, and mission packages.

Overview

FreeTAKServer data package functionality provides:

File Upload: Upload data packages from ATAK, WinTAK, or REST API
Distribution: Share packages with all connected clients or specific users
Storage: Persistent storage of uploaded packages
Retrieval: Download packages on-demand from server
Mission Packages: Support for TAK mission package format
Enterprise Sync: Sync data packages across clients

Data Package Services

FreeTAKServer exposes two data package endpoints:

HTTP Data Package Service

Port: 8080 (default)
Protocol: HTTP
Endpoint: /Marti/sync/
Use: Development, internal networks

HTTPS Data Package Service

Port: 8443 (default)
Protocol: HTTPS
Endpoint: /Marti/sync/
Use: Production deployments
Requires: SSL certificates

Configuration

Server Configuration

Addresses:
  FTS_DP_ADDRESS: "your.server.ip"  # IP clients use to download packages
  FTS_USER_ADDRESS: "your.server.ip"

Filesystem:
  FTS_DATAPACKAGE_PATH: /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder

Configuration from Source

From MainConfig.py:

# Data package configuration
"DataPackageServiceDefaultIP": {"default": _ip, "type": str}
"UserConnectionIP": {"default": _ip, "type": str}
"DataPackageFilePath": {
    "default": Path(rf"{PERSISTENCE_PATH}/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder"),
    "type": str,
}
"HTTPTakAPIPort": {"default": 8080, "type": int}
"HTTPSTakAPIPort": {"default": 8443, "type": int}

Uploading Data Packages

From ATAK Client

Create Data Package

Open ATAK

Select items to include (markers, drawings, routes, etc.)

Tap Menu → Share → Create Package

Give package a name and description

Select Mission Package format

Upload to Server

With package created, tap Share

Select Send to Server

Choose your FreeTAKServer connection

Package uploads to server

All connected clients receive notification

Verify Upload

Check server logs:

tail -f /opt/fts/Logs/FTS.log | grep -i "datapackage\|upload"

From WinTAK Client

Select map items to share
Right-click → Package and Send
Configure package options
Select Send to Server
Choose FreeTAKServer connection
Click Send

Using REST API

Upload data package via HTTP POST:

# Calculate file hash
FILE_HASH=$(sha256sum mypackage.zip | awk '{print $1}')

# Upload data package
curl -X POST \
  "http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/sync/missionupload?hash=${FILE_HASH}&filename=mypackage.zip&creatorUid=api_user" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -H "Expect: 100-continue"

# Update metadata
curl -X PUT \
  "http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/api/sync/metadata/${FILE_HASH}/tool"

Using Python

From certificate_generation.py source:

import hashlib
import requests

def send_data_package(server: str, dp_name: str = "package.zip") -> bool:
    """
    Upload data package to FreeTAKServer
    
    Args:
        server: Server IP or hostname
        dp_name: Path to data package file
    
    Returns:
        bool: True if successful, False otherwise
    """
    # Calculate SHA-256 hash
    file_hash = hashlib.sha256()
    block_size = 65536
    
    with open(dp_name, 'rb') as f:
        fb = f.read(block_size)
        while len(fb) > 0:
            file_hash.update(fb)
            fb = f.read(block_size)
    
    # Upload package
    with open(dp_name, 'rb') as f:
        s = requests.Session()
        r = s.post(
            f'http://{server}:8080/Marti/sync/missionupload?'
            f'hash={file_hash.hexdigest()}&'
            f'filename={dp_name}&'
            f'creatorUid=python_uploader',
            files={"assetfile": f.read()},
            headers={'Expect': '100-continue'}
        )
        
        if r.status_code == 200:
            # Update metadata
            p_r = s.put(
                f'http://{server}:8080/Marti/api/sync/metadata/{file_hash.hexdigest()}/tool'
            )
            return True
        else:
            print(f"Upload failed: {r.status_code}")
            return False

# Usage
if send_data_package("203.0.113.10", "mission.zip"):
    print("Package uploaded successfully")
else:
    print("Upload failed")

