MeshCore-EastMesh

MeshCore-EastMesh originates from the upstream MeshCore project:

• https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore

Credits to Scott Powell / Ripple Radios and the MeshCore contributors for the original firmware and project foundation.

EastMesh is a community-driven mesh network across Eastern Australia. This repository provides tailored builds of MeshCore, including WiFi companion firmware with additional CLI tools and Observer firmware that integrates with our CoreScope telemetry platform.

CoreScope (https://core.eastmesh.au) offers visibility into the network, including repeater status, observers, and mapping data.

Observer builds feed EastMesh Core telemetry and are intended for Eastern Australia repeaters only; running them elsewhere can skew shared network data.

What This Repo Adds

• *_repeater_observer firmware targets with:
  • native WiFi
  • MQTT over WSS with JWT auth
  • optional local HTTPS config panel on supported ESP32 targets
• *_repeater_observer_espnow firmware targets that add a local ESP-NOW mesh bridge
• *_repeater_bridge_espnow firmware targets for a plain upstream-style repeater ESP-NOW bridge, without MQTT uplink or the EastMesh web panel
• *_companion_radio_wifi firmware targets for WiFi-connected companion devices
• EastMesh-specific release workflows and versioning on top of upstream MeshCore releases
• docs and release guidance for EastMesh users instead of the full upstream MeshCore docs set

Releases

Prebuilt firmware is published on GitHub Releases:

• https://github.com/xJARiD/MeshCore-EastMesh/releases

For flashing guidance, including when to use .bin vs -merged.bin, see:

• eastmesh-docs/releases.md

The custom firmware flasher site is:

• https://flasher.eastmesh.au/

Install uv

This repo uses uv for Python tooling and runs PlatformIO through uv run.

Official install docs:

• https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/

Common install methods:

macOS and Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Homebrew:

brew install uv

Windows PowerShell:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Common Repo Usage

Install tooling:

uv sync

List available build targets:

bash eastmesh-build.sh list

Build a single target:

uv run pio run -e heltec_v4_repeater_observer
uv run pio run -e heltec_v4_companion_radio_wifi

Build with release-style version metadata:

export FIRMWARE_VERSION=v1.15.0
export EASTMESH_VERSION=v2026.5.1
bash eastmesh-build.sh build-firmware heltec_v4_repeater_observer

Flash a target:

uv run pio run -e heltec_v4_repeater_observer -t upload --upload-port /dev/tty.usbmodemXXXX

Open a serial monitor:

uv run pio device monitor --port /dev/tty.usbmodemXXXX --baud 115200

Build docs locally:

uv run --group docs zensical serve
uv run --group docs zensical build

Key Files

• eastmesh-build.sh
  • EastMesh local/release build wrapper
  • injects FIRMWARE_VERSION, CLIENT_VERSION, and EastMesh release metadata
• build.sh
  • upstream MeshCore build wrapper retained to reduce future merge conflicts
• pyproject.toml
  • Python tooling and docs dependencies
• platformio.ini
  • root PlatformIO config and ESP32 helper scripts
• variants/eastmesh/platformio.ini
  • shared EastMesh observer env definitions
• examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp
  • repeater CLI wiring, MQTT command surface, and web allowlist integration
• src/helpers/bridges/MQTTBridge.cpp
  • bidirectional MQTT mesh bridge (peer broker TCP, topic meshcore/bridge/packets)
• src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.cpp
  • MQTT uplink implementation, HTTPS web panel, WSS/JWT handling, and repeater WiFi control
• examples/companion_radio
  • companion firmware implementation
• RELEASE.md
  • tag formats and release workflow behavior
• eastmesh-docs/
  • EastMesh-focused docs published to GitHub Pages
• docs/
  • upstream MeshCore docs retained to reduce future merge conflicts

Key EastMesh Features

MQTT Repeater Additions

• curated broker support for:
  • eastmesh-au
  • meshmapper
  • waev
  • letsmesh-eu (retired)
  • letsmesh-us (retired)
• WSS transport at /mqtt
• JWT auth using the device identity
• CLI controls for:
  • WiFi credentials
  • WiFi powersaving
  • board battery reporting on supported targets
  • MQTT endpoint enablement
  • MQTT packet and raw publishing
  • owner public key and email
  • local web panel enablement

MQTT Mesh Bridge (Observer)

The observer-eastmesh-bridge-mqtt release track (*_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge) bridges raw mesh packets between repeaters through a peer MQTT broker you run (for example Mosquitto on a LAN PC). This is not the same as MQTT uplink to EastMesh/MeshMapper:

	MQTT uplink (observer)	MQTT mesh bridge
Purpose	Publish JSON telemetry to curated brokers	Forward encrypted mesh packets between radios
Brokers	eastmesh-au, meshmapper, custom WSS	Your peer broker (host:port, TCP)
Topic	meshcore/<iata>/... (per IATA)	meshcore/bridge/packets (fixed)
Default on bridge builds	Off by default (enable in web panel / CLI)	On when bridge.enabled is on

First supported target: Xiao_S3_WIO_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge

Related track: observer-eastmesh-bridge-espnow (*_repeater_observer_espnow) uses ESP-NOW instead of MQTT for local bridging.

