Cumulus.ini (preserving history)

This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.

Request for help from Wiki Readers

• Do you understand how MX works?
• Do you use hardware, or MX functionality, that is not yet documented? Can you begin that documenting?
• Can you contribute simple text for novice users, examples of what you have done, correction of typing or factual errors, or supply missing details?
• Will you make this page more useful by bringing content up-to-date as new releases change some information written for older releases?
• Does any page need a section for novices, so they don't need to read more technical information further down that page?
• Is there some information on this page, that should be on a separate page? Can you create the new page and move the less relevant information off this page, don't forget this page needs a link to the new page so people who expect to find it here know where it has moved to?

If you plan on contributing to the Wiki, then you will need an account.

• Please use the Request Account form to apply for an account. Note that the Wiki is currently undergoing restructuring and is largely locked for editing, but please apply for an account if you wish to contribute in the future.
• You will find help on how to contribute to this wiki at How to Edit.
• If you need to consult others, please use the Cumulus Wiki suggestions forum.

Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.

History of this page

If you look at the history tab of this page, user‎ Shamrockspider created this page at 12:55 on 27 August 2009 for the purpose of Documenting the cumulus.ini file content and its function.

That is still the purpose of this page today, but the content of the file has changed dramatically, so this page had had to evolve too.

How this page was split

• The configuration file content relating to the legacy software (e.g. 1.9.4) has been moved to legacy page.
• The configuration file content relating to releases 3.0.0 to 3.7.x has been moved to old MX page.
  • Please note, nobody copied the various changes from 3.8.0 to 3.9.7 from MX release announcements into the Wiki, if anyone can be bothered, they should be added to the documentation on that old MX page!
• From release 3.10.1, much of the information that was produced for earlier MX releases became invalid. MX 3.10.1 has added a lot of new settings, and it has made others redundant.
  • Consequently, this page was emptied again, and made ready for new content to reflect how MX works from 3.10.1 onwards.
  • This page is now only for release 3.10.1 onwards
  • An attempt is made to record the release that introduced each setting, as some from earlier than 3.10.1, and some introduced in later releases
  • As at 3.10.1, some of the settings in the file did not have a place to edit them, therefore this page which has been produced by looking at the various settings pages is awaiting news about subsequent releases!

How this page used to be laid out, and why

For both Cumulus 1 and early MX releases, the content on this page was arranged assuming people were editing the file directly.

Therefore, the file was described by working through the sections on the file, and explaining the parameters that could go in each section.

For the longer sections, parameters might be split into separate tables to make it easier.

Before release 3.10.1, there were two types of parameters in Cumulus.ini.

1. "read-only" settings were made directly in the "Cumulus.ini" file, there was no way to adjust these parameters using the settings screens/pages
2. "read-write" settings could be changed in two ways, either by editing the file with Cumulus stopped, or by finding the parameter on a setting screen (for MX, these are in admin interface).

You will see in the two pages split off from this page (Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1) and [[Cumulus.ini(MX_3.0.0_to_3.9.7)]), how the parameters had to identify themselves as read-only or read-write.

Steve Loft Era

This page was created for the legacy Cumulus 1 software (up to 1.9.4).

Each time a beta version of Cumulus 1 was available, any parameters specific to that beta appeared in Cumulus.ini_(Beta), and only moved to the main page when that beta finished, and became the main release.

That beta page was then briefly used for Cumulus 2.

Finally, that beta page was used for all the changes in Cumulus 3 (the MX beta):

• Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were not used by MX beta
• Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were used by MX beta
• Beta MX only added 3 new parameters

This was the position when Steve Loft ceased his involvement with Cumulus. This page related to Cumulus 1 and the beta page was for MX.

Mark Crossley era

When Mark Crossley brought MX out of beta, he started adding new features to MX:

• Some used parameters that had been used for the legacy software
• For others he created new parameters

During this early development in 2019, what had been on the Cumulus.ini_(Beta) page was slowly moved to this page, as it was possible for this single page to cover both Cumulus 1 and MX.

The rapid development of MX by the new developer from 2020 onwards, made MX configuration start to increasingly diverge more and more from the legacy configuration, and this page had to be redesigned to cope, by introducing sub-sections (Cumulus 1 only, MX only, and both).

That design for this page started failing when new MX releases started to diverge from earlier MX releases. In other words, parameters that had existed at an early MX release, were no longer used by later releases. It was possible, but increasingly more and more difficult, to track new parameters to add that were added at particular releases, so the documentation got more and more obsolete.

To sum up, it was impossible for this page to show information for the legacy software, for early MX releases, and for later MX releases. As MX diverged again, it was time to start splitting this page.

Current Page Layout

How does MX work now, and why has this page been given a new structure?

1. One big change in 3.10.1 is that all settings are now made via the Admin interface.
   • Therefore it makes no sense any more to organise this page how someone editing the file directly might want.
   • This page is now organised by how you change settings in the admin interface (i.e. similar to how settings have been explained in MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings).
2. Another change is that some of the settings that used to be made on the “Station Settings” page, are now made on different pages in that interface.
3. Yet another change is that what you pick in some settings can affect what settings are shown later on the page.
   • You could say the settings pages have become intelligent.
   • For example, when you select a weather station type it ensures only parameters that relate to that weather station type are shown.
   • As another example, you can opt in or out of the default web site design, so that determines which parameters relating to web sites are shown.
4. A final change is that some parameters are grouped as “Advanced”, so that novices can avoid those.

How this page shows settings

Settings are now arranged according to the menu selections, as that is the way you change them.

Consequently, the revised tables have to explain which section settings are in the file.

The ‘’’Settings’’’ menu has links to a number of settings pages in its drop down. On this Wiki page, a separate second level headed section is used for each settings page.

