Assign PIDs in aligned blocks of 16

.github/CODEOWNERS

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# The registry and the validator that guards it are maintainer-owned.
+# `legacy:` in particular is maintainer-set; see LEGACY_PIDS in validate.py.
+/usb-ids.yaml  @mrpollo
+/validate.py   @mrpollo

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/pid-request.yml

@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ body:
     id: boards
     attributes:
       label: Board(s) the PIDs are for
-      description: One PID is assigned per board.
+      description: >-
+        PIDs are assigned from your manufacturer's block of 16 (your first
+        request claims one), one PID per board.
     validations:
       required: true
   - type: checkboxes

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@
 
 **Board(s):**
 
-- [ ] Entries added to `usb-ids.yaml` (one per PID, lowest free PIDs)
+- [ ] All PIDs are inside our claimed block(s) in `blocks` (first request: claim a free aligned 16-PID block, `0xNNN0`)
 - [ ] Contact email is valid and monitored
 - [ ] We are a Dronecode Foundation member (or state your affiliation below)

README.md

@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@ PX4-Autopilot CI checks board definitions against this registry, so a board
 using VID `0x3643` cannot merge upstream with an unregistered PID or a PID
 belonging to another manufacturer.
 
-There are no reservations: PIDs are assigned to real boards. Request one
-when you have hardware to name.
+PIDs are assigned in blocks of 16: your first request claims an aligned
+block (`0xNNN0`-`0xNNNF`) and every PID you are assigned comes from inside
+it. Claim a block when you have hardware to name, not in advance; when a
+block fills up, claim another.
 
 ## Requesting a PID
 
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ when you have hardware to name.
    - name: Acme Robotics
      px4_vendor: acme          # your directory under boards/ in PX4-Autopilot
      contact: usb@acme.example
+     blocks: ["0x0070"]        # 16 PIDs, 0x0070-0x007F
      pids:
        - pid: "0x0070"
          board: Acme FC1
@@ -31,8 +34,10 @@ when you have hardware to name.
    Dronecode Foundation membership and merges. Assignments are at maintainer
    discretion.
 
-Pick the lowest free PID; one entry per PID. If you can't open a PR, use
-the [PID request issue form](../../issues/new/choose).
+Pick the lowest free block unless you have a reason not to; any free
+aligned block is fine. One entry per PID. PID values are hexadecimal:
+after `"0x0039"` comes `"0x003A"`, not `"0x0040"`. If you can't open a
+PR, use the [PID request issue form](../../issues/new/choose).
 
 ## Field reference
 
@@ -43,6 +48,8 @@ the [PID request issue form](../../issues/new/choose).
 | `date` | Assignment date, `YYYY-MM-DD` |
 | `contact` | Email address for the manufacturer |
 | `px4_vendor` | Your vendor directory name in the PX4 `boards/` tree. Optional until you upstream a board; **required before your first PX4-Autopilot board PR**, otherwise PX4 CI will reject it. |
+| `blocks` | List of claimed block starts, `"0x"` + 4 uppercase hex digits ending in `0`; each covers 16 PIDs (`0xNNN0`-`0xNNNF`), globally unique. Required before any non-legacy PID can be assigned. |
+| `legacy` | `true` on assignments that predate the block policy (before 2026-09). Maintainer-set, not for new requests. |
 
 ## Validation
 

usb-ids.yaml

@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 # Single source of truth for PID assignments under VID 0x3643.
 # See README.md for the assignment process.
 #
+# PIDs are assigned in blocks of 16: each manufacturer claims an
+# aligned block (0xNNN0-0xNNNF), listed in `blocks`, and assigns
+# PIDs from inside it. Values are hexadecimal: after "0x0039"
+# comes "0x003A", not "0x0040".
+#
 # PID format: "0x" + 4 uppercase hex digits, quoted (YAML would otherwise
 # parse some values as integers).
 