Data Package Types

Mission Package

Standard TAK mission package format:

package.zip
├── MANIFEST/
│   └── manifest.xml
└── content/
    ├── map.jpg
    ├── overlay.kml
    └── waypoints.cot

Manifest structure:

<MissionPackageManifest version="2">
   <Configuration>
      <Parameter name="uid" value="unique-package-id"/>
      <Parameter name="name" value="Mission Package Name"/>
      <Parameter name="onReceiveDelete" value="false"/>
   </Configuration>
   <Contents>
      <Content ignore="false" zipEntry="content/map.jpg"/>
      <Content ignore="false" zipEntry="content/overlay.kml"/>
      <Content ignore="false" zipEntry="content/waypoints.cot"/>
   </Contents>
</MissionPackageManifest>

Data Package

Simple file sharing package:

data.zip
├── document.pdf
├── image.png
└── notes.txt

Certificate Package

Client connection configuration (auto-generated):

Client.zip
├── manifest.xml
├── fts.pref
├── server.p12
└── Client.p12

Retrieving Data Packages

List Available Packages

# Get all data packages
curl http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/api/sync/metadata/all

Response:

{
  "packages": [
    {
      "hash": "a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
      "filename": "mission_alpha.zip",
      "size": 1048576,
      "submitter": "field_user_1",
      "timestamp": "2026-03-04T10:30:00Z",
      "tool": "public"
    }
  ]
}

Download Package

# Download by hash
curl -O http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/api/sync/metadata/{hash}/content

# Download by filename
curl -O http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/sync/content?hash={hash}

From ATAK

Open ATAK
Tap Menu → Data Management → Mission Package Tool
Tap Refresh to see server packages
Select package to download
Tap Download
Package downloads and imports automatically

Data Package Storage

Directory Structure

/opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/
├── a1b2c3d4e5f6.../  # Package hash
│   └── mission_alpha.zip
├── f6e5d4c3b2a1.../
│   └── overlay.zip
└── metadata.db      # Package metadata (future)

Storage Management

Check storage usage:

# Check data package directory size
du -sh /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/

# List packages by size
du -h /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/* | sort -h

# Count total packages
ls -1 /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/ | wc -l

Clean old packages:

# Remove packages older than 30 days
find /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/ -type f -mtime +30 -delete

# Remove packages larger than 100MB
find /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/ -type f -size +100M -delete

Enterprise Sync

Enterprise Sync provides advanced data package management:

Configuration

# From MainConfig.py
"EnterpriseSyncPath": {
    "default": Path(rf"{PERSISTENCE_PATH}/enterprise_sync"),
    "type": str,
}

Directory Structure

/opt/fts/enterprise_sync/
├── missions/
│   ├── mission_1/
│   └── mission_2/
└── content/
    └── shared_files/

Data Package Workflows

Map Distribution

Prepare Map Imagery

# Create georeferenced map package
# Using GDAL tools
gdal_translate -of GTiff -co TILED=YES map.png georef_map.tif
gdalwarp -t_srs EPSG:4326 georef_map.tif final_map.tif

Create Mission Package

Package map with metadata:

<!-- manifest.xml -->
<MissionPackageManifest version="2">
   <Configuration>
      <Parameter name="name" value="Operational Area Map"/>
   </Configuration>
   <Contents>
      <Content zipEntry="maps/area_map.tif"/>
   </Contents>
</MissionPackageManifest>

Upload to Server

python3 << 'EOF'
from certificate_generation import send_data_package
send_data_package("your.server.ip", "area_map.zip")
EOF

Clients Download

All connected clients receive notification and can download the map.