Within that second level section in this Wiki (it covers the whole settings page), there are third level sections on this Wiki page that are named to match the way that settings page has grouped settings into a number of sections that have to be opened individually (by either a button for maximum accessibility, or a Click ▶to expand, click ▼ to collapse for alternative styling).

If after opening any settings page sections MX then chooses to display sub-sections, this Wiki page will use fourth-level section headings that correspond with those sub-section names on the settings page.

Finally, individual settings are normally presented as rows in tables for clarity on this Wiki page. The full format for tables shown below is

Section	Parameter Line Entry	Shown on Settings page?	Label on Settings page	Default	Description

Where round brackets are used in Default column, they indicate an explanation. No brackets surround literal text representing default value, which is normally also seen in Paraeter Line Entry.

Not all columns appear in each table:

• The Section column does not appear if all parameters in that settings page section appear in the same section in "Cumulus.ini", because it is replaced by a new row (where xxxxxx is the section name):

[xxxxxx]

Section name

• The Shown on Settings page? column does not appear if all parameters that settings page can show always appear. If some settings appear or disappear depending on an earlier selection, then the relevant condition is shown in this column, otherwise "Always" is shown.

Exceptions to above table styling:

1. MQTT parameters are handled slightly differently, as they did not fit that standard layout
2. The mean temperatures, and normal rainfall figures, with one parameter per month, have been presented as text, rather than a table for simplicity
3. For the Extra Web Files Settings page, where the settings page uses editable grid software using a table to enter 800 settings, the table here is split into just 8 rows, each of which applies to 100 parameters in the file.

The Cumulus.ini file

Cumulus.ini is a text file containing initialization parameters used by the Cumulus MX software application.

The file is a simple text file. It is divided into sections with section names in square brackets (e.g. [Station]). These sections can appear in any order, by default new sections are appended after all previous sections.

Within each section, there are parameters. Each parameter is in format Attribute=Value, and appears on a line to itself.

The parameters, within a section, can be in any order, by default new parameters are appended at end of the relevant section.

If MX finds a parameter it does not understand, it ignores that parameter. This means a Cumulus.ini file created by the legacy software, or by an old release of MX, can still be read by the current release of MX, it just ignores all the obsolete parameters.

If (for example) you find the Extra Web Files editor hard to use, you might decide to stop Cumulus and still edit this configuration file directly for changes to those parameters. Given that MX ignores any parameter it does not understand, while editing the file, you can temporary have old and new parameters in the file. All you need to do is prefix those parameters you don't want MX to use with any character you like before the "Extra".

How MX creates a Configuration File

This page does not explain how to start using MX, please see MX on Linux, MX on Windows OS, and MX Administrative Interface as appropriate.

The key fact relevant here is that no Cumulus release distribution contains a Cumulus.ini file:

1. If you start Cumulus MX without a configuration file, and you have a screen attached so you can see the output from the engine, it will show this:
2. As you can see, it is running, but it does not know what station type, so it cannot connect to it, and will not do anything more.

So when you first use the software, you will need to use the admin interface to enter all settings (some have defaults that might be right for you), and that will lead to creation of the main configuration file.

If you later upgrade to a newer MX build, as that release distribution does not contain a "Cumulus.ini", you cannot lose your settings.

Furthermore, at the end of each (meteorological) day, MX creates a back-up in the backup/daily/TIME_NAME sub- folder. The TIME_NAME is constructed from a string of digits representing the date and time the directory was created (without any punctuation) e.g. 20060519090000. In that folder, recent MX releases, include a copy of the current "Cumulus.ini" file.

When does MX read the Configuration File

Whenever MX is restarted, it reads the latest Cumulus.ini and if it exists strings.ini; from these one or two files it learns the configuration that you want it to use.

MX also creates a backup copy of "Cumulus.ini" in a sub-folder of Backup folder that is named according to current date and time.

What MX finds in your "Cumulus.ini" does of course determine what you see when you open any of the Settings pages, in the admin interface.

The configuration settings in these (one or two) files:

• Identify which weather station type MX is to read, and settings related to that model
• Identify which derivatives are source ones (read directly from weather station and converted to your preferred units) and which derivatives MX is to calculate for you.
• Identify where you want MX to output to (options include external web sites, and database tables)
• Identify how various standard output phrases are to be modified to suit you

Add new parameters to file

If a new release of MX adds new parameters, then they will be automatically added to Cumulus.ini when you save the settings page with that parameter.

In theory, there is no reason why you should manually add any parameters to the file. Since MX creates and edit the file, it will ensure all parameters it understands are in the file.

Some parameters have a valid default value. If you need to change that value, find the appropriate setting by looking in tables below.

If MX creates the file, it will give an initial illegal value to any parameter where it cannot assign a default. This is to enforce the need to give these parameter a valid value before MX will allow you to save settings. Generally, MX will not do any weather data processing, until these ‘’’missing’’’ values are edited. In some cases, a new release of MX (such as 3.11.0 which added emailing capability) adds new parameters without any default values, and you might not realise that if you don't go into the relevant Settings page (Alarms for 3.11.0) and find you can't save (Enable for Alarms page).

How to Remove Redundant parameters from file

If you have been using Cumulus for a while, there might be parameters that are now obsolete left in your configuration file.

MX will ignore any parameters that it no longer recognises, but there is a simple way to make MX create a new file for you, keeping your existing settings, but ensuring the new file does not have any obsolete parameters.

The following procedure is best done after, not before, you upgrade MX, as installing a new release might add/remove parameters to/from Cumulus.ini.

Apart from that upgrade consideration, you can start afresh with a new file anytime by following this very simple procedure:

You must do this while keeping Cumulus MX running (to preserve existing settings)...