@@ -13,6 +18,7 @@ manufacturers:
   - name: PX4/Dronecode
     px4_vendor: px4
     contact: rroche@linuxfoundation.org
+    blocks: ["0x0010"]  # 0x0010-0x001F
     pids:
       - pid: "0x001D"
         board: FMU-v6XRT
@@ -21,6 +27,7 @@ manufacturers:
   - name: ZeroOne
     px4_vendor: zeroone
     contact: menghua@01aero.com
+    blocks: ["0x15E0"]  # 0x15E0-0x15EF
     pids:
       - pid: "0x15E0"
         board: X6
@@ -30,6 +37,7 @@ manufacturers:
     # Not upstream in PX4 yet; slug matches boards/newbeedrone/ from PR #26966.
     px4_vendor: newbeedrone
     contact: kelvin@newbeedrone.com
+    blocks: ["0x0050"]  # 0x0050-0x005F
     pids:
       - pid: "0x0050"
         board: PixNova
@@ -42,6 +50,7 @@ manufacturers:
       - pid: "0x0001"
         board: Syro V6X
         date: 2026-08-03
+        legacy: true
 
   - name: Agam Robotics
     px4_vendor: agam-robotics
@@ -50,6 +59,8 @@ manufacturers:
       - pid: "0x0002"
         board: Agam Autopilot v6X-RT
         date: 2026-08-18
+        legacy: true
       - pid: "0x0003"
         board: Agam MegH7
         date: 2026-08-22
+        legacy: true

validate.py

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """Validate usb-ids.yaml, the Dronecode USB ID registry.
 
-Checks structure, field formats, PID uniqueness (case-insensitive), and
-px4_vendor slug uniqueness. Prints one error per line and exits 1 on any
+Checks structure, field formats, PID uniqueness (case-insensitive),
+px4_vendor slug uniqueness, and block allocation: every non-legacy PID sits
+inside one of its manufacturer's claimed 16-PID blocks, and no block holds
+another manufacturer's PID. Prints one error per line and exits 1 on any
 violation, 0 when the registry is valid.
 
 Only dependency: PyYAML.
@@ -15,14 +17,21 @@
 
 PID_RE = re.compile(r"^0x[0-9A-F]{4}$")
 VID_RE = re.compile(r"^0x[0-9A-F]{4}$")
+BLOCK_RE = re.compile(r"^0x[0-9A-F]{3}0$")
 PX4_VENDOR_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$")
 DATE_RE = re.compile(r"^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$")
 EMAIL_RE = re.compile(r"^[^@\s]+@[^@\s]+\.[^@\s]+$")
 
 TOP_KEYS = {"vid", "vendor_string", "manufacturers"}
 MFR_REQUIRED = {"name", "contact", "pids"}
-MFR_OPTIONAL = {"px4_vendor"}
-PID_KEYS = {"pid", "board", "date"}
+MFR_OPTIONAL = {"px4_vendor", "blocks"}
+PID_REQUIRED = {"pid", "board", "date"}
+PID_OPTIONAL = {"legacy"}
+
+# Assignments predating the block policy. Maintainer-set: extending this set
+# is a deliberate edit here, not something a PID request can grant itself.
+LEGACY_PIDS = {"0x0001", "0x0002", "0x0003"}
+LEGACY_CUTOFF = "2026-09-01"
 
 
 def validate(doc):
@@ -58,6 +67,8 @@ def err(msg):
 
     seen_pids = {}  # normalized pid -> manufacturer name
     seen_vendors = {}  # px4_vendor -> manufacturer name
+    seen_blocks = {}  # block start -> manufacturer name
+    assigned = []  # (pid as int, pid as written, manufacturer name)
 
     for i, mfr in enumerate(manufacturers):
         where = f"manufacturers[{i}]"
@@ -96,6 +107,34 @@ def err(msg):
             else:
                 seen_vendors[px4_vendor] = name
 
