Files
Look4Sat-mckero/AGENTS.md
T

6.0 KiB

Look4Sat AI Agent Instructions

This is the canonical project guide for all AI assistants working on Look4Sat. All assistant-specific files (CLAUDE.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md) point here.


Project Overview

Look4Sat is an open-source, fully offline Android satellite tracker and pass predictor. It tracks 9000+ active satellites using Celestrak/SatNOGS orbital data, calculates positions via SGP4/SDP4, and predicts passes relative to the user's location. Features include polar radar visualization, SSTV image decoding, and ground track mapping. No ads, no tracking, no network required after initial data download.

Architecture & Design

MVI (Model-View-Intent) with unidirectional data flow:

  • State data class (named <Feature>State) exposed via StateFlow from ViewModel
  • Action sealed interface (named <Feature>Action) dispatched to ViewModel's onAction()
  • Jetpack Compose UI observes state and recomposes reactively

Clean Architecture layers:

Module Responsibility
app Entry point. Aggregates all modules
core:data Android library. Room DB, OkHttp networking, repo implementations
core:domain Pure Kotlin (JVM). Orbital math (SGP4/SDP4), models, repo contracts
core:presentation Android library. Compose theme, shared UI components, NavKeys
feature:map OSMDroid map with ground tracks
feature:passes Pass predictions and upcoming events
feature:radar Polar radar view of satellite positions, SSTV image decoding
feature:satellites Satellite list, filtering, selection
feature:settings User preferences

Feature isolation:

  • feature:* modules depend only on core:domain and core:presentation.
  • No feature-to-feature dependencies; cross-feature communication goes through core layers.

Build & Platform

# Debug build
./gradlew assembleDebug

# Release build (minified, shrunk resources)
./gradlew assembleRelease

# Run tests
./gradlew test
  • Min SDK: 24 | Target SDK: 36 | JDK: 17
  • Gradle: Version catalog in gradle/libs.versions.toml + convention plugins in build-logic/

Tech Stack

  • Compose (BOM 2026.05.01) + Material3 Adaptive
  • Navigation3: Type-safe navigation with @Serializable nav keys
  • Room (KSP code generation) for local satellite/orbital storage
  • OkHttp 5.x for data downloads
  • OSMDroid for map rendering
  • Kotlin Serialization for navigation args and parsing
  • Coroutines + StateFlow for async/reactive patterns
  • Localization: 7 languages (en, es, ru, si, tr, uk, zh)

Data Formats & Migration

Look4Sat supports both TLE and OMM (Orbit Mean-Elements Message) CSV formats:

  • TLE format: Legacy 3-line element format limited by 5-digit NORAD IDs
  • OMM/CSV format: Successor format with ISO 8601 timestamps and larger NORAD ID support
  • New 5-digit NORAD IDs are exhausted; TLE is officially deprecated and OMM/CSV is the clear default
  • DataParser.kt supports both via parseTLEStream() and parseCSVStream()
  • Downloads auto-detect format; both produce identical OrbitalData objects
  • Existing code already supports transparent source transition without feature changes
  • Refresh orbital data weekly for accurate pass prediction (orbital decay)

Engineering Heuristics (Lazy = Efficient)

  • Treat "lazy" as efficient, not careless: the best code is the code never written.
  • First understand the task and trace the real flow end-to-end, then climb this ladder:
    1. Does this need to be built now? (YAGNI)
    2. Does it already exist in this codebase? Reuse helpers/patterns before rewriting.
    3. Does Kotlin/Java stdlib already solve it?
    4. Does the Android/platform API already solve it?
    5. Does an already-installed dependency solve it?
    6. Can this be simpler (including one-liner simple)?
    7. Only then: write the minimum code that works.
  • Prefer deletion to addition, boring over clever, and the fewest touched files.
  • Avoid new abstractions, dependencies, and boilerplate unless explicitly requested.
  • Manual DI only: ViewModels use companion factory() methods with IMainContainer.
  • Release builds use ProGuard: avoid reflection-heavy libraries unless explicitly approved.
  • When two options are similar in size, choose the edge-case-correct one.
  • If you keep a deliberate simplification (for example O(n^2) scan or global lock), leave a short comment with the ceiling and upgrade path.
  • For complex asks, challenge scope when appropriate: "Do you need X, or does Y already cover it?"

Bug-Fix Policy

  • Fix root cause, not just the reported symptom.
  • If touching a shared function, inspect callers and prefer one shared fix over per-caller patches.
  • The smallest correct diff wins only after behavior is understood.

Roadmap

  • KMP migration: core:domain is to become a fully shareable KMM module. Keep it pure Kotlin/JVM.

Gotchas

  • Orbital math lives in core:domain/predict/ — dense vector math (SGP4/SDP4). Tread carefully.
  • SSTV decoding in feature:radar is experimental; image quality depends on signal strength during satellite pass.
  • build-logic/convention/ contains shared Gradle configuration — edit there, not in individual modules.

Copilot Working Mode: Code-Only

  • Default to code changes only. Provide explanations in chat only.
  • If documentation seems useful, ask first before creating files.
  • Do NOT create any .md documentation files unless explicitly requested.
  • Do NOT add README, guides, summaries, migration notes, or how-to files unless asked.
  • Prefer minimal diffs focused on requested implementation.
  • Default validation is static checks (get_errors). Do NOT run Gradle compile/test tasks unless explicitly requested.