1. Rename your existing Cumulus.ini to say Cumulus.ini.sav (this keeps the file, but stops MX finding it)
2. In Cumulus go to one of the settings screens, (e.g. Program Settings which is currently a short page) – simply click ‘’’Save Settings’’ (i.e. any action that makes MX save settings to its configuration file)
   • It is possible this might highlight a new parameter that does not yet have a valid value (e.g. the Alarm settings page, which uses ‘’’Enable Alarms’’’ rather than "Save settings", got extra settings without defaults at 3.11.0).
3. Cumulus (if it accepts that save) will now create a brand new Cumulus.ini file,
4. This will have all the settings you have chosen
5. They will now be in the order MX is expecting
   • For the legacy software, the advice was to manually sort parameters alphabetically within sections to make it easier to find them, and avoid duplication. MX default sort order is from where entries are set in the code, and that is far from alphabetic!
6. As MX is unaware of settings it used previously, but does not use now, and MX is unaware of what settings the legacy software used, it won’t write back any redundant settings in the new configuration file.

As well as changing the order in which parameters are stored, this re-generation may show up other changes (if you do have reason to examine the new file and compare with the old file):

• A major change is likely in the '''[Station]''' section as that has seen a lot of changes as MX is developed.
• The ’’’[Graphs]]’’’ section has also seen a number of changes as MX has developed.
• The most dramatic change may happen in '''[FTP Site]''' as any reorganisations to the list of parameters for Extra Web Files are reproduced 100 times.

The settings pages in admin interface

Please see MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings for basic information, including how to load the admin interface.

Do I need to restart MX?

Maybe...

The settings available on the various pages in the admin interface fall into two groups:

1. SETTINGS THAT TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY ON CLICKING “SAVE”
2. SETTINGS THAT ONLY TAKE EFFECT WHEN MX IS RESTARTED

There used to be a third group. Before Release 3.11.2 - build 3131 a few changes made in the interface were not saved into "Cumulus.ini", and therefore lost when MX was restarted. One example of these former exceptions was on Program Settings page where the former action was that choice for adding extra debugging information to file in MXDiags folder was not saved for subsequent session.

For the current MX release, any change made (on any settings page) will be saved into "Cumulus.ini", and will still apply when MX is restarted.

Unfortunately, there is no documentation available from developer on which settings do not take effect until MX is restarted, so this documentation cannot indicate where a restart is required. You can play safe, and restart MX each time you finish making edits to settings.

Program settings

Accessibility

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Program]			Section name
EnableAccessibility=0	Enable accessibility features	0 (disable)	Determines styling of settings pages: Set to 1 to make this (and other pages) appear in a button selection style (more friendly on an accessibility basis). Leave it at zero for a Click ▶to expand, click ▼ to collapse styling.

Program Start-up Options

Introduced 3.9.4 - b3099

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Program]			Section name
StartupPingHost=	Host to PING on program start-up	None (no remote host)	Add a hostname or IP to address to ping at startup. Cumulus waits until the ping is successful before trying to read from your station. Leave blank to disable
StartupPingEscapeTime=999	PING escape time (mins)	999 (minutes)	Specify a time after which if no ping response is received carry on starting Cumulus MX anyway
StartupDelaySecs=0	Start-up Delay (secs)	zero (no delay)	Add a delay before the Cumulus tries to start reading the station.
StartupDelayMaxUptime=300	Max system uptime to apply the start-up delay	300 (seconds equivalent to 5 minutes)	The time that has passed sice MX was started (up-time) is compared against the (max delay time) figure here. If max delay time less than up-time, the delay specified in previous parameter will NOT be applied If up-time less than this max delay time, then MX will apply any delay specified in previous parameter If this parameter is set to zero, then MX will always apply any delay specified in previous parameter

Station Settings

This is a different settings page. However, the settings made on this page appear in different [Section]s of the configuration file, so do check in each table.

Accessibility

Yes, this selection can be made on two different pages in the admin interface.

Section	Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Program]	EnableAccessibility=0	Enable accessibility features	0 (disable)	Determines styling of settings pages: Set to 1 to make this (and other pages) appear in a button selection style (more friendly on an accessibility basis). Leave it at zero for a Click ▶to expand, click ▼ to collapse styling.

Station specific alternatives

Davis VP/VP2/Vue

This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.

Request for help from Wiki Readers

• Do you understand how MX works?
• Do you use hardware, or MX functionality, that is not yet documented? Can you begin that documenting?
• Can you contribute simple text for novice users, examples of what you have done, correction of typing or factual errors, or supply missing details?
• Will you make this page more useful by bringing content up-to-date as new releases change some information written for older releases?
• Does any page need a section for novices, so they don't need to read more technical information further down that page?
• Is there some information on this page, that should be on a separate page? Can you create the new page and move the less relevant information off this page, don't forget this page needs a link to the new page so people who expect to find it here know where it has moved to?

If you plan on contributing to the Wiki, then you will need an account.

• Please use the Request Account form to apply for an account. Note that the Wiki is currently undergoing restructuring and is largely locked for editing, but please apply for an account if you wish to contribute in the future.
• You will find help on how to contribute to this wiki at How to Edit.
• If you need to consult others, please use the Cumulus Wiki suggestions forum.

Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.

This table does not yet have all details in it.

