Node ownership
Hardware lifetime is not tied to a desktop GUI process.
WHY OPENASTROLINK
Protocol first. Node owned. Astronomy focused.
OpenAstroLink is an open control layer for astronomical equipment and observing workflows. It was created because this project needed native hardware access, headless/remote ownership, cancellable workflow operations and a science data plane in one coherent architecture.
What it is
OpenAstroLink (OAL) separates the observatory control layer from any one GUI. openastrolink-node owns equipment sessions and workflows; OpenAstroSuite is the reference GUI; other software can integrate through the same protocol surfaces.
Why not just use an existing astronomy stack?
Existing ecosystems such as INDI, ASCOM/Alpaca, N.I.N.A. and KStars/Ekos solve important problems and remain valuable compatibility targets. The missing piece for this project was the combination of node-owned hardware, native-first drivers, explicit long-running operations, independent science/preview data paths, remote APIs and HIL-qualified behaviour in one open stack.
Workflow semantics
Slew, solve, autofocus, exposure and scheduler work use operations, locks and cancellation.
Science first
Preview may drop frames; authoritative FITS/RAW/SER recording must not depend on GUI/network load.
What OAL is not
It is not an argument that existing projects should disappear. Compatibility remains part of the architecture. It is also not yet an unattended-observatory safety platform: the nearest Beta is explicitly supervised.
Read the rationale
The repository contains the canonical rationale in docs/WHY_OPENASTROLINK.md.