SOP Distribution

Create SOP document (PDF, DOCX, etc.)
Package with reference markers
Upload to server
Field users download and reference

Capture drone/aerial imagery
Georeference images
Create overlay KML
Package and distribute
Clients view imagery in ATAK

REST API Reference

Upload Endpoint

POST /Marti/sync/missionupload?hash={sha256}&filename={name}&creatorUid={user}
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

--boundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="assetfile"; filename="package.zip"
Content-Type: application/zip

{binary data}
--boundary--

Metadata Endpoint

PUT /Marti/api/sync/metadata/{hash}/tool

Download Endpoint

GET /Marti/sync/content?hash={hash}
GET /Marti/api/sync/metadata/{hash}/content

List Endpoint

GET /Marti/api/sync/metadata/all

Troubleshooting

Upload Failures

Common upload issues:

Connection refused

# Verify service is running
curl http://your.server.ip:8080/Marti/api/version

File too large
- Check server disk space
- Verify no file size limits in proxy
- Compress packages before upload
Hash mismatch
- Ensure SHA-256 hash is correct
- File may be corrupted during transfer
- Recalculate hash and retry

Download Issues

If clients can’t download packages:

Wrong IP address

# Verify FTS_DP_ADDRESS
echo $FTS_DP_ADDRESS

Firewall blocking port 8080

sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Package deleted
- Check if file exists in data package directory
- Re-upload package if missing

Storage Issues

# Check available disk space
df -h /opt/fts/

# Find largest packages
find /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/ -type f -exec du -h {} + | sort -h | tail -20

# Remove specific package
rm -rf /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/{hash}/

Docker Data Packages

Volume Configuration

services:
  freetakserver:
    volumes:
      - fts-datapackages:/opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder
    environment:
      FTS_DATAPACKAGE_PATH: /opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder
      FTS_DP_ADDRESS: "your.server.ip"

volumes:
  fts-datapackages:

Extract Packages from Container

# Copy package from container
docker cp freetakserver:/opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/{hash}/package.zip ./

# Copy to container
docker cp ./package.zip freetakserver:/opt/fts/FreeTAKServerDataPackageFolder/{hash}/

Security Considerations

Data package security:

Malware scanning: Scan uploaded packages for malicious content
Access control: Implement user-based package access (future)
Encryption: Use HTTPS (port 8443) for sensitive packages
Size limits: Set maximum package size to prevent DoS
Validation: Verify package format and content before distribution

Next Steps

Configure SSL for secure package transfer
Set up client connections to enable package sharing
Database Configuration - Configure storage for data packages
Mission API - Manage data packages within missions

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Configuration

​Overview

​Data Package Services

​HTTP Data Package Service

​HTTPS Data Package Service

​Configuration

​Server Configuration

​Configuration from Source

​Uploading Data Packages

​From ATAK Client

​From WinTAK Client

​Using REST API

​Using Python

​Data Package Types

​Mission Package

​Data Package

​Certificate Package

​Retrieving Data Packages

​List Available Packages

​Download Package

​From ATAK

​Data Package Storage

​Directory Structure

​Storage Management

​Enterprise Sync

​Configuration

​Directory Structure

​Data Package Workflows

​Map Distribution

​SOP Distribution

​Imagery Sharing

​REST API Reference

​Upload Endpoint

​Metadata Endpoint

​Download Endpoint

​List Endpoint

​Troubleshooting

​Upload Failures

​Download Issues

​Storage Issues

​Docker Data Packages

​Volume Configuration

​Extract Packages from Container

​Security Considerations

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Data Package Services

HTTP Data Package Service

HTTPS Data Package Service

Configuration

Server Configuration

Configuration from Source

Uploading Data Packages

From ATAK Client

From WinTAK Client

Using REST API

Using Python

Data Package Types

Mission Package

Data Package

Certificate Package

Retrieving Data Packages

List Available Packages

Download Package

From ATAK

Data Package Storage

Directory Structure

Storage Management

Enterprise Sync

Configuration

Directory Structure

Data Package Workflows

Map Distribution

SOP Distribution

Imagery Sharing

REST API Reference

Upload Endpoint

Metadata Endpoint

Download Endpoint

List Endpoint

Troubleshooting

Upload Failures

Download Issues

Storage Issues

Docker Data Packages

Volume Configuration

Extract Packages from Container

Security Considerations

Next Steps