Build example:

uv run pio run -e Xiao_S3_WIO_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge

Flash (update):

uv run pio run -e Xiao_S3_WIO_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge -t upload --upload-port COM10

After a full flash erase, flash the merged image at 0x0 instead of only firmware.bin:

uv run pio run -e Xiao_S3_WIO_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge -t mergebin
uv run pio pkg exec -p tool-esptoolpy -- esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port COM10 write_flash 0x0 .pio/build/Xiao_S3_WIO_repeater_observer_mqtt_bridge/firmware-merged.bin

Peer Mosquitto broker (LAN)

Each bridge node connects to the same peer broker with the same credentials and bridge.secret.

1. Install Mosquitto on a machine reachable from both repeaters (for example 192.168.1.145).
2. Edit mosquitto.conf (Windows service install: C:\Program Files\Mosquitto\mosquitto.conf) and add:

listener 1883 0.0.0.0
allow_anonymous false
password_file C:\Program Files\Mosquitto\passwd

For lab/testing only, allow_anonymous true works without a password file.

3. Create a user (admin CMD):

cd "C:\Program Files\Mosquitto"
mosquitto_passwd -c passwd bridgeuser

4. Restart the service (do not run a second mosquitto -v while the service owns port 1883):

Restart-Service mosquitto

5. Confirm LAN listen and open the firewall:

netstat -ano | findstr ":1883"

Expect 0.0.0.0:1883, not only 127.0.0.1:1883.

6. Test from another machine:

mosquitto_pub -h 192.168.1.145 -p 1883 -u bridgeuser -P your-password -t test -m hello
mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.145 -p 1883 -u bridgeuser -P your-password -t meshcore/bridge/packets -v

Binary garbage on meshcore/bridge/packets is normal — payloads are XOR-encrypted mesh frames, not text.

Repeater configuration

Configure both bridge nodes identically for broker access; use the same bridge.secret on every node in the bridge group.

Serial or web panel CLI:

set wifi.ssid YourNetwork
set wifi.pwd YourWiFiPassword
set bridge.peer.host 192.168.1.145
set bridge.peer.port 1883
set bridge.peer.username bridgeuser
set bridge.peer.password your-password
set bridge.secret your-shared-bridge-secret

Web panel: MQTT Settings → Mesh bridge peer MQTT (host:port, username, password). The section appears when get bridge.type returns mqtt.

Useful checks:

get bridge.type
get bridge.peer.host
get bridge.enabled

Default admin password on dev builds is usually password unless you changed it.

Packets use magic 0xC03E, a Fletcher checksum, XOR encryption with bridge.secret, then publish/subscribe on meshcore/bridge/packets. Duplicate detection limits loops when both nodes see the same traffic.

More detail:

• Custom CLI — MQTT bridge settings
• Web panel — MQTT settings and bridge peer fields
• Releases — track comparison

Local Web Panel

On supported *_repeater_observer ESP32 targets, the repeater can expose a local HTTPS config panel over WiFi.

Features include:

• password-gated access using the existing repeater admin password
• allowlisted CLI execution
• grouped quick actions
• light and dark themes
• optional disable via set web off

Recommended use is initial setup and occasional troubleshooting. On observer deployments, disable the panel again when finished if you want maximum MQTT heap headroom.

Companion WiFi Additions

*_companion_radio_wifi targets now support persisted WiFi rescue commands:

• open a serial monitor at 115200 baud
• reboot the device
• long-press the user button within the first 8 seconds after boot to enter CLI Rescue
• wait for ========= CLI Rescue =========
• send the commands from the serial monitor

These rescue commands are only available after entering CLI Rescue:

• get wifi.status
• get wifi.ssid
• get wifi.powersaving
• set wifi.ssid <ssid>
• set wifi.pwd <password>
• set wifi.powersaving none|min|max

Active GitHub Workflows

• .github/workflows/eastmesh-build-companion-wifi-firmwares.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-build-observer-firmwares.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-build-repeater-bridge-espnow-firmwares.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-build-observer-espnow-firmwares.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-build-observer-mqtt-bridge-firmwares.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-pr-build-check.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-push-build-check.yml
• .github/workflows/eastmesh-github-pages.yml

The upstream MeshCore workflows are retained under their original filenames to reduce merge conflicts. They are not part of the EastMesh release flow and should stay disabled in GitHub Actions for this repository.

The current release workflows intentionally focus only on:

• companion-wifi
• repeater-bridge-espnow
• observer-eastmesh
• observer-eastmesh-bridge-espnow
• observer-eastmesh-bridge-mqtt

Release Tags

Current release tags are:

git tag companion-wifi-v1.14.1
git tag repeater-bridge-espnow-v1.15.0
git tag observer-eastmesh-v2026.5.1
git tag observer-eastmesh-bridge-espnow-v2026.5.1
git tag observer-eastmesh-bridge-mqtt-v2026.7.0

Companion WiFi uses the upstream MeshCore version in the tag.

Observer uses:

• OFFICIAL_MESHCORE_VERSION from GitHub Actions variables as FIRMWARE_VERSION
• the EastMesh tag version as EASTMESH_VERSION

See RELEASE.md for the full release flow.

Documentation

Published docs site:

• https://xjarid.github.io/MeshCore-EastMesh/

Current docs pages:

• Home
• Download and Flash Releases
• Build Locally With uv
• Custom CLI Commands
• Web Panel