Which Export to Choose
Dronetag exports flights and detections in a few file formats. The formats are the same wherever you export from, for example the Dronetag App, the Dronetag Export service or your own software through the Dronetag API. This section describes the files. What you can choose in each place is described on that place's own page, such as Exporting Data in the Dronetag App.
This page helps you pick a format.
A flight is reported by a Dronetag device on your own drone. A detection is a drone that one or more of your receivers heard, for example a Dronetag Scout. Flights and detections use the same file formats. A detection fills in a few extra fields, such as which receiver heard it.
Pick a Format
| I want to | Choose | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Replay a flight in 3D | KMZ | KMZ for Google Earth |
| Give someone a printable report | One report per flight or detection | |
| Work with every position in Excel | CSV, With tracks | CSV Telemetry |
| List many flights in Excel, one row each | CSV, Summary | CSV Summary |
| Feed my own software | JSON | JSON |
KML is the same map as KMZ, but without the icons and the colour legend. Google Earth shows its own default pins instead. Choose KML only if a tool can't open KMZ.
With Tracks or Summary
JSON and CSV come in two versions. You pick one when you export.
- With tracks has every recorded position. This is the default.
- Summary has one entry per flight or detection, without the positions.
The figures in a Summary are still calculated from the whole track. Choose Summary when you export many flights. For 80 flights, a Summary is a few hundred kilobytes and With tracks is tens of megabytes.
Units and Times
JSON and CSV always use metres, metres per second, degrees and seconds. Their times are in UTC.
KMZ and PDF use metric units, or imperial ones where the place you export from lets you choose. Their times are also in UTC, marked "(UTC)".
File Names
| You exported | File name |
|---|---|
| 80 flights from 1 to 7 May 2026 | dronetag-flights-80_20260501-20260507-telemetry.csv |
| One flight | dronetag-flight_1596CEXAMPLE00001_20260917-0742Z-telemetry.csv |
Detections say operations or operation instead of flights or flight. A Summary ends in -summary instead of -telemetry. A zip has the same name with the extension .zip. Dates and times in file names are in UTC.
Format Versions
JSON, CSV Telemetry and CSV Summary are all version 1.0, and each has its own version. When something is only added, the second number goes up. When something is removed, renamed or changes meaning, the first number goes up. If your software reads JSON, read schema_version and check the first number before you read the rest.
When You Get a Zip File
A CSV can arrive in a zip together with a file called ATTRIBUTION.txt. This happens when heights in the CSV were calculated from terrain data that must be credited. Keep the two files together when you pass the data on. See Terrain Data and Attribution.
Some places also put several formats, or a large selection split into parts, into one zip.
Files Safe to Share Publicly
Some places can make a file that is safe to share publicly. The file then leaves out the pilot's name and ID, the pilot's positions and the take-off point. It also leaves out the callsign, the Self-ID text, the return-to-home point and the receivers that heard a detection.
Serial numbers keep their first four and last four characters. Registration numbers and operator IDs are hidden completely. The drone's own track stays in the file.
Example Files
The examples on these pages come from these files. They are synthetic. Every name, serial number, receiver and registration in them is invented.
| File | What it shows |
|---|---|
| telemetry-1-flight.json | JSON With tracks, one flight |
| telemetry-1-detection.json | JSON With tracks, one detection with its pilot positions |
| summary-3-flights.json | JSON Summary, three flights |
| summary-3-detections.json | JSON Summary, three detections |
| telemetry-1-flight.csv | CSV Telemetry, one flight |
| telemetry-1-detection.csv | CSV Telemetry, one detection |
| summary-3-flights.csv | CSV Summary, three flights |
| summary-3-detections.csv | CSV Summary, three detections |
| ATTRIBUTION.txt | The terrain credits that come in a zip with a CSV |
In a real download the file names follow the pattern under File Names, and each of these CSVs would arrive in a zip with its ATTRIBUTION.txt.