God's Eye View

1. What is God's Eye View?

God's Eye View is a 3D globe that runs in your web browser and shows public data almost in real time: aircraft in flight, ships, satellites (including the International Space Station), earthquakes, fires, weather, some public traffic cameras and many other layers. It looks like the screen of a spy-satellite control room, but according to the project every data source is public and the code is open for anyone to inspect. It grew out of the author's viral video series of the same name (Bilawal Sidhu) and has reached the top of GitHub Trending.

Click an aircraft and the camera follows it, shows its flight information and can even "ride in the cockpit" down to an airport. It is an app for exploring and learning, not a tool for serious work. It is free software under the MIT licence. It runs on your own computer and needs no account. Some data layers need a free or paid key, but no key is required to get started.

Good for you if:

• You enjoy watching real aircraft, satellites and ships move on a 3D globe, or want something striking to look at and film.
• You have seen a God's Eye View video and want to try it yourself.
• You can install one helper app (Pinokio) first and then install God's Eye View with a button.

Not for you if:

• You want it for flight or marine navigation, emergency response, medical or investment decisions. The project warns that data can be delayed, incomplete, modelled or wrong, and it must not be used for safety-critical or operational purposes.
• Your computer is very weak or your browser is old: a full 3D globe is demanding. The documentation gives no minimum specification, so if it stutters, try a stronger machine.
• You want to find or follow a specific person. The project says plainly that it does not build features for named-person search, face recognition or tracking individuals.
• You want voice control without spending money: the talk-to-it feature needs a metered OpenAI key (see section 2).

2. What do you need?

• A Windows, macOS or Linux computer and a web browser (Chrome, Edge and so on). The app opens a page on your own machine at http://localhost:4173 (or another port chosen by Pinokio).
• Pinokio (the easiest route). It is a free app that installs and runs open-source projects with buttons, no command line. Download it from the official page https://desktop.pinokio.co/. The project requires Pinokio 8.2 or later.
• If you do not use Pinokio, you need Node.js (a platform for running JavaScript programs, download at https://nodejs.org; the project asks for 24.14.0 or later, or version 26) and Git (a tool for downloading source code, download at https://git-scm.com/downloads).
• An internet connection, because aircraft, satellite and other data is fetched live from public sources.
• Cost: installing and running the basics is free and needs no API key. Some layers need a key with a free tier (ships, fires, traffic, photorealistic 3D imagery through Cesium ion). The OpenAI key for voice is metered: the project estimates a few cents per active minute and single-digit dollars for an evening of heavy use, and the app has a spending readout and a hard stop at 5 dollars per session. If you do not want to spend money, do not enter an OpenAI key.

3. Step-by-step install

Route 1 (easiest): use Pinokio, no command line

Step 1: Install or update Pinokio

Go to https://desktop.pinokio.co/, download the version for your system and install it. If you already have Pinokio, update to 8.2 or later. The project says that version fixes an installer problem people had run into. When Pinokio opens and shows its list of apps, it worked.

Step 2: Open God's Eye View's page in Pinokio

Go to https://pinokio.co/apps/github-com-bilawalsidhu-gods-eye-view and open it with Pinokio using the button on that page (or search for "God's Eye View" inside Pinokio).

Step 3: Click Install, then Start

Click Install and wait. The launcher installs the dependencies, finds a free port on your computer and opens the app. Then click Start. If the 3D globe opens in your browser, it worked. The first time, the app shows a panel of starting "missions" (Live Contacts, Space Missions, Environmental or Explore Manually).

Route 2: use the command line

This is for people who already have Node.js and Git. Open Terminal (macOS/Linux) or PowerShell (Windows) and run these in order:

git clone https://github.com/bilawalsidhu/gods-eye-view.git
cd gods-eye-view
npm ci
npm run doctor
npm run dev

npm run doctor checks whether Node.js and npm are ready. Once npm run dev is running, open http://localhost:4173 in your browser. If you see the globe and the mission panel, it worked.

