Betaflight Config Blackbox Naming Feature Request

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe

As flight controllers gain larger onboard Blackbox storage, it is becoming increasingly practical to accumulate many logs before connecting the FC to a computer and downloading them.

The current LOG00001, LOG00002, etc. naming system identifies the order of the logs, but provides no human-readable context about what each flight was for.

This becomes particularly difficult during tuning and testing. For example, a session might include:

• Baseline flight
• Autotune
• PID changes
• Filter changes
• Different propellers
• Different batteries
• GPS Rescue testing

After several flights, it is easy to end up with LOG00012 through LOG00020 on the FC without remembering which log corresponds to which test.

Manually renaming the files after downloading them only helps if I can still remember what each numbered log represented. The useful context has already been lost while the logs were stored on the FC.

There is also a PC-side organization issue when working with multiple aircraft. Different FCs will generate the same LOGxxxxx filenames, which can result in duplicate filenames and requires manually renaming or organizing files when downloading them.

This was less noticeable when onboard storage only held a relatively small number of logs. With newer FCs offering hundreds of MB of Blackbox storage, it is becoming much easier to accumulate enough logs that sequential numbers alone are not very useful for identifying them.

Describe the solution you'd like

I would like to see an optional user-defined Flight Label that can be associated with each Blackbox log when the log is created.

For example, in the Blackbox tab in Configurator there could be a field such as:

Flight Label: Autotune

The important part is that the label remains associated with the individual Blackbox log. I am not specifically requesting that Betaflight change the physical LOGxxxxx filename stored on the FC if that creates filesystem, compatibility, or firmware complications.

If it fits the existing Blackbox architecture, the label could instead be stored as metadata/header information in the log while the FC continues to store it normally as:

LOG00012.BFL

When Configurator downloads the log, it could then use the Flight Label to create a more useful filename such as:

LOG00012_Autotune.BFL

Optionally, the existing craft name could also be included:

AURA4_LOG00012_Autotune.BFL

This keeps the existing log number for chronological/unique identification, the craft name identifies which aircraft produced the log, and the Flight Label identifies what that particular flight was for.

The label should be optional and backward-compatible. If no Flight Label is configured, Blackbox should behave exactly as it does now.

I also don't think this needs arbitrary-length text. A short fixed-length field that can be sanitized/truncated as necessary would be enough for labels such as:

Baseline Autotune New_PIDs Filter_Test 4024_Props 6S_Test

Ideally, the active Flight Label would persist until changed so multiple flights can intentionally share a label while retaining their individual log numbers:

LOG00012_Autotune.BFL LOG00013_Autotune.BFL LOG00014_Autotune.BFL

As an optional extension, it would also be useful to make the Flight Label selectable through the OSD.

Rather than requiring text entry through the OSD, Configurator could provide a small number of user-defined preset labels. The OSD would only need to select the active preset.

For example:

1. Baseline
2. Autotune
3. PID Test
4. Filter Test
5. Prop Test

This would allow a pilot doing field testing to change the purpose of the next Blackbox log between flights without reconnecting Configurator.

The OSD portion is not necessary for the initial feature. A Configurator-configurable Flight Label that remains associated with each individual Blackbox log would solve the primary problem.

Describe alternatives you've considered

The current alternatives are manually keeping notes of each flight/log number or manually renaming the files after downloading them.

Both work, but they require the user to maintain the association between a flight and its LOGxxxxx number outside of Blackbox.

For example, during a tuning session I could write down:

LOG12 - Baseline LOG13 - Autotune LOG14 - New filters

However, that requires knowing which log number was created for each flight and remembering to record it correctly. If several flights are made before reconnecting to Configurator, that becomes cumbersome and easy to lose track of.

Renaming files after downloading has the same limitation: by the time I am renaming LOG00012.BFL, I still need to know what happened during flight 12.

Using the craft name alone would help distinguish logs from different aircraft, but does not identify the purpose of individual flights. AURA4 tells me which aircraft generated the log; Autotune or 4024_Props tells me why that particular log exists.

The goal is therefore not simply prettier filenames. It is to allow a small amount of user-defined context to travel with the Blackbox log itself.

Other information

One example of where this becomes useful is my current GOKU H743 FC, which has 512 MB of onboard Blackbox storage. It can retain enough logs that downloading after every few flights is unnecessary, but that also makes it much easier to lose track of what each numbered log represents.

I think this would be particularly useful for:

• PID/filter tuning
• Autotune sessions
• Propeller comparisons
• Motor testing
• Battery comparisons
• GPS Rescue testing
• Troubleshooting intermittent problems
• Comparing configuration changes across multiple flights
• Managing logs from multiple aircraft

I realize implementation details may depend on how Blackbox currently handles headers, metadata, flash/SD storage, and how Configurator retrieves logs. I don't want this request to unnecessarily prescribe a particular implementation.

The core request is simply:

Allow a short, optional, user-defined Flight Label to remain associated with the Blackbox log it belongs to.

If the easiest implementation is metadata rather than changing the actual filename stored on the FC, that would accomplish the goal. Configurator could use the metadata when presenting or downloading the log, and Blackbox Explorer could potentially expose the same label in the future.

Likewise, if filename length or allowed characters are a concern, I would expect Configurator to sanitize or truncate the label as necessary.

Repeated labels should not be a problem because the existing log number remains part of the identity:

LOG00012_Autotune.BFL LOG00013_Autotune.BFL

If no label is set, existing behavior could remain unchanged:

LOG00014.BFL

The OSD preset idea is intended as a possible future extension rather than a requirement for the core feature. It could avoid the complexity of entering arbitrary text through the OSD by storing a few labels configured beforehand and allowing the pilot to select only the active preset.

I would also be happy to help test the feature or provide feedback on the workflow if there is developer interest.