TAK server and FreeTAKServer: does your airsoft team need one?

A TAK server is the software in the middle of a TAK network: it serves the phones and laptops running TAK apps such as ATAK-CIV, WinTAK and iTAK.^[1] The two you will meet are the official TAK Server from the TAK Product Center and FreeTAKServer, a free open-source alternative.^[2][3] Most airsoft teams never need to run their own. A team needs one only when its ATAK and iTAK players, spread across a site on mobile data, must share one map; if your event already runs TAK, you join the organiser’s server instead.

What a TAK server is

The apps do the part players see: the map, the markers, the chat. The server is the switchboard. Every device connects to it, and it passes what one device shares on to everyone else who is connected.

There are two main options:

• The official TAK Server. It comes from the TAK Product Center, which released it as open source in June 2022, with downloads on tak.gov and the source on GitHub.^[2]
• FreeTAKServer (FTS). A free, open-source TAK server written in Python and released under the Eclipse Public License.^[3] If you searched for “freetakserver”, this is the one.

If the apps themselves are still a blur, read our plain-English guide to ATAK first. The rest of this guide assumes you know what ATAK and iTAK are.

What a TAK server does in practice

Colorado’s COTAK service describes its TAK Server as routing responders’ GPS locations, plus shared shapes and chat messages, over encrypted connections.^[4] On the free side, FreeTAKServer lets connected ATAK clients share geographic information, chat with every connected client and exchange files.^[3]

The useful question is what a server adds over phones talking to each other. TAK clients on the same network can talk to each other directly; a server adds a central store for data packages, user and security administration, and server-side functions.^[5]

At a game, that turns into three practical things:

• Reach. A squad at the far end of a 30-hectare wood and the command post in the car park see the same map, as long as both have mobile data.
• One home for shared files. The game map, overlays and briefing go up once as data packages, and every device pulls the same copy.
• Someone in charge of access. Users and security are managed in one place instead of on each phone.

Joining a server usually means importing a file. The FreeTAKServer team supports a public instance for testing; connecting ATAK to it means downloading a configuration file and loading it with ATAK’s Import Manager.^[6]

In short: the apps draw the map, and the server makes sure everyone is looking at the same one, wherever they are on the site.

Who runs TAK servers, and why

Agencies run them because many people spread over a large area need one picture. Colorado runs COTAK, a TAK service that is free to all Colorado public safety agencies and first responders.^[7] COTAK’s server collects every reported location and distributes it to all connected users, and COTAK says location updates are available every 1-2 seconds.^[7]

Hobbyists run them so others can try TAK without building anything first. Members of the civilian ATAK community have set up a free-to-use TAK server so newcomers can try TAK’s server and networking features.^[8]

Airsoft and milsim groups run them for the agency reason at a smaller scale: forty players across a big site, all on mobile data, still on one map. At larger milsim events it is often the organiser who hosts the server and hands teams the connection details. At a Sunday skirmish, if anyone hosts one at all, it is one keen player with a spare evening.

Running the official TAK Server

The official server is built for organisations, and the setup reflects that. The TAK Product Center said any TAK.gov account holder can download TAK Server, the same way they would download ATAK-CIV or develop plugins for it.^[2]

What the official repository asks of you:

• Java 17 and a proper database. The development instructions require Java 17 and a PostgreSQL database with the PostGIS extension.^[9]
• Three processes and certificates. TAK Server runs as three processes (configuration, messaging and API), and setting it up includes generating certificates.^[9]

None of that is unusual for someone who looks after Linux servers at work. For a team whose IT department is one player, it is a project. Budget a full weekend for it, and finish well before game day.

Running FreeTAKServer

FreeTAKServer leans on a guided install. The FreeTAKServer docs call their ZeroTouch installer the easiest way to install and recommend two platforms: a DigitalOcean cloud server or a Raspberry Pi 4, both on Ubuntu 22.04.^[1] The FreeTAKServer Raspberry Pi guide, which installs the server, its web UI and a video server, calls for a Pi with at least 4 GB of RAM.^[10]

Where the server lives matters more than which one you pick:

• In the cloud. FreeTAKServer needs a public IP address to be reachable from the internet, and its docs describe port forwarding on the router or a VPN as ways to expose one on a home network.^[11] A cloud server skips the router work, which is why it is the simple option for a team on mobile data.
• On a Pi at home. Same software, plus that router work before any phone outside your house can connect.
• Off-grid at the field. FreeTAKServer can be set up completely off-grid without internet, but its docs warn that TAK clients then face significant limits on the range at which they can connect.^[11] On a big site, the far end may simply drop off the map.

Game-day note: the server is part of your comms plan. If it lives in someone’s car and that car leaves at lunch, the shared map leaves with it.

Do you need a TAK server for airsoft?

Start from the FreeTAKServer docs’ own answer: if ATAK gives a team every capability it needs and everyone is on the same local network, no TAK server is needed.^[11] On a real site, players are almost never on one network. They are on mobile data, spread across a wood, which is exactly the case a server exists for.

You need a TAK server if:

• your team runs ATAK and iTAK and wants everyone on one map across the whole site,
• your events already run TAK, in which case you join the organiser’s server rather than building your own, or
• you want shared data packages and managed users, and someone on the team will look after it.

You can skip it if:

• a quick test on one Wi-Fi network is all you are after,
• nobody wants to be the server admin on game day, or
• what the team needs is a shared live map, markers and chat, with no TAK interoperability.

That last case is the one we built Tacnav for: players join a private session by scanning a QR code on iPhone or Android, with no server to run. It does not connect to TAK, so if your events run on TAK, stay with ATAK and the organiser’s server. Tacnav is on the App Store, and Android is in closed beta (request Android access).

Bottom line: if your event runs TAK, join its server. If your own team wants TAK across a whole site, a small cloud FreeTAKServer is the lighter start and the official TAK Server is the bigger build.

Where to go next

Before building anything, connect ATAK to a public test server for an evening to see what a server adds for your team. Treat it as public: try the features, and keep your real game plan off it.

For the official server, start at tak.gov and the TAK Product Center repository on GitHub. For FreeTAKServer, start with the FreeTAKTeam documentation and its installer. If you are still deciding whether ATAK suits your team at all, our ATAK guide covers that first.

Disclaimer: This guide is general information for airsoft, milsim and paintball games and for people learning about publicly available TAK software, not military, tactical or legal advice. Follow your field’s and event’s safety rules, marshal instructions and local law. ATAK, iTAK, WinTAK and TAK Server belong to their respective owners; Tacnav is independent, not affiliated with the TAK Product Center, and not compatible with TAK or Cursor on Target. App features and prices change, so check the official listing before you rely on one.