Note: By default only your own computer can reach the page. The project has instructions for sharing on your local network, with a warning about the risks. If you are not experienced, do not turn sharing on.

4. First use

The project suggests a "first five minutes" sequence. Follow it below; button names may change a little between versions.

1. Choose the "Live Contacts" mission (or switch on the Flights layer yourself). You see thousands of live aircraft on the globe.
2. Click an aircraft. The camera locks on, draws a trail behind it and opens a live flight information card.
3. Click COCKPIT on the tracked plane to ride along and descend. You can switch the display style on the way down.
4. Change the look with the number keys 1 to 7 (for example night vision NVG or thermal FLIR). The whole globe re-renders in that style.
5. Track a satellite: switch on the Satellites layer and click the International Space Station; the camera follows it along its orbit.
6. Get out: click Reset Globe (back to the full Earth view) or press Esc.

A few shortcuts per the project: H toggles the HUD, D toggles the detection boxes, C is the cockpit, Esc exits. On a trackpad, pinching zooms the globe.

To add more data layers, click the POWER UP chip at the bottom right to open Provider Settings, paste in a key and click SAVE KEYS; the app restarts itself. If the chip is hidden because the window is small, add ?setup=1 to the end of the address to reopen the panel.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Pinokio says the install failed or stops halfway	An old version of Pinokio	Update Pinokio to 8.2 or later and install again. The project says that version fixes an installer problem
An older install shows empty Traffic, Mapped Installations and ALPR layers	Older versions queried public OpenStreetMap Overpass servers, which now refuse them	Update God's Eye View to the latest version, as the project instructs
npm ci complains about the Node version	A Node.js version that does not match (the project needs 24.14.0 or later, or 26; Node 25 is flagged because it is end-of-life)	Install a suitable Node.js and run it again. Run npm run doctor to see what is missing
Opening localhost:4173 shows nothing	npm run dev is not running, or the port is different from expected	Check that the command window is still running and read the port it prints
The microphone button says voice is unavailable	No OpenAI key has been entered (the voice feature needs one)	That is normal if you do not want to spend money: everything else still works. To use voice, add a key under POWER UP
The base map looks different from the videos, with no photorealistic 3D cities	Photorealistic 3D needs a Cesium ion key (free tier for personal, non-commercial use) or a Google Maps key (billed)	Add a key under POWER UP if you want it. Without one the app uses Esri satellite imagery
A layer shows no data and a note says it is waiting for a key	That layer needs its own key (for example ships or fires)	Get a free key from the provider and paste it under POWER UP

6. Uninstall and update

With Pinokio: open Pinokio and go to your God's Eye View entry to update or remove it (the project's documentation does not describe the buttons in detail, so check Pinokio's own documentation if you cannot find them). The latest version at the time of writing is v0.2.1 (3 October 2026), and the project updates often.

With the command line: go into the gods-eye-view folder, pull the new version with git pull, then run npm ci again. To remove it, close the running window and delete the gods-eye-view folder.

Keys you enter in the app are stored in a file on your own computer (with Pinokio it is the app's pinokio/ENVIRONMENT file, with the command line it is the .env file), and these files are kept out of Git. If you ever entered a key, delete that file when you remove the app.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money? Not for the basics. Only the voice feature through OpenAI is billed by usage, and the app stops a session at 5 dollars. Some other keys have free tiers, and some services charge if you go over their free quota.

Is the data classified or government-secret? According to the project, no. Every source is public, such as aircraft, ship, satellite and seismic signals and public cameras. The project limits itself: no person search, face recognition or tracking of individuals.

Is the data accurate? There is no guarantee. The project says data may be delayed, incomplete, modelled or wrong. Camera positions and rocket paths are only rough estimates. Do not use it for navigation or important decisions.

Does it need the internet? Yes, because the data is fetched live from online sources.

Will it run on a weak computer? The documentation gives no minimum. It is a global 3D graphics app, so a weak machine may stutter. Try it and switch off layers if you need to.