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Station]			Section name - the following parameters appear in Station section
VP2SleepInterval=500		500 (milli-seconds)	the period which Cumulus waits between reads of the data from Davis stations, the value is in milliseconds. if you suspect that data is being missed, reduce number For VirtualVP users, tests revealed that VP2SleepInterval = 1100 seems to work the best. It updates every two seconds with few exceptions.
VPClosedownTime=x		(default not yet documented)	x is the number of seconds after the start of the re-connect attempts that you want the program to close itself
DavisCalcAltPress=1		1	Davis stations calculate Sea Level Pressure (SLP) from Station Pressure (SP) using a formula based on temperature, humidity, and altitude CWOP require 'Altimeter Pressure' (AP) to be uploaded, i.e. a value calculated simply using altitude. 0 = Use SLP supplied by Davis 1 = Convert the SP Davis supplies to AP using the altitude you have supplied.
SyncDavisClock=0		0	When set, at Cumulus start-up and at a fixed time (default 04:00, see next parameter) each day, Cumulus will set the Davis VP/VP2 clock to within a minute of the same time as the PC. (From build 3015 for MX). 0 = Disabled, default (as deselected on the Station Configuration Screen) 1 = Enabled, ensures that when Cumulus asks the station for data since time X, both recognise X!
ClockSettingHour=4		4	Controls what hour of the day the SyncDavisClock activity will take place if it is enabled. 4 = 04:00 (default value) 0-23 = 00:00 to 23:00
VP2ConnectionType=1			Weather station connection type 0 = serial (see next parameter to specify COM port) (1 = usb - setting no longer available on screen, remains as default in cumulus.ini for those not using a Davis) 2 = TCP/IP (see later parameters to specify ports) Default is type 1, i.e. neither option on screen selected, so if you use a Davis you must select either serial or TCP/IP.
VP2TCPPort=22222		2222	Communications port used if VP type has TCP/IP selected.
VP2IPAddr=0.0.0.0		0.0.0.0	Weather station IP address if VP type has TCP/IP selected.
VP2PeriodicDisconnectInterval=0		0 (disable)	When the clock minute changes, Cumulus stops the current stream of data from the console, disconnects, waits for the specified number of milliseconds, to allow the Weatherlink IP to briefly connect to the Davis Weatherlink site. Cumulus then attempts to reconnect. Set it to zero to disable, if you are not using the Weatherlink site.
LogExtraSensors=0		0	This is set in the Settings block on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu. Set this to 1 if you have additional sensors (e.g. a Davis Leaf Wetness probe) to make Cumulus read, display, and log the readings from the sensors. You don't select this for Solar/UV sensors.
UseDavisLoop2=1		1 (use Loop2)	The current MX code uses LOOP2 for two purposes. First, it uses the 'peak 10-minute gust' value, to avoid the problem where a gust might be missed, and secondly it uses the 'absolute pressure' value to make calculation of 'altimeter pressure' easier and more accurate. This is mainly used if you upload to CWOP. 1 (default) = Cumulus MX will use the LOOP2 packet for Davis Weather Stations by default. The LOOP2 packet is supported on the VP2 with firmware version 1.90 or later, and on the Vue. 0 = Select this if you have a Vantage Pro (i.e. the original 'VP1'), or a VP2 with pre-1.90 firmware, or if you are using Virtual VP, none of these support the LOOP2 packet. Without this setting, Cumulus will revert to calculating the 10-minute gust value itself from the individual wind speed readings, but it will not currently attempt to calculate altimeter pressure correctly, it will simply use the sea-level pressure instead. This is likely to be an issue if you are at high altitude and you upload to CWOP using Cumulus MX.
DavisIPResponseTime=500		500	The length of time in milliseconds which Cumulus waits to allow a response from the console to a command (i.e. a request for any kind of data) from an IP logger, see Cumulus MX forum where times up to 2000ms are suggested.
ForceVPBarUpdate=0		0 (normal)	Added in build 3042 (January 2017). The default (value=0) is to assume standard barometer updates on Davis stations. Set to 1, by adding ForceVPBarUpdate=1 in [Station] section to force more frequent barometer updates on Davis stations. Steve says "Having checked the code, I see it asks for 20 packets from the 'LOOP2' if the barometer forcing is on, otherwise it stops receiving LOOP data after 50 packets". Note that ForceVPBarUpdate=1 is only useful on very old versions of the console firmware.
DavisIncrementPressureDP=0		1	(from version 3.0.0 build 3042) 0= Pressure values shown to 1 decimal places when reported in mb/hPa, shown to 2 decimal places for inHg 1= Pressure values shown to 2 decimal places when reported in mb/hPa, shown to 3 decimal places for inHg
VPrainGaugeType=0		1	Specifies the units selected on your Vantage Pro Rain Gauge. 0 = Metric Rain Adapter fitted, a 0.2mm gauge 1 = Imperial gauge without adapter, a 0.01" gauge. Note that if the units you choose for rainfall do not match your rain gauge type, conversion rounding errors will then occur.
DataLogging=0		0	(Build 3018 onwards). 0 (default) = Cumulus MX will not add extra logging. 1 = To add extra logging to the diags file for data received from Davis stations. Use this with care, the log will get very large. I've also added some more diagnostics to try to find the cause of the problem where data stops being read from Davis stations. Debug logging is required to be turned on. (Build 3022 onwards).
AutoUpdateIpAddress=1		1	default = 1, set to 0 to switch off the WLL autodetection of IP address. This is a workaround for a WLL firmware bug that does not update the IP address when it changes using DHCP.
ZeroConfig		(default not known)	set this on station settings screen; to enable/disable the entry/update of the stations IP address via auto-discovery

WM918/WMR928 Settings

Oregon Scientific specific

This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.

Request for help from Wiki Readers

• Do you understand how MX works?
• Do you use hardware, or MX functionality, that is not yet documented? Can you begin that documenting?
• Can you contribute simple text for novice users, examples of what you have done, correction of typing or factual errors, or supply missing details?
• Will you make this page more useful by bringing content up-to-date as new releases change some information written for older releases?
• Does any page need a section for novices, so they don't need to read more technical information further down that page?
• Is there some information on this page, that should be on a separate page? Can you create the new page and move the less relevant information off this page, don't forget this page needs a link to the new page so people who expect to find it here know where it has moved to?

If you plan on contributing to the Wiki, then you will need an account.

• Please use the Request Account form to apply for an account. Note that the Wiki is currently undergoing restructuring and is largely locked for editing, but please apply for an account if you wish to contribute in the future.
• You will find help on how to contribute to this wiki at How to Edit.
• If you need to consult others, please use the Cumulus Wiki suggestions forum.

Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.

Some cells in table not yet completed

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Station]			Section name - the following parameters appear in Station section
Humidity98Fix=0		0 (disable)	Applies to weather station types that never report more than 98% relative humidity. 0 = Disabled (default) 1 = Enabled, humidity displayed and recorded as 100% if your sensor registers a relative humidity of 98%. Normally only useful for Oregon Scientific stations.
LogExtraSensors=0		0 (disable)	This setting determines whether MX looks for readings from extra temperature probes etc. 0=Disabled (default) 1= Enabled - Used for Oregon Scientific WMR-928 and similar stations if you have additional sensors (e.g. another temperature probe) to make Cumulus read, display, and log the readings from those sensors. You don't use this for Solar/UV sensors..
WMR928TempChannel=N		(no default)	for WMR-928 stations (and other serial stations using the same protocol, eg WMR-968) to use an 'extra' channel (see previous parameter) as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel
WMR200TempChannel=N		(no default)	for WMR200 stations (and any other Oregon Scientific USB stations which work with Cumulus, e.g. WMR100) to use an 'extra' channel as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel

Instromet Settings

This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.

Request for help from Wiki Readers

• Do you understand how MX works?
• Do you use hardware, or MX functionality, that is not yet documented? Can you begin that documenting?
• Can you contribute simple text for novice users, examples of what you have done, correction of typing or factual errors, or supply missing details?
• Will you make this page more useful by bringing content up-to-date as new releases change some information written for older releases?
• Does any page need a section for novices, so they don't need to read more technical information further down that page?
• Is there some information on this page, that should be on a separate page? Can you create the new page and move the less relevant information off this page, don't forget this page needs a link to the new page so people who expect to find it here know where it has moved to?

If you plan on contributing to the Wiki, then you will need an account.

• Please use the Request Account form to apply for an account. Note that the Wiki is currently undergoing restructuring and is largely locked for editing, but please apply for an account if you wish to contribute in the future.
• You will find help on how to contribute to this wiki at How to Edit.
• If you need to consult others, please use the Cumulus Wiki suggestions forum.

Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.

The following table has some gaps to fill in

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Station]			Section name - the following parameters appear in Station section
ImetWaitTime=200		200	This parameter (attribute=value) if you need to change it from its default of 200 ms is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. Specifies the time in milliseconds that Cumulus allows for a response from an Instromet station. If you are having problems with reading from an Instromet station, try inserting this line into the Station section using a value of 500. According to the specification, 500 ms is the absolute maximum time that the station should take to respond to any command.
ImetBaudRate=19200		19200	Some ?older? Instromet loggers operate at 115200, if you have one of these older loggers you will need to reset this value
SyncDavisClock=0		0	Note despite the name of the parameter within 'Cumulus.ini', this does apply to Instromet stations. When set, at Cumulus start-up and at 04:00 each day, Cumulus will set the Instromet clock to within a minute of the same time as the PC 0 = Disabled, default as deselected on the Station Configuration Screen 1 = Enabled, ensures that when Cumulus asks the station for data since time X, both recognise X as representing same time!
LogExtraSensors=0		0 (disable)	If you have 'extra sensors' selected, the wet bulb reading will be used as an extra temperature sensor. Otherwise it is used as 'wet bulb' and the humidity will be calculated from that and the dry bulb sensor. 0=Disabled (default). For a wet bulb sensor, Cumulus will output the humidity, not the temperature shown by the wet bulb. 1= Enabled - Used for optional Sunshine hours or extra temperature sensors on Instromet stations. For a wet bulb sensor, Cumulus will output the temperature it shows, but not calculate the humidity.

Davis WeatherLink Live

This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.

Request for help from Wiki Readers

• Do you understand how MX works?
• Do you use hardware, or MX functionality, that is not yet documented? Can you begin that documenting?
• Can you contribute simple text for novice users, examples of what you have done, correction of typing or factual errors, or supply missing details?
• Will you make this page more useful by bringing content up-to-date as new releases change some information written for older releases?
• Does any page need a section for novices, so they don't need to read more technical information further down that page?
• Is there some information on this page, that should be on a separate page? Can you create the new page and move the less relevant information off this page, don't forget this page needs a link to the new page so people who expect to find it here know where it has moved to?

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• Please use the Request Account form to apply for an account. Note that the Wiki is currently undergoing restructuring and is largely locked for editing, but please apply for an account if you wish to contribute in the future.
• You will find help on how to contribute to this wiki at How to Edit.
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Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.

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Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Station]			Section name - the following parameters appear in Station section

Ecowittt GW1000 Settings

Ecowitt GW1000 and Froggit DP1500 (and any equivalents) specific

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[GW100]			Section name
AutoUpdateIpAddress=1	Auto-discovery	1 (selected)	Should MX attempt to discover IP address 0=Disable 1=Enable
IPAddress=	IP address	(no default)	stores the IP address of your GW1000 WiFi logger
MACAddress=	MAC addresss	(no default)	Populated by MX when auto-discovery enabled

