Dishylink

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Dishylink is an unofficial, open-source desktop and browser-based network monitoring application specifically designed for Starlink satellite internet users. It functions as a local-first telemetry dashboard that communicates directly with Starlink hardware (dish and router) via their local network APIs.
2. Core Value Proposition: Dishylink exists to fill the critical gap left by Starlink's official mobile-only app and the deprecated web portal, providing power users, IT professionals, and technically-inclined homeowners with a comprehensive, privacy-focused, and persistent monitoring solution for their satellite internet performance, health, and diagnostics directly from their desktop computer.

Main Features

1. Live Telemetry & Alignment Visualization: Dishylink provides real-time, second-by-second data streaming from the Starlink dish and router. This includes signal strength (SNR), uptime, and crucially, dish alignment metrics. It visualizes the current azimuth and elevation against the target, displaying the exact rotational and tilt offset in degrees, enabling precise physical dish adjustment for optimal signal acquisition.
2. Granular Network & Power Analytics: The application performs deep packet inspection at the local network level to track per-device data usage (download/upload), identifying clients by hostname, MAC vendor, and connection band (2.4GHz/5GHz). Simultaneously, it monitors the terminal's real-time power draw (watts), logging historical energy consumption data to provide accurate daily and monthly usage totals, accounting for any recording gaps.
3. Latency Decomposition & Obstruction Mapping: Dishylink uniquely charts latency from two sources: the dish's ping to the internet and the router's ping. This side-by-side visualization allows users to isolate network lag, determining if latency spikes originate from the Starlink satellite network or the local router/Wi-Fi. Furthermore, it renders a dynamic obstruction map using the dish's reported blockage data, creating a time-lapse view of signal interference.
4. Persistent Event Logging & Offline Alerts: Unlike the Starlink app, Dishylink maintains a continuous, local historical log of all system events, outages, alerts (e.g., overheating, motor stall, network downtime), and recoveries. It provides native OS notifications (macOS/Windows) for these events, functioning even when the app is closed, ensuring users are alerted to and can review the cause of any service interruption.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: The lack of a dedicated, persistent desktop monitoring tool for Starlink power users following the shutdown of the official web interface, forcing reliance on a mobile app for critical network diagnostics.
2. Target Audience: The primary personas are remote workers, IT administrators managing distributed sites, rural homeowners, RV/boating enthusiasts, and technology hobbyists who require detailed, historical insights into their Starlink connection's reliability, performance trends, and data/power consumption for troubleshooting and optimization.
3. Use Cases: Essential scenarios include diagnosing intermittent outages by reviewing the historical event log, fine-tuning dish placement using precise degree-based alignment feedback, monitoring per-device bandwidth usage to identify data hogs, verifying if latency issues are local or satellite-based, and tracking energy consumption for off-grid solar/battery planning.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Compared to basic Starlink app data or third-party cloud-based dashboards, Dishylink is entirely local, private, and offers vastly superior data depth and persistence. It requires no account, sends zero telemetry to the cloud, and continues operating during internet outages—the exact moment monitoring is most critical.
2. Key Innovation: Its core innovation is the implementation of a 24/7 local recording engine that captures and stores high-fidelity time-series data from the Starlink hardware APIs directly on the user's machine. This creates a permanent, queryable history of network health that the hardware itself does not retain, combined with a desktop-native alerting system and advanced visualization (3D satellite view, decomposed latency graphs) not available elsewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is Dishylink safe and private to use with my Starlink? Yes, Dishylink is designed with privacy-first principles. It operates entirely on your local network, communicating directly with your dish and router. No performance data, telemetry, or network information is ever transmitted to external servers or the cloud. It is also open-source, allowing its codebase to be publicly audited for security.
2. Does Dishylink work without an internet connection? Absolutely. Since Dishylink communicates directly with your Starlink hardware via your local Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, it remains fully functional for monitoring and reviewing historical data even during a complete internet outage. This is a key advantage for diagnosing the cause of the outage.
3. What Starlink hardware generations and models are compatible with Dishylink? Dishylink is compatible with all standard Starlink kits that expose the local JSON API, including Gen 1 (Round Dish), Gen 2 (Standard/Flat), Gen 3, the Starlink Mini, and High Performance kits. It automatically detects and renders the appropriate hardware interface and available controls (like stow/unstow for motorized models).
4. Can Dishylink change my Starlink settings or break my connection? Dishylink prioritizes read-only safety. While it offers some control features (like rebooting hardware or managing updates on supported firmware), it deliberately excludes high-risk settings like custom DNS or bypass mode that could disrupt your network and require a physical factory reset to recover.
5. How is Dishylink different from the official Starlink app? The official Starlink app is mobile-focused and provides basic, real-time status. Dishylink is a desktop-grade analytical tool offering persistent 24/7 logging, historical trend analysis, per-device traffic monitoring, detailed power consumption history, OS-integrated notifications, and advanced diagnostic visualizations like latency decomposition and obstruction time-lapse, which the official app does not provide.