Merge branch 'TheCommsChannel:main' into main

.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+__pycache__/
+bulletins.db
+venv/
+

README.md

@@ -4,13 +4,14 @@
 
 This is the TC²-BBS system integrated with Meshtastic devices. The system allows for message handling, bulletin boards, mail systems, and a channel directory.
 
-## Setup
+### Docker
 
-### Docker installation
-TC²-BBS Meshtastic is available on Docker Hub
+If you're a Docker user, TC²-BBS Meshtastic is available on Docker Hub!
 
 [![Docker HUB](https://icon-icons.com/downloadimage.php?id=151885&root=2530/PNG/128/&file=docker_button_icon_151885.png)](https://hub.docker.com/r/thealhu/tc2-bbs-mesh)
 
+## Setup
+
 ### Requirements
 
 - Python 3.x
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ TC²-BBS Meshtastic is available on Docker Hub
 1. Clone the repository:
    
    ```sh
+   cd ~
    git clone https://github.com/TheCommsChannel/TC2-BBS-mesh.git
    cd TC2-BBS-mesh
    ```
@@ -34,7 +36,6 @@ python -m venv venv
 
 3. Activate the virtual environment:  
    
-
    - On Windows:  
    
    ```sh
@@ -56,8 +57,7 @@ pip install -r requirements.txt
 5. Set up the configuration in `config.ini`:  
    
    **[interface]**  
-  
-  If using `type = serial` and you have multiple devices connected, you will need to uncomment the `port =` line and enter in the port of your device. 
+   If using `type = serial` and you have multiple devices connected, you will need to uncomment the `port =` line and enter the port of your device.   
    
    Linux Example:  
    `port = /dev/ttyUSB0`   
@@ -65,16 +65,16 @@ pip install -r requirements.txt
    Windows Example:  
    `port = COM3`   
    
-  If using type = tcp you will need to uncomment the hostname = 192.168.x.x line and put in the IP address of your Meshtastic device 
+   If using type = tcp you will need to uncomment the hostname = 192.168.x.x line and put in the IP address of your Meshtastic device.  
    
    **[sync]**  
-  
-  Enter in a list of other BBS nodes you would like to sync messages and bulletins with. Separate each by comma and no spaces as shown in the example below. 
+   Enter a list of other BBS nodes you would like to sync messages and bulletins with. Separate each by comma and no spaces as shown in the example below.   
    You can find the nodeID in the menu under `Radio Configuration > User` for each node, or use this script for getting nodedb data from a device:  
    
    [Meshtastic-Python-Examples/print-nodedb.py at main · pdxlocations/Meshtastic-Python-Examples (github.com)](https://github.com/pdxlocations/Meshtastic-Python-Examples/blob/main/print-nodedb.py)  
    
    Example Config:  
+   
    ```ini
    [interface]  
    type = serial  
@@ -90,11 +90,63 @@ bbs_nodes = !f53f4abc,!f3abc123
 Run the server with:
 
 ```sh
-python server.py
+python server.py```  
 ```
 
 Be sure you've followed the Python virtual environment steps above and activated it before running.
 
+## Automatically run at boot
+
+If you would like to have the script automatically run at boot, follow the steps below:
+
+1. **Edit the service file**
+   
+   First, edit the mesh-bbs.service file using your preferred text editor. The 3 following lines in that file are what we need to edit:
+   
+   ```sh
+   User=pi
+   WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh
+   ExecStart=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/venv/bin/python3 /home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/server.py
+   ```
+   
+   The file is currently setup for a user named 'pi' and assumes that the TC2-BBS-mesh directory is located in the home directory (which it should be if the earlier directions were followed)
+   
+   We just need to replace the 4 parts that have "pi" in those 3 lines with your username.
+
+2. **Configuring systemd**
+   
+   From the TC2-BBS-mesh directory, run the following commands:
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo cp mesh-bbs.service /etc/systemd/system/
+   ```
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo systemctl enable mesh-bbs.service
+   ```
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo systemctl start mesh-bbs.service
+   ```
+   
+   The service should be started now and should start anytime your device is powered on or rebooted. You can check the status ofk the service by running the following command:
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo systemctl status mesh-bbs.service
+   ```
+   
+   If you need to stop the service, you can run the following:
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo systemctl stop mesh-bbs.service
+   ```
+   
+   If you make changes to the watchlist.txt file, you will need to restart the service with the following command:
+   
+   ```sh
+   sudo systemctl restart mesh-bbs.service
+   ```
+
 ## Features
 
 - **Mail System**: Send and receive mail messages.
@@ -113,7 +165,6 @@ A video of it in use is available on our YouTube channel:
 
 [![TC²-BBS-Mesh](https://img.youtube.com/vi/d6LhY4HoimU/0.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6LhY4HoimU)
 
-
 ## Thanks
 
 Big thanks to [Meshtastic](https://github.com/meshtastic) and [pdxlocations](https://github.com/pdxlocations) for the great Python examples:

db_operations.py

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def get_channels():
 def add_bulletin(board, sender_short_name, subject, content, bbs_nodes, interface, unique_id=None):
     conn = get_db_connection()
     c = conn.cursor()
-    date = datetime.now().strftime('%m/%d/%Y %H:%M')
+    date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')
     if not unique_id:
         unique_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
     c.execute(
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ def delete_bulletin(bulletin_id, bbs_nodes, interface):
 def add_mail(sender_id, sender_short_name, recipient_id, subject, content, bbs_nodes, interface, unique_id=None):
     conn = get_db_connection()
     c = conn.cursor()
-    date = datetime.now().strftime('%m/%d/%Y %H:%M')
+    date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')
     if not unique_id:
         unique_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
     c.execute("INSERT INTO mail (sender, sender_short_name, recipient, date, subject, content, unique_id) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",

mesh-bbs.service

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=TC²-BBS Meshtastic Version
+After=multi-user.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=20
+User=pi
+WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh
+ExecStart=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/venv/bin/python3 /home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/server.py
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target

server.py

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from config_init import initialize_config, get_interface
 from db_operations import initialize_database
 from message_processing import on_receive
 from pubsub import pub
+import time
 
 # Configure logging
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s')
@@ -51,7 +52,8 @@ def main():
 
     try:
         while True:
-            pass
+            time.sleep(1)
+
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
         logging.info("Shutting down the server...")
         interface.close()