MeshBot is an OpenSource Python program designed to run on computers with a connected Meshtastic device, allowing users to send and receive messages efficiently over a mesh network.\
Youtube video of amends made for this version will be soon uploaded and URL shared here.
Broadcast messages: Send text broadcasts to all devices on the mesh network.Weather updates: Get real-time weather updates for a specified location.Tides information: Receive tidal information for coastal areas.Whois: Query one of two User databases mpowered247 or liamcottleSimple BBS: IN PROGRESS, store and retrieve messages via the bot- Push notifications with Pushover.net (can be run same time as a repeat test to confirm receipt via cell network)
- Repeat messages based on one command, stop at any time you are in range
- Python 3.x
- Meshtastic Python library
- Access to a Meshtastic device Meshtastic
- Serial drivers for your meshtastic device, See Installing Serial Drivers
- Pushover.net API access if using push notifications
- Clone this repository to your local machine (or download the zip file and uncompress somewhere if not using git)
git clone https://github.com/nikscave/meshbot-push.git
- Navigate into the folder and setup a virtual environment (if device is single purpose you can skip this and install in main environment)
cd meshbot
python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
- Install the required dependencies: (some are removed from the original as they caused errors on my Rasp Pi 3 install, refer to original fork as needed)
pip install -r requirements.txt
- Connect your Meshtastic device to your computer via USB and run the program
python ./mesbot.py
We have revamped the configuration, there is now a ''settings.yaml'' file, which we believe makes the program easier to manage
Example Content:
---
LOCATION: "Swansea"
TIDE_LOCATION: "Swansea"
MYNODE: "3663493700"
MYNODES:
- "3663493700"
DBFILENAME: "./db/nodes.db"
#new for push notifications
PUSH_APP_TOKEN: "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
PUSH_USER_TOKEN: "abcde12345etc"
Description
- LOCATION and TIDE_LOCATION = These should be obvious
- MYNODE = The hw address of the node connected in int/number form. This is so the bot only responds to DMs
- MYNODES = A list of nodes (in int/number form) that are permitted to interact with the bot
- DBFILENAME = Configure which user database file to use by default
- PUSH_APP_TOKEN = Pushover.net app token
- PUSH_USER_TOKEN = Pushover.net User Key
| Message received | Action | Example output |
|---|---|---|
| #test | Replies with current timestamp on device | 📍 mm-dd HH:MM:SS |
| #repeat 60 | Repeats test message every 60 seconds | 🟢 Repeat Starting then 🟢 mm-dd HH:MM:SS |
| #repeat 3600 | Repeats test message every hour | as above |
| #stop | Stops the repeat function | 🔵 Repeat Stopped |
| #push | Sends a mesh reply and push notification | 🔔 mm-dd HH:MM:SS |
Pushover is a very cheap push notification service which I've used for years, you can try it for 30 days for free then it's the price of a coffee for life. Works on android, apple, desktops and has example code to trigger from most platforms.
Pushover is not needed to use this version but handy use case is being able to confirm that your inbound message has been received should the mesh not get back to you!!!
Replace meshbot.py with MeshBotPush.py and the rest of the instructions are the same as the original author. Add your push tokens into the settings.yaml file. I've amended some of the message triggers in this version as I have no use for them. Tweak as necassery for your use case. cheers Nik
Run the MeshBot program:
python meshbot.py --help
Example on Linux:
python meshbot.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0
Example on OSX:
python meshbot.py --port /dev/cu.usbserial-0001
Example on Windows:
python meshbot.py --port COM7
You bot will be accessible through the meshtastic mesh network through the node name. DM the bot/node and issue any of the following commands:
- #test : receive a test message (as above meshbotpush description, I've removed what I dont use, so tweak as needed in the code)
#weather : local weather report#tides : tide info (dont forget to change the default town in the source)#whois #xxxx : retrieve name and node info for a node based on last 4 chars of address#bbs post !address message : post a messgae on the bbs for a given user at !address#bbs get : retrieve your message(s) left by another user(s)
This project utilizes the Meshtastic Python library, which provides communication capabilities for Meshtastic devices. For more information about Meshtastic, visit meshtastic.org.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Database of IDs, long_name and short_names obtained from the node list from the following URLs: