How to Find Your ADS-B Exchange Feed UID on Windows

If you're running an ADS-B feeder on a Windows machine and contributing data to ADS-B Exchange, your Feed UID (sometimes called a UUID or feeder identifier) is the unique string that ties your station's data to your account on the network. Knowing where to find it — and what it actually represents — is essential for verifying your feed, checking your stats, and troubleshooting connection issues.

What Is an ADS-B Exchange Feed UID?

ADS-B Exchange is a community-driven flight tracking network that aggregates real-time aircraft position data from volunteer feeders around the world. When you set up a feeder, the system assigns your station a universally unique identifier (UUID) — a long alphanumeric string, typically formatted like:

xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx 

This UID serves as your station's fingerprint on the network. It's used to:

• Authenticate your feed so ADS-B Exchange knows which data belongs to your station
• Link your feeder to your stats page on the ADS-B Exchange website
• Persist your feeder identity across software reinstalls or IP address changes

Without the correct UID, your data may still reach the network, but it won't be attributed to your account or show up on your personal stats dashboard.

Where the UID Is Stored on Windows

Unlike Linux-based setups (where the UID is typically stored in a flat config file under /etc/), Windows installations follow different conventions depending on which feeder software you're using. The two most common approaches on Windows are:

1. ADS-B Exchange's Own Windows Feeder Script

If you used the official ADS-B Exchange Windows feeder or a PowerShell-based setup script, the UUID is usually written to a local configuration file during the first-run setup. Common locations to check:

• C:Program Filesadsbexchange-feed — look for a file named uuid, feeder-uuid, or config.json
• C:ProgramDataadsbexchange — some installers write persistent config here
• The folder where you originally ran the setup script, which may contain a uuid.txt or .env file

Open these files with Notepad or any plain text editor. The UID will appear as a raw UUID string.

2. Docker-Based Setups on Windows (Docker Desktop)

Many technically confident feeders run ADS-B Exchange containers via Docker Desktop on Windows. In this case, the UUID is typically passed as an environment variable or stored in a volume. To find it:

1. Open Docker Desktop
2. Navigate to the running container for your ADS-B Exchange feed
3. Click Inspect or open the container's Environment tab
4. Look for a variable named UUID, FEEDER_UUID, or ADSB_FEEDER_UUID

Alternatively, open a terminal and run:

docker inspect <container-name> 

Scroll through the output for the Env section and locate the UUID entry.

3. Third-Party Feeder Software (readsb, tar1090, ultrafeeder)

Some Windows users run ADS-B Exchange alongside other decoder stacks like readsb or the ultrafeeder Docker image. In these setups, the UUID may be stored in:

• A .env file in the project's working directory
• A docker-compose.yml file under the service's environment block
• A mounted volume directory mapped to your Windows file system

Search your project folder for any file containing the UUID pattern — most text editors support regex search, and searching for the pattern [a-f0-9]{8}- will surface UUID-formatted strings quickly.

Checking Your UID via the ADS-B Exchange Website 🛩️

If you've already registered your feeder and can't locate the local file, the ADS-B Exchange website may help you recover or verify your UID:

• Log in to your ADS-B Exchange account
• Navigate to My Feeders or your station stats page
• Your UID is often visible in the URL or on the station detail page

Note that ADS-B Exchange has gone through ownership and platform changes in recent years, so the exact location of account settings may differ depending on when your account was created and which platform version you're using.

Variables That Affect Where Your UID Lives

Not every Windows feeder setup looks the same. The actual location of your UID depends on several factors:

What If No UID File Exists? 🔍

If you genuinely cannot find a UID file, it may mean:

• The feeder hasn't completed its first run — some software generates the UUID on the first successful connection, not during installation
• The config was deleted or moved — a reinstall without preserving the original config folder will generate a new UUID
• The software is waiting for network access — some feeders only write the UUID after confirming they can reach ADS-B Exchange's endpoints

In these cases, allowing the feeder to run for several minutes with a confirmed network connection usually triggers UUID generation. Check the same file paths afterward.

The Detail That Changes Everything

The steps above cover the most common Windows feeder configurations, but your specific situation — which software version you installed, whether you're using Docker, how your directories are structured, and whether you've done any reinstalls — determines exactly where your UID lives and whether it's already been generated.

That gap between general guidance and your actual setup is where most of the real troubleshooting happens. 🖥️