Solar

Parameter Line Entry	Function
[Solar]	Section Name - the following parameters appear in Solar section
SunThreshold=75	If you have a solar sensor: Cumulus tries to determine whether the sun is shining by determining whether the current solar radiation value is above a certain percentage of the current theoretical maximum. The value you supply here is used as that percentage. The default value is 75%.
RStransfactor=0.8	Cumulus uses the Ryan-Stolzenbach formula to determine the current theoretical maximum solar radiation at your location at the current moment in time. This formula has a factor to allow for the transmission of the radiation through the atmosphere; the default is 0.80.
SolarMinimum=0	This setting allows you to specify a minimum solar radiation value which needs to be reached before it can be considered to be sunny. Note that this setting does not replace the calculation using the current theoretical maximum, it specifies an additional condition which has to be met. This setting therefore allows you to cater for the periods at the beginning and end of the day when the theoretical maximum is very low.
LuxToWM2=0.0079	this parameter applies if you have a Fine Offset station with a solar detector. These supply 'Lux' values rather than 'W/m2' values that Davis stations supply. Cumulus attempts to convert from Lux to W/m2 using the supplied multiplication factor. You can add this parameter if you want to use a value other than the default of 0.0079, which is the generally accepted standard conversion factor for sunlight.
UseBlakeLarsen=0	Called B/l on screen. Set this to 1 if you have a Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder, and you want Cumulus to get today's sunshine hours from it. You need to configure the Blake-Larsen software to put the SRsunshine.dat file into the correct folder i.e. the program root folder in MX (i.e. same folder as where "Cumulus.ini" is stored).
SolarCalc=1	The value is set in the MX user interface when the solar calculation method is set. 0 (default) = Ryan-Stolzenbach calculation, which uses the RStransfactor entry to tune the output. 1 = Bras calculation, which uses the BrasTurbidity entry below to tune the output.
BrasTurbidity=2.0	The value is set in the MX user interface when the solar calculation method is set. 2.0 (default) = Perfect clear sky decimal value = The normal range is 2 (Clear sky) to 5 (Smoggy)

Display Options

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[Display]			Section name - the following parameters appear in Station section
UseApparent=0	Use Apparent Temperature	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to use [[Apparent_temperature|Apparent Temperature] information within Tempdata.json Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to use Feels Like (that link explains how Feels Like reports a mixture of Wind Chill and [[Apparent_temperature|Apparent Temperature] within Tempdata.json
DisplaySolarData=0	Display Solar data	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to include solar data Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to exclude solar data
DisplayUvData=0	Display UV-I data	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to include Ultra Violet Index Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) for default web site to exclude Ultra Violet Index

Internet Settings

Web/FTP Site

Section	Parameter Line Entry	Shown on Settings page?	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[FTP site]	Host=	Always	Host name	(blank)	This is either the name, or the IP address, of the ftp server to which you connect when you upload pages to your web site.
[FTP site]	Sslftp=	Always	Select the FTP Protocol to use	0	Drop down list: 0 = FTP (plain old FTP) 1 = Use SSL/TLS for FTP (FTPS) 2 = Use Secure Shell Home (SSH) for FTP (SFTP)
[FTP site]	Port=21	Always	FTP port	21 (plain FTP)	you normally use either standard FTP (port=21), SSH for FTP i.e. SFTP (port=22), or SSL/TLS i.e.FTPS (port=990 normally, may be 25). If you get connection refused, messages in the MXdiags log, then you may need to try alternative protocol and/or alternative ports.
[FTP site]	SshFtpAuthentication=password	Only if SFTP selected above	SFTP Authentication method	password	Drop down list: Password Pre-shared key Password or pre-shared key
[FTP site]	Directory=	Always	Remote FTP Directory	(blank)	Directory (including path from FTP root) on your server to which MX will upload the files. Optionally used for NOAA reports (see FTP Directory) Not used for ExtraRemoteNN parameters
[FTP site]	Username=	Always	(blank)	the user name for connecting to your server
[FTP site]	Password=	Always	Password	(blank)	The password for your FTP/SFTP/FTPS connection
[Web Site]	ForumURL=	Always	Forum URL	(blank)	Left blank to allow you to choose format Default web pages use "<a href=\"https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/index.php\">forum</a>" Some examples: https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/index.php (for above example in default web pages) https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/search.php?search_id=active_topics
[Web Site]	ForumURL=	Always	Webcam URL	(blank)	Can be used to add a link to any other web page, you have on any web server. In default web pages will be labelled as "web cam", but for your own web pages, this might lead to a home or blog page.

Email Server Settings

Introduced 3.11.0 - b3129

Section	Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[SMTP]	ServerName=	Server Name	(none)	Server used for sending emails (host name and domain or IPv4 address)
[SMTP]	Port=587	Network Port	587	Port used for sending emails
SSLOption=1	Use SSL/TLS	1 (auto)	Transport Layer Security used for email 0= None 1= Auto 2= TLS on connect 3= Start TLS 4= Start TLS when available
RequiresAuthentication=0		0 (disabled)	Email requires authentication (user name and password as supplied below) 0= Disabled 1= Enabled
User=	User name	(none)	User name for email server authentication
Password=	Password	(none)	Password for email server authentication
Logging=0	(not in settings)	0 (disabled)

MQTT

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a machine-to-machine (M2M), also known as "Internet of Things", connectivity protocol.

This section was introduced by release 3.5.0 (build 3071), extra (retain) settings were added at 3.9.0 - b3095 and then removed after 3.11.4, MQTT processing was rewritten from 3.12.0 - CONSEQUENTLY THIS SECTION MAY NEED REWRITING

Cumulus.ini Section Name is [MQTT]

