EDCA GitHub

Common questions

The things worth knowing before you download it, plus a few that come up afterwards.

Questions

What is EDCA?

EDCA (Elite Dangerous Colonisation Assistant) is a free, local, browser-based HUD that tracks your Elite Dangerous colonisation construction sites and fleet carrier logistics automatically from your journal.

Does EDCA need an account or send my data anywhere?

No. It runs entirely on your machine, reads your local journal and has no accounts, no cloud and no telemetry. The only thing it sends anywhere is an anonymous version check asking GitHub what the latest release is; it carries no identifier and none of your journal data.

Which platforms does EDCA support?

Windows and Linux. On Windows, EDCA ships as an installer you download from the Releases page. On Linux there is no downloadable package: you build a Flatpak from a checkout with the script in the repository or run it straight from source.

What does EDCA track?

Per-system colonisation construction sites and their aggregated commodity shopping lists, station state, plus your fleet carrier's hold, market orders, capacity, fuel and jump range, balances and crew. It also tracks where each carrier is, including a jump you have booked but not yet made.

Why does the first launch take longer?

Because it reads every journal already on your machine once, to rebuild the colonisation history you have flown so far rather than starting you from empty. The splash names the file it is reading and how much is left, so it is a wait you can watch rather than guess at. It happens on the first run only.

Does EDCA show my carrier when I am not on it?

Yes. Where you are standing does not change what your carrier is holding, so the hold, market and status are shown wherever you are, with a note saying the reading was taken the last time you were aboard.

Can it tell me my carrier's upkeep bill?

No; nothing can from the journal alone. The game records no upkeep event; the balance movements it does record mix upkeep with tritium purchases, crew changes and trade income with nothing to separate them. EDCA shows the balance movements themselves and attaches no cause to them, which is the honest version.

Can I use EDCA on a tablet?

Yes. EDCA serves a browser HUD on your local network, so you can open it on a tablet or phone on the same Wi-Fi and mount it beside your cockpit, with a keep-screen-awake option.

Does EDCA support squadron or multiplayer colonisation?

No. Elite Dangerous journals are local to each player, so EDCA tracks your own contributions only.

How do I update or uninstall EDCA?

EDCA checks for a new version once each time it starts, from the tray, then prompts you when one is out, with a direct download of the installer plus the choice to skip that version or decide later. You can also ask at any time with Check for Updates in the tray Help menu, which tells you the answer straight away. On Windows, run the installer over your existing installation and it upgrades in one pass, offering to close EDCA first if it is running; to remove it, use Apps and features, which clears the install folder, the shortcuts and the sign-in entry. On Linux, rebuild the Flatpak from a newer checkout to upgrade and run cleanup_flatpak.sh to remove it, which leaves your database and your settings alone unless you ask it to purge them.

Next Why it exists

The problem it was built to solve, plus what it deliberately does not do.

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