Tools and Resources

EDFM // Mining

Community tools, databases, applications and services commonly used alongside Elite Dangerous.

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Third-party tools and websites — not developed, hosted, or endorsed by Frontier Developments plc — that Elite Dangerous commanders commonly use alongside the game. Entries below are widely-recognised, long-established community staples, grouped by what they're for. This list is deliberately not exhaustive; see Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Contributing once public registration opens if you'd like to propose an addition.

01 // Star systems, navigation and exploration

EDSMElite Dangerous Star Map

Community-maintained database of star systems and bodies, built from commanders' journal uploads. Several other tools below build on its data.

Star mapSystem dataExploration

Spansh

Route plotting: neutron-star-boosted exploration routes, "Road to Riches" high-value-body routing, and multi-hop trade routing.

Route planningNeutron routingRoad to RichesTrade

02 // Trading and general commander reference

Inara

Community hub covering commander/squadron profiles, nearest-station and trade lookups, engineering material tracking, fleet carrier listings, and community goal tracking.

CommanderSquadronEngineeringMarketsFleet carriers

03 // Ship building

Coriolis

Ship loadout planner for comparing modules and engineering choices before committing credits or materials in-game. Builds can be shared as export codes.

Ship buildingEngineeringLoadouts

EDSYElite Dangerous Shipyard

Alternative loadout planner, covering the same core build-planning role as Coriolis with a different interface.

Ship buildingEngineeringThermals

04 // Companion apps (journal/API sync)

Several tools above draw their data from the game's own journal files and Frontier's companion API rather than manual entry. The most commonly installed app for this is:

EDMCElite Dangerous Market Connector

Background app, maintained by EDCD (Elite Dangerous Community Developers), that reads your journal and forwards data to services such as EDSM and Inara, and to EDDN, the shared open data feed several tools above are built on. Supports plugins.

JournalAPIData syncPlugins

05 // Voice and cockpit immersion

VoiceAttack

General-purpose voice command software, not specific to Elite Dangerous, but very widely used in the community for hands-free ship control. Commander-made voice profiles for it are common.

Voice controlCockpit

06 // Community hubs

Frontier's official forums

Frontier Developments' own discussion forums, including official Elite Dangerous sections.

r/EliteDangerous

The main Elite Dangerous community on Reddit.

07 // Colonisation planning and construction

EDSCElite Dangerous System Constructor

Tracks system claims and construction projects across colonisation sites, with a shopping-list feature to help locate needed commodities.

System claimsConstruction trackingShopping list

Raven Colonial

Tracks build progress across single or multiple colonisation construction sites, aggregates cargo shopping lists, and includes a visual system-planning tool for previewing economies before construction begins.

Progress trackingMulti-buildSystem planning

EDCHED Colonization Helper

Tracks required and delivered materials for colonisation construction projects, with Fleet Carrier cargo support and saved progress across sessions.

ConstructionMaterialsFleet carrier

08 // Engineering material tracking

EDEngineer

Real-time overlay that reads your journal to track materials, data, and cargo held toward Engineer blueprint requirements, with a shopping list and alerts when a favourited blueprint is ready to craft.

EngineeringMaterialsJournalOverlay

Related Field Manual Entries

Field Procedures Operations Colonisation Engineering