If you want to help the Canonn factions in the background simulation, here are some things you may want to consider. Canonn does not run BGS campaigns and there is nobody handing out orders, so almost everything here is written for you working on your own, or with other Canonneers, at whatever level of involvement you enjoy, in systems you actually care about. You are welcome to make suggestions or ask for help with systems in #minor_faction_chat.

Canonn Factions

There are two Canonn factions. Canonn, home system Varati, supported by the Canonn [CANO] squadron. Canonn Deep Space Research, founded in Canonnia, supported by [CDSR]. Anywhere this page says Canonn, either faction counts.

What Canonn is trying to do

Canonn is a science group. We like having a presence near things worth studying, and we like our members being able to live and work in systems that suit them.

Canonn is not in the business of empire building. We are not trying to climb the political leaderboard or paint the map, and we do not colonise somewhere to stop another group getting a presence in the area. Being present in an area means we can operate there; it does not mean nobody else may.

A lot of our members also fly for other squadrons. That is normal and welcome, and it is one of the reasons Canonn has friends nearly everywhere. Those friendships are worth considerably more to us than any system, so if you ever find yourself choosing between keeping a system and keeping a working relationship with another group, keep the relationship.

There are now over four thousand systems with a Canonn faction in them. That’s far more than anyone could keep an eye on, so here are four simple rules for where your effort goes furthest.

It is much easier to work the systems we have ownership of than to get into a conflict with another active faction.

What to work on

Systems where a Canonn member is the architect

This is the priority. Somebody built the place and wanted Canonn there, so it is worth the effort to get Canonn into control and keep it there.

Most urgent are the ones where Canonn is close to retreat. A non-native faction drops into retreat below 2.5% influence, in systems with more than three factions present, and a colony can quietly drift out from under its architect while they are off doing science somewhere. If you are looking for something useful to do, look for those first.

Systems Canonn already controls that are not colonies

These systems are already in good shape, so the aim is just to keep them that way. The preferred faction for each is recorded at https://bgs.canonn.tech, so look there rather than guessing; it will tell you which Canonn faction is meant to be on top. There’s no need to push influence higher or work against the other factions there. These are ours by history rather than by anyone’s decision, and the only job is not to lose them through neglect.

Systems without an architect recorded

If we do not have an architect recorded in https://bgs.canonn.tech then you should try and find one. First look on the system map and you should see the architect name. Then you can look them up in Inara, you can also look up the system in Inara as it may have an architect recorded. In some cases they may have a squadron and support a minor faction which identifies which faction they support. If you find out their preference you can record it in https://bgs.canonn.tech

Everything else

These are the colonised systems where the architect is not a Canonneer, and they aren’t ones we need to worry about. If another group takes one over, or Canonn drops out of it entirely, that’s a normal part of the game and nothing we’d want to contest.

How to keep track of priorities

We have created https://bgs.canonn.tech to help prioritise systems to work on and to document which systems shouldn’t be worked. 

The BGS data is fetched from Spansh, which relies on EDDN, so it is possible that Inara may be more up to date. Make sure that you are sending data to EDDN and your systems will get updated. There are multiple levels of caching so don’t expect things to update immediately.  Bear in mind that the vast majority of our systems will not have been recently updated and it would take a massive effort to keep them all up to date.

Last seen	Systems	Share
Under 1 day ago	338	8.00%
1–2 days ago	147	3.50%
2–7 days ago	550	12.90%
1–4 weeks ago	1,078	25.40%
1–3 months ago	1,132	26.60%
3–12 months ago	945	22.20%
Over a year ago	59	1.40%
Total	4,249	100%

Figure 1: Freshness of data as of September 2026

Ticks happen daily, so a reading two days old is already two ticks behind. Check the system before you act on what the site says, and if you visit one, that alone is useful, it refreshes the record for everyone. 

By default https://bgs.canonn.tech displays the system in the order of most recently updated. But you can sort by most columns. Sorting by priority will suggest systems to visit and work. You can also filter by your commander name to just display your own systems. 

The website is not intended to replace Inara, you can click on system names to see the Inara page and that may give you more information to work on.

Asking the architect

https://bgs.canonn.tech holds both halves of this. The preferred faction for the non-colony systems is already in there, and architect consent for colonies goes in there too. Look before you work anywhere.

If you want to work on a colony that is not yours, ask the architect first. If they are happy for Canonn to be present, or to take control, record it at https://bgs.canonn.tech. That record is what turns a system into one we will work on, and it is the only evidence anyone should be relying on.

Record the refusals too. Knowing that somebody said no is more useful than knowing nobody ever asked, and it saves the next member bothering them about it in six months.

This matters because architects get to decide what happens in their own systems. Whether an architect wants Canonn in control, in second place, or not there at all, we’re happy to go with their choice.

One way you can help is to sort https://bgs.canonn.tech by priority and assign architects to any systems that do not have architects. If this can be done on a daily basis we may be able to get all the systems assigned.

If an architect wants Canonn out

That’s absolutely fine, and we won’t stand in their way. We’ll stop working the system and update the record to say so.

The retreat itself is something the architect will need to do, as part of running their system. Retreating a faction means pushing it below 2.5% and holding it there across several days of ticks.

Dealing with other groups

If you notice something odd in a Canonn system, report it rather than retaliating. Most unexplained influence movement is another group going about its business, purchasing goods for construction elsewhere, or missions conducted elsewhere delivered into one of our systems.

Finally, do not speak for Canonn to another group unless you have agreed that with the Council, and do not pressure another member into doing BGS work or into acting against their other squadron.

How to get help

For advice, or to find people willing to lend a hand, ask in #minor_faction_chat on the Discord. Bear in mind it is hard to divert people from their own projects without a compelling reason, but there are often some willing to help out.

Architect consent, refusals and the systems being worked on are all recorded at https://bgs.canonn.tech. Keeping it up to date helps everyone.

Ways to contribute

As mentioned in other parts of this document, there are lots of ways you can help with Canonn BGS

1. Document system architects  with https://bgs.canonn.tech 
2. Report any issues with https://bgs.canonn.tech
3. Visit systems to update them with EDDN
4. Work priority systems
5. Help your fellow commanders

Good Luck

Thank you for supporting Canonn. While we don’t give orders or commands, we do recognise that some enjoy this alongside their science, and we welcome help with the task of managing what has become a large galactic presence.