+        # Blocks are all 16 wide and 16-aligned, so two of them overlap only
+        # if they share a start value: unique starts means no overlap.
+        blocks = mfr.get("blocks")
+        mfr_blocks = set()
+        if "blocks" in mfr:
+            if not isinstance(blocks, list) or not blocks:
+                err(f"{where}: 'blocks' must be a non-empty list")
+            else:
+                for block in blocks:
+                    if not isinstance(block, str) or not BLOCK_RE.match(block):
+                        err(
+                            f"{where}: block '{block}' is not a quoted 0xXXX0 "
+                            "uppercase hex string; a block start must end in 0 "
+                            "(16-aligned)"
+                        )
+                        continue
+                    if block in mfr_blocks:
+                        err(f"{where}: block '{block}' listed twice")
+                        continue
+                    mfr_blocks.add(block)
+                    if block in seen_blocks:
+                        err(
+                            f"{where}: block '{block}' already claimed by "
+                            f"'{seen_blocks[block]}'"
+                        )
+                    else:
+                        seen_blocks[block] = name
+
         pids = mfr.get("pids")
         if "pids" not in mfr:
             continue
@@ -109,19 +148,21 @@ def err(msg):
                 err(f"{pwhere}: expected a mapping")
                 continue
 
-            for key in sorted(set(entry) - PID_KEYS):
+            for key in sorted(set(entry) - PID_REQUIRED - PID_OPTIONAL):
                 err(f"{pwhere}: unknown field '{key}'")
-            for key in sorted(PID_KEYS - set(entry)):
+            for key in sorted(PID_REQUIRED - set(entry)):
                 err(f"{pwhere}: missing field '{key}'")
 
             pid = entry.get("pid")
+            pid_ok = False
             if "pid" in entry:
                 if not isinstance(pid, str) or not PID_RE.match(pid):
                     err(
                         f"{pwhere}: pid '{pid}' is not a quoted 0xXXXX "
                         "uppercase hex string"
                     )
                 else:
+                    pid_ok = True
                     pwhere = f"{where} pid {pid}"
                     norm = pid.lower()
                     if norm in seen_pids:
@@ -131,17 +172,54 @@ def err(msg):
                         )
                     else:
                         seen_pids[norm] = name
+                        assigned.append((int(pid, 16), pid, name))
 
             board = entry.get("board")
             if "board" in entry and (not isinstance(board, str) or not board.strip()):
                 err(f"{pwhere}: 'board' must be a non-empty string")
 
             date = entry.get("date")
-            if "date" in entry:
-                # PyYAML may parse unquoted dates as datetime.date
-                date_str = date.isoformat() if hasattr(date, "isoformat") else date
-                if not isinstance(date_str, str) or not DATE_RE.match(date_str):
-                    err(f"{pwhere}: date '{date}' must be YYYY-MM-DD")
+            # PyYAML may parse unquoted dates as datetime.date
+            date_str = date.isoformat() if hasattr(date, "isoformat") else date
+            date_ok = isinstance(date_str, str) and bool(DATE_RE.match(date_str))
+            if "date" in entry and not date_ok:
+                err(f"{pwhere}: date '{date}' must be YYYY-MM-DD")
+
+            legacy = entry.get("legacy")
+            if "legacy" in entry:
+                if legacy is not True:
+                    err(f"{pwhere}: 'legacy' must be true when present")
+                elif not (pid_ok and pid in LEGACY_PIDS):
+                    err(
+                        f"{pwhere}: 'legacy' is maintainer-set only; this pid "
+                        "is not in the frozen legacy set"
+                    )
+                elif date_ok and date_str >= LEGACY_CUTOFF:
+                    err(
+                        f"{pwhere}: 'legacy' is only for assignments predating "
+                        f"the block policy (date before {LEGACY_CUTOFF})"
+                    )
+
+            # Skip entries whose pid already failed the format check.
+            if pid_ok and legacy is not True:
+                start = f"0x{int(pid, 16) & ~0xF:04X}"
+                if start not in mfr_blocks:
+                    err(
+                        f"{pwhere}: outside {name}'s claimed blocks; claim "
+                        f"block '{start}' in 'blocks' or move the pid into a "
+                        "claimed block"
+                    )
+
+    # A claimed block must not hold another manufacturer's pid, legacy ones
+    # included; this is what keeps the pre-policy 0x0000-0x000F range frozen.
+    for pid_int, pid, owner in assigned:
+        start = f"0x{pid_int & ~0xF:04X}"
+        holder = seen_blocks.get(start)
+        if holder is not None and holder != owner:
+            err(
+                f"manufacturer '{holder}': block '{start}' contains pid "
+                f"{pid} assigned to '{owner}'"
+            )
 
     return errors