A CPD-signed PixInsight plugin that lets AstroIndexer plate-solve the processed and final frames ordinary solvers cannot - installed in one click from a signed update repository.
AstroIndexer plate-solves your frames automatically to place them on the Sky Atlas and compute orientation, scale, and field of view. For raw subs this is fast and local. But stretched, processed, and final images have altered star profiles that defeat the quad-matching used by ASTAP and astrometry.net.
The AstroIndexer PixInsight plate solver is a small, code-signed PixInsight script (an ImageSolver driver) that AstroIndexer calls as a last-resort backend - only after ASTAP and astrometry.net have both failed. It drives PixInsight's own ImageSolver engine against your local Gaia DR3 catalog, which routinely solves processed frames the other solvers miss, and hands the astrometric solution back to AstroIndexer.
It runs solely when ASTAP and astrometry.net both fail, so your normal solving stays fast. There is no change to the default pipeline.
PixInsight's ImageSolver with a local Gaia DR3 catalog solves stretched and final images that quad-based solvers reject - ideal for Sky Atlas overlays of finished work.
It never modifies your originals, runs under a hard timeout (a stuck PixInsight can never hang AstroIndexer), and only reports a solution when a real WCS is produced.
The driver uses PixInsight's current v8 script engine and ImageSolver 6.4.2. Older cores are not supported.
Configure a local Gaia DR3 / XPSD astrometric database in PixInsight (the same one ImageSolver uses). The solver reads your existing ImageSolver catalog configuration.
AstroIndexer auto-detects your PixInsight install. No extra configuration beyond enabling the backend (below).
The driver ships through the standard PixInsight update-repository mechanism - the same "add a URL" flow you already use for AutoIntegrate and other tools. PixInsight downloads and installs it for you, and because the package is CPD-signed, it is trusted on every machine with no security prompts and no manual signing.
https://astroindexer.com/pixinsight/
Paste the URL exactly as shown (the trailing / matters) - PixInsight adds updates.xri itself.
src/scripts/AstroIndexer/ automatically.If you prefer not to add a repository, you can place the signed driver yourself. The files are already CPD-signed, so no signing is required on your end.
src/scripts/AstroIndexer/ai_imagesolver_driver.js and its .xsgn signature.AstroIndexer folder into your PixInsight install at <PixInsight>/src/scripts/ (this directory is protected, so you may need administrator rights).src/scripts/ is a protected directory - PixInsight's updater writes there for you, avoiding the elevation step.
The PixInsight backend is off by default. Turn it on once and AstroIndexer uses it automatically as the third solver.
In the first-run Setup Wizard (or Settings), go to the plate-solving page. When PixInsight is detected and the repository is live, an "Add AstroIndexer PixInsight repository" row gives you the URL and a Copy button right there.
This enables the backend. A status dot shows whether the signed driver is installed and current.
AstroIndexer now falls through ASTAP → astrometry.net → PixInsight, using the PixInsight solver only when the first two cannot solve a frame.
Only as the third solver, after ASTAP and astrometry.net both fail on a frame - typically processed or final images for Sky Atlas overlays. Raw subs continue to solve with the fast local solver.
No. The solver is read-only on your originals and communicates with PixInsight through a temporary working folder that is cleaned up after each solve.
PixInsight only runs trusted, code-signed scripts headlessly. The Certified PixInsight Developer (CPD) signature is what lets AstroIndexer launch the solver automatically with zero prompts.
The PixInsight plate solver is an optional add-on to AstroIndexer. Don't have AstroIndexer yet? Start with a 14-day free trial - no account required.
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