SDK Software Development Kit

Build powerful marine applications faster.

The Actisense SDK is a free, open-source toolkit that gives developers everything they need to integrate with Actisense marine gateways and NMEA 2000® networks.

Whether you’re building fleet management software, cloud-connected vessel monitoring, custom navigation displays or marine data logging tools, the SDK provides a production-ready foundation so you can focus on your application.

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Why the Actisense SDK?

The Actisense SDK removes the complexity of communicating with NMEA 2000 networks through compatible Actisense gateways.

Instead of writing low-level communications code, developers can immediately begin receiving, transmitting and managing marine data using a modern, cross-platform library designed for real-world applications.

Built under the permissive MIT Licence, the SDK is free to use in both commercial and personal projects with no royalties, licensing fees or vendor lock-in.

What can you build?

Fleet management platforms
Vessel monitoring and alerting systems
Cloud-connected marine data pipelines
Custom navigation and instrumentation displays
Marine data logging and replay tools
Protocol analysis and diagnostics utilities
Integration layers between NMEA 2000 networks and third-party systems

Compatible hardware

The SDK works with:

NGX-1 series gateways
NGT-1 series gateways

Platform requirements

C++ library

C++20 compiler (Visual Studio 2019+, GCC 10+, or Clang 11+)
CMake 3.20+
Windows, Linux, or macOS

Python utilities

Python 3.7+
pyserial

Why developers choose Actisense

For more than 30 years, Actisense has developed trusted marine networking products used by OEMs, commercial fleets, marine engineers and boat builders around the world.

The Actisense SDK builds on that experience, providing developers with a reliable, production-ready toolkit for creating the next generation of connected marine applications.

Open source & MIT licensed

Free for commercial and personal use with no restrictions or licensing costs.

NMEA 2000 ready

Receive and transmit NMEA 2000 messages including:

GPS
Engine data
Wind
AIS
Depth
and more…

Multiple data formats

Choose the format that suits your application:

ASCII
Binary
Enhanced Binary Log (EBL)

Fast-packet reassembly

Automatically reconstructs multi-frame NMEA 2000 messages, eliminating manual packet handling.

Device control

Configure compatible Actisense gateways directly from your application.

Operating modes
Device information
PGN filters
Configuration commands

Production ready

Asynchronous I/O
Thread-safe architecture
Robust error handling
Recovery mechanisms

C++ & Python

Includes:

Modern C++20 library
Python utilities for scripting
Testing
Rapid prototyping

Cross platform

Supports:

Windows
Linux
macOS

ARM support coming soon.

Built-in testing

Includes the Python N2K Sender utility for generating realistic NMEA 2000 traffic without requiring physical hardware.

Get started in minutes

The SDK is available now on GitHub. Clone the repository, follow the Getting Started guide, and you’ll have a working connection to an Actisense gateway in no time.

Clone the repository from GitHub: com/Actisense/SDK
Follow the Getting Started guide in the docs/
Build one of the included example applications
Connect your Actisense gateway and start receiving NMEA 2000 data

Need more help? Visit our Support Centre.