Parameter Line Entry	Function	Where to Edit
Server=	Note there is no default. This text box is to enter your server name or the IPv4 or IPv6 address to find your server	MQTT section
Username=	This is optional.This text box is to enter the username if one is needed for updating your server	MQTT section
Password=	This is optional. This text box is to enter any password needed for that username	MQTT section
Port=1883	Note default. To edit which port is used to connect to your server	MQTT section
UseTLS=0	Transport Layer Security (TLS), and its now-deprecated predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), are cryptographic protocols designed to provide communications security over a computer network. This tick box on settings screen indicates whether TLS support is required, default is not (0), set to 1 if modern security protocol is being used	MQTT section tick box
IPversion=0	Mandatory - This parameter must be added to this Cumulus.ini section, it cannot be edited on a screen. 0=default, 4=IPv4, 6=IPv6	In file only
EnableDataUpdate=0	This provides an easy way to stop/start the updating without losing other settings. Default is unticked as most people do not use this functionality.	tick box in Send message on data update section
UpdateTopic=CumulusMX/DataUpdate	This feature was removed from 3.12.0; it was in the Send message on data update section is where you specify the name to give to the update message	Send message on data update section
UpdateTemplate=DataUpdateTemplate.txt	In the CumulusMX/mqtt folder there is a default template with a file name specified by the default value of this parameter. In that default file {"time":"<#timehhmmss>","windspeed":<#wlatest rc=y>,"winddir":<#bearing>} will send wind readings in case for example you want to close something when it is windy. If you create your own file, you can put its name here.	Send message on data update section
EnableInterval=0	This tick box provides an easy way to stop/start this type of updating without losing other settings. Default is unticked as most people do not use this functionality.	tick box in Send message at fixed intervals section
IntervalTime=600	This text box is where you enter the time between messages in seconds, the default is 600 meaning every ten minutes.	Send message at fixed intervals section
IntervalTopic=CumulusMX/Interval	This text box was removed from 3.12.0, previously it was where you specify the name to give to the fixed interval update message	Send message at fixed intervals section
IntervalTemplate=IntervalTemplate.txt	In the CumulusMX/mqtt folder there is a default template with a file name specified by the default value of this parameter. In that default file {"time":"<#timehhmmss>","temp":<#temp rc=y>,"humidity":<#hum>} will send temperature and humidity readings in case for example you want to open something when it feels uncomfortable. If you create your own file, you can put its name here.	Send message at fixed intervals section

Proxies

Cumulus 1.9.4 beta build 1061 introduces these. Currently, search the forum using the term 'proxies' for more details. They will be described here when 1.9.4 becomes a full release, currently they are being tested.

HTTPProxyName=

HTTPProxyPort=

HTTPProxyUser=

HTTPProxyPassword=

Extra Web Files

There are 100 occurrences of each parameter in Cumulus.ini, and therefore each parameter has a base name followed by numbers 0 to 99.

The settings interface presents the rows on multiple pages, the rows are not numbered, so you have to do some counting to work out which row in the admin interface page corresponds with which parameter in Cumulus.ini file.

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[FTP site]			Section name
ExtraLocal0= to ExtraLocal99=	Local File Name	(empty)	You can enter: A relative path name, with respect to the "CumulusMX" root folder e.g. ./data/dayfile.txt (Note: this is the daily summary log file, see link for how it can be used on a web server) e.g. ./webMX/betel_monthlyrecord_liteMXT.html (Note: this is a third party template file - see Alternative Monthly Extremes using <#webtag>s e.g. ./web/trendsT.htm (Note: That file is not part of default web site any more, but serves as another example A full path name for a file on the computer running MX e.g. /home/pi/documents/myFile e.g. C:\Users\Public\Documents\working.txt You can place any of the following special tags into the entry These should be typed as shown on their own <noaayearfile> and <noaamonthfile> these respectively represent latest yearly and latest monthly reports <currentlogfile>, <currentextralogfile>, and <airlinklogfile> these respectively represent standard, extra sensor, and Davis AirLink air quality monitor log files e.g. ExtraLocal3=<currentlogfile>
ExtraRemote0= to ExtraRemote99=	Destination Filename	(empty)	Defines where MX is to upload file to If file transfer is requested (see below), the file path should be expressed starting at the FTP/FTPS/SFTP root I can't tell you what the file path is for your web server, but I can give a couple of examples to steer you e.g. httpdocs/dayfile.txt e.g. public_html/thismonthyear.htm If the FTP is not ticked, the file path should be full path for a file on the computer running MX e.g. /var/www/html/weather/images/moon.png could be destinatation for uploading the MX generated moon image to a Linux hosted server e.g. /var/www/html/weather/webfilesMX/tempdata.json for uploading one of the files with graph data to a Linux hosted server You can place any of the following special tags into the entry These should be typed as shown as part of the destination path, note that they can be used: either to represent the final filename part of the path e.g. ExtraRemote3=/var/www/html/weather/monthly/<currentlogfile> or to modify a filename, so it becomes unique to a particular month e.g. ExtraRemote0=/var/www/html/weather/cumulus_generated/savedFiles/web_tags_real_time_<currentlogfile>.inc <noaayearfile> and <noaamonthfile> these respectively represent latest yearly and latest monthly reports <currentlogfile>, <currentextralogfile>, and <airlinklogfile> these respectively represent standard, extra sensor, and Davis AirLink air quality monitor log files
ExtraProcess0= to ExtraProcess99=	Process	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if the local file is a template file, see here for full explanation of Process Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want local file uploaded with existing content
ExtraRealtime0= to ExtraRealtime99=	Realtime	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if See #Realtime Settings, you must have "Enable realtime" ticked, and defined an interval there Uploads the file to destination specified at interval defined Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want uploading to happen at a different interval (e.g. Standard interval)
ExtraFTP0= to ExtraFTP99=	FTP	1	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to use the FTP protocol specified in #Web/FTP Site Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if the remote file is on the computer running MX and a simple Copy File is required
ExtraUTF0= to ExtraUTF99=	UTF-8	1	Please see technical guidance on encoding Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) for default, modern files use UTF-8 encoding, this can display an extended range of characters If unticked (0 appears in file), then iso-8859-1 encoding is used
ExtraBinary0= to ExtraBinary99=	Binary	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if your file is e.g. an image file (e.g. moon.png) Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if the file is text, HTML, PHP script, JSON, JavaScript
ExtraEOD0= to ExtraEOD99=	End of Day	0	Simple tick or not Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if your file is to be uploaded during the End of Day process Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want uploading to happen at a different interval (e.g. Standard interval)

