regain documentation
Supported hardware
Check camera modes, download recovery, and accessory compatibility before connecting.
Choose your camera mode
All camera modes work in NINA, native Windows ASCOM, and Alpaca. Direct USB uses regain's Rust drivers without the ZWO SDK. ZWO SDK is the default and covers a broader range of ASI cameras.
| Camera | SDK-free capture | Same-image download retry | SDK mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO ASI2600MM Pro / Duo main sensor | Yes, experimental | Yes, in Direct USB still mode | Yes |
| ZWO ASI6200MM Pro | Yes, experimental | Yes, in Direct USB still mode | Yes |
| ZWO ASI676MC | Yes, experimental | Yes, in Direct USB still mode | Yes |
| ZWO ASI662MC | Yes, experimental | Yes, in Direct USB still mode | Yes |
| ZWO ASI585MM Pro | Yes, experimental | Yes, in Direct USB still mode | Yes |
| ZWO ASI220MM Mini / Duo guide sensor | Yes, experimental | No direct reread support | Yes |
| Other ZWO ASI cameras | No | Only while the SDK still reports an image ready | If supported by the bundled SDK |
Direct USB is experimental. In SDK mode, download retries depend on the SDK's ready-frame state; they do not use regain's direct memory reread.
Direct capture limits
| Camera | Format | Binning | Maximum still exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO ASI2600MM Pro / Duo main sensor | RAW16 | 1–4 | 2,000 seconds |
| ZWO ASI6200MM Pro | RAW16 | 1–4 | 2,000 seconds |
| ZWO ASI676MC | RAW16 | 1 | 2,000 seconds |
| ZWO ASI662MC | RAW16 | 1 | 2,000 seconds |
| ZWO ASI585MM Pro | RAW16 | 1–4 | 2,000 seconds |
| ZWO ASI220MM Mini / Duo guide sensor | RAW16 | 1–2 | 10 seconds |
These are accepted still-exposure limits, not a claim of hardware testing at every duration. ASI585MM Pro and ASI662MC each recovered an interrupted download after a 600-second exposure. ASI585MM Pro has been tested on Windows USB 3; physical validation varies by model and connection. See USB transport validation.
Direct cameras support ROI, gain and offset. Cooler, heater, fan and LED controls appear only when supported: ASI585MM Pro has cooling but no controllable heater; ASI662MC has no cooling. ASI585MC variants are not supported by the ASI585MM Pro direct driver. The Rust/worker continuous API also supports native video on ASI585MM Pro, ASI662MC and ASI676MC; the imaging frontends use still capture.
Accessories: all SDK-free
| Device | Rust transport | Controls and compatibility | Integration |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO CAA | USB HID | Rotation, sync, reverse, reference/limits; CAA-M54 | NINA, ASCOM, Alpaca |
| ZWO EFW | USB HID | Slots, names, offsets, direction, calibration; seven-position EFW-S-0 | NINA, ASCOM, Alpaca |
| ZWO EAF | USB HID | Absolute moves, halt, reverse, backlash, travel limit, temperature; EAFN firmware 3.8.1 | NINA, ASCOM, Alpaca |
| Pegasus Astro FocusCube3 | USB serial | Absolute moves, halt, temperature, reverse, backlash, speed | NINA, shared ASCOM server, Alpaca |
| Pegasus Astro Falcon V2 | USB serial | Rotation, halt, sync, reverse, origin and explicit multi-turn motion; firmware 1.8 revision A tested. V1 unsupported. | NINA, shared ASCOM server, Alpaca |
| Deep Sky Dad OFP2 | USB serial | Cover open/close/halt, brightness 0–4096 | Shared native ASCOM server, Alpaca; NINA through either |
| Wanderer Astro ETA M54 | CH340 USB serial | Back focus retaining tilt, three point targets; no hardware halt. Physical movement validation pending. | NINA, shared ASCOM server, Alpaca |
Older EAF firmware, EAF Pro/Bluetooth, and dual-disc wheels are unsupported. Temperature compensation remains the imaging application's responsibility.
SDK-free still needs OS device access
- Windows cameras: install the ZWO camera USB driver, including when using Direct USB.
- Windows CAA, EFW, and EAF: use the built-in HID driver.
- Windows FocusCube3, Falcon V2 and OFP2: use USB Serial Device. Do not replace these accessory drivers with WinUSB/Zadig.
- Linux/macOS: the host account needs USB, HID, or serial access. The SDK-free paths use native OS interfaces; SDK mode also needs its vendor library and runtime dependencies.
NINA and native COM require Windows x64; the ASCOM drivers support 32-bit and 64-bit clients. The Rust workers and Alpaca server build on Windows, Linux, and macOS, with Linux/macOS CI builds for x86-64 and ARM64. See installation requirements and portable setup.
Compatibility notes
Linux/macOS physical-device validation is incomplete. Same-image recovery requires the camera to retain the frame; it cannot recover an image lost when power is removed. Detailed model and platform evidence is in the source documentation.
To help add a camera, use CameraKit to collect local diagnostics and USB traces.