# Stellarium Command Reference

Version 1.21 - November 27, 2006
Robert Spearman
This document outlines commands supported by Stellarium 0.8.2 for UI or script use.
Command format basics:

- The command format consists of a command name followed by an optional list of arguments in the form of name/value pairs.
- Whitespace is used as a delimiter.
- Argument values requiring included whitespace can be enclosed in double quotes ("This is a value with spaces.").
- Commands and argument names are case insensitive, however argument values are typically case sensitive.
- Argument pairs can be arranged in any order.

COMMAND ARGUMENT_NAME1 ARGUMENT_VALUE1 ARGUMENT_NAME2 ARGUMENT_VALUE2 ...

Example Commands:

- select planet Jupiter
- flag atmosphere on
- date utc 1999-08-11T12:00:00
- wait duration 2.31
- moveto lat 45.7 lon -122 duration 5
- set home_planet "Solar System Observer"

Below is a complete list of valid commands, along with their supported argument names and values. Lowercase values are literal, uppercase values are explanatory (i.e. replace SECONDS with the number of seconds desired). New or changed commands are bolded below.

Command | Argument Names | Argument Values | Notes
audio | action | pause play sync |
filename | AUDIO_FILENAME | Used with "play" action. Format support depends on your binary. Ogg Vorbis format is recommended. WAV format should work but is discouraged because in this case the audio track will not adjust if the script is fast forwarded. [This is a current limitation of the SDL_Mixer library.]
loop | on off | Used with "play" action. Default is off
output_rate | SAMPLES_PER_SECOND | For example, 44100 is CD quality audio.
volume | decrement increment VOLUME_LEVEL | VOLUME_LEVEL is between 0 and 1, inclusive.
clear | state | natural | Turn off fog and all labels, lines, and art. Turn planet, star, and nebula rendering on. Deselect any selected objects. Return to initial fov and viewing direction. If state is natural, ground and atmosphere will be turned on, otherwise these will be turned off.
configuration | action | load reload | Currently disabled.
date | local | [[-]YYYY-MM-DD]Thh:mm:ss | Set time to a specified date and/or time using current timezone. 'T' is literal.
utc | [-]YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss | Set time to a specified date and time in UTC time. 'T' is literal.
relative | DAYS | Change date and time by DAYS (can be fractional).
sidereal | DAYS | Change date and time by sidereal DAYS (can be fractional). Sidereal day length is dependent on your home planet.
load | current | Set date to current date.
deselect |  |  | Deselects current object selection, including any constellation selection. See select command.
flag | atmosphere azimuthal_grid bright_nebulae cardinal_points constellation_art constellation_drawing constellation_names constellation_pick ecliptic_line enable_move_keys enable_tui_menu enable_zoom_keys equator_line equatorial_grid fog gravity_labels help infos moon_scaled landscape manual_zoom menu meridian_line milky_way nebulae nebula_names object_trails planets planet_names planet_orbits point_star script_gui_debug show_appname show_date show_fov show_fps show_gravity_ui show_selected_object_info show_time show_topbar show_tui_datetime show_tui_short_obj_info star_names star_twinkle stars track_object utc_time | on 1 off 0 toggle | Set rendering flags. One argument name per command allowed currently. track_object is only useful while an object is selected. The following flags are key user settings and are not accessible from scripts: enable_move_keys enable_move_mouse enable_tui_menu enable_zoom_keys gravity_labels help horizon infos menu show_appname show_date show_fov show_fps show_gravity_ui show_time show_topbar utc_time
image | action | load drop | Drop images when no longer needed to improve performance.
altitude | ALTITUDE_ANGLE | For positioning the center of the image in horizontal coordinates. Zero is at the horizon, 90 is at the zenith.
azimuth | AZIMUTH_ANGLE | For positioning the center of the image in horizontal coordinates. Zero is North, 90 is East.
coordinate_system | viewport horizontal equatorial j2000 | What coordinate system to use to position the image. Must be defined at image load. Can not be changed later. Default is viewport.
duration | SECONDS | How long to take to complete the command.
filename | IMAGE_FILENAME | Path must be relative to script.
name | IMAGE_NAME | Used to refer to the image in later calls to manipulate the image. Images must be in PNG format. If images do not have dimensions that are powers of 2 (128, 256, etc.) they are resized when loaded to meet this requirement.
alpha | ALPHA | 0 is transparent (default), 1 is opaque. ALPHA can be fractional. Note that images are drawn in the order they were loaded.
scale | SCALE | How large to draw the image. In viewport coordinates, at 1 the image is scaled to fit maximized in the viewport. In horizontal coordinates, this defines the maximum angular width of the image in degrees.
rotation | DEGREES | Absolute rotation, positive is clockwise.
xpos | X_POSITION | Where to draw center of image. 0 is center of viewport, 1 is right edge of viewport.
ypos | Y_POSITION | Where to draw center of image. 0 is center of viewport, 1 is top edge of viewport.
landscape |  |  | Load a landscape. Arguments have same names and possible values as in landscapes.ini file except that texture file names need to be specified in full including the path relative to the script. Also add argument "action load"
meteors | zhr | ZENITH_HOURLY_RATE |
moveto | lat | LATITUDE | South is negative
lon | LONGITUDE | West is negative
alt | ALTITUDE | In meters
duration | SECONDS | How long to take to effect this change.
script | action | play end pause resume | Note that pause toggles playback. If a script plays another script, the first will terminate.
filename | SCRIPT_FILENAME |
select |  |  | If no arguments are supplied, deselects current object. (Leaves constellation selection alone.) See deselect command.
constellation | CONSTELLATION_SHORT_NAME | 3 character abbreviation from constellationship.fab, case insensitive.
hp | HP_NUMBER |
nebula | NEBULA_NAME | Name as defined in messier.fab
planet | PLANET_NAME | Name as defined in ssystem.ini
pointer | on 1 off 0 | Whether to draw the highlighting pointer around the selected object. Default is on.
set | atmosphere_fade_duration | SECONDS |
auto_move_duration | SECONDS | used for auto zoom
constellation_art_fade_duration | SECONDS |
constellation_art_intensity |  | 0-1
landscape_name |  | from landscapes.ini
max_mag_nebula_name |  | only label nebulas brighter than this
max_mag_star_name |  | only label stars brighter than this
moon_scale |  | 1 is real size
home_planet |  | Change viewing location, case sensitive
sky_culture |  | Directory name from skycultures.fab
sky_locale |  | locale code: fr, zh_HK, etc.
star_mag_scale |  |
star_scale |  |
star_twinkle_amount |  | 0 is no twinkling
time_zone |  | System dependent
timerate | rate | SECONDS_PER_SECOND | Set simulation time rate.
wait | duration | SECONDS | Only useful in scripts. SECONDS can be fractional.
zoom | auto | in initial out | "initial" returns to configured initial fov and viewing direction
fov | FIELD_OF_VIEW | in degrees
delta_fov | DELTA_DEGREES |
duration | SECONDS | Not used with delta_fov