NOAA Settings

Create NOAA files after daily rollover

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
AutoSave=1	Create NOAA files after daily rollover	0	*0= do not use Reports functionality 1= do use Reports functionality
UseDotDecimal=0		0 (disable)	(Introduced 3.9.5 - b3100) Formatting real numbers for when NOAA report parsed by a script 0= NOAA reports use the integer/decimal separator specified by locale 1= NOAA reports used decimal point even if locale says use decimal comma

Site Details

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
Name=Personal Weather Station	Site Name	(empty)	What you would like to see in report title for your station name
City=	City	(empty)	Enter here your hamlet, village, town, or city, name
State=	State	(empty)	Enter here your local authority area or region (state in USA)

Output Files

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
MonthFileFormat='NOAAMO'MMyy'.txt'	Monthly filename format	'NOAAMO'MMyy'.txt' (note quotes round 'NOAAMO' and round '.txt')	Here you specify the filename template for MX to use when reading, or writing, monthly reports There is a prefix text in quotes,then comes a way to specify months (see Reports_folder#NOAA_style_Report_Naming), and finally comes the mandatory text extension. e.g. "NOAAMO"MMMyyyy".txt" would also be valid.
YearFileFormat='NOAAYR'yyyy'.txt’	Yearly filename format	'NOAAYR'yyyy'.txt'	Here you specify the filename template for MX to use when reading, or writing, yearly reports There is a prefix text in quotes,then comes a way to specify months (see Reports_folder#NOAA_style_Report_Naming), and finally comes the mandatory text extension.

Report Format Options

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
12hourformat=0	Time format	0 (24 hour)	How times are output on reports 24 Hour 12 Hour
NOAUseUTF8=1	Use UTF-8 encoding	Please see Reports_folder#Encoding Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) for default, modern files use UTF-8 encoding, this can display an extended range of characters, including the o degree symbol If unticked (0 appears in file), then iso-8859-1 encoding is used, this has a more restricted range of characters, and the o degree symbol is coded differently
UseDotDecimal=0	Use a 'dot' decimal point	0 (locale)	Should dot or comma decimal be used? 0= as defined in your locale 1= dot decimal place, regardless of what in locale (The reason for this is that some people instead of looking at reports, have a script that parses the report and outputs in a different way)

FTP Options

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
AutoFTP=0	Auto FTP NOAA report files	0 (disable)	Assuming you have selected (in earlier sub-section) that MX is to create reports 0= Disable any further action with filename 1= Enable the file transfer process you have defined for MX, to upload the file for you (at first update time after rollover has completed)
FTPDirectory=	FTP directory	(empty)	Where you want MX to use as destination folder on your FTP server Leave blank and MX will use wherever has been specified in main internet settings (this fits how the default web site is designed to work) Specify a folder relative to FTP root, and MX will upload reports to that folder instead (if you use any files from default web site, then you will need to amend the JavaScript file: let rptPath = ; // Your path should have a trailing "/", eg. 'Reports/' by putting your folder name in, an example is given for the case when “/Reports” is a sub folder off the main upload destination, note how you don’t include a leading slash, but you must add a trailing one.

Thresholds

‘’Please note any temperatures you specify in these settings must use the same units as you have asked MX to report temperature in. Equally any rainfall amounts you specify here must use the same units as you have asked MX to report rainfall in.’’

Parameter Line Entry	Label on Settings page	Default	Description
[NOAA]			Section name - the following parameters appear in NOAA section
HeatingThreshold=15.5	Heating threshold	65o F or 18.3oC	Heating Degree Days are a measure of the need for heating, based on time below, and temperature difference below, a threshold temperature. The international standard says 15.5 oCelsius is a suitable threshold to ensure comfort. For historical consistency, the default used by MX is based on the threshold used when Steve Loft first implemented this in Cumulus 2 (enhancement request 44), and that was done to match some early look up tables.
CoolingThreshold=22	Cooling threshold	65o F or 18.3oC	Cold Degree Days are a measure of the need to cool the air to make it more comfortable, based on time above, and temperature difference above, a threshold temperature. The international standard says 22 oCelsius is a suitable threshold to ensure comfort. For historical consistency, the default used by MX is based on the threshold used when Steve Loft first implemented this in Cumulus 2 (enhancement request 44), and that was done to match some early look up tables.
MaxTempComp1=22	Max temp comparison 1	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when this threshold is exceeded. In the parameter I have quoted, the first comparison has been set to agree with the cooling degree day threshold
MaxTempComp2=0	Max temp comparison 2	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when this threshold is exceeded. In the parameter I have quoted, the second comparison has been set to agree with feezing point (I’m using Celsius)
MinTempComp1=15.5	Min temp comparison 1	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when this threshold is exceeded. In the parameter I have quoted, the first comparison has been set to agree with the heating degree day threshold
MinTempComp2=0	Min temp comparison 2	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when this threshold is exceeded. In the parameter I have quoted, the second comparison has been set to agree with feezing point (I’m using Celsius)
RainComp1=0.5	Rain comparison 1	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when the daily rainfall exceeds this threshold. In the parameter I have quoted, the first comparison has been set to the same as I have set else where as my significant rain threshold
RainComp2=	Rain comparison 2	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when the daily rainfall exceeds this threshold.
RainComp3=	Rain comparison 3	(empty)	The report will count the number of days when the daily rainfall exceeds this threshold.

Normal Mean Temperatures

• The parameters run from ‘’’NOAATempNormJan=’’’ to ‘’’NOAATempNormDec=’’
• There is one box labelled for each month on the settings screens
• All the defaults are (blank)
• What you enter is the mean temperature, long-term averages (say over 10 or 30 years if available) say is expected that month, often taken from local climate statistics, or your own past measurements

Normal Precipitation

Rainfall equivalents of mean temperature described above

Alarms

Section under construction

section=[Alarms]

               xxxxxAlarmEmail=0

FromEmail= DestEmail= SpikeAlarmTriggerCount=1 HttpUploadAlarmTriggerCount=1 MySqlUploadAlarmTriggerCount=1