[^1]: While the Raspberry Pi Zero has been tested with meshtasticd, building as a native ARM32 binary has proven challenging. As a workaround, consider building on a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with a 32-bit OS and copying the output file to the Pi Zero.
[^2]: **Limited Functionality with CH341-SX1262 Device:** Please be aware that the CH341-SX1262 device is currently experiencing partial functionality issues. For reasons yet to be determined, this device struggles with sending packets larger than a few bytes.
- Support for I2C displays, SPI displays, and keyboard input has been confirmed. It is necessary to be aware of potential pin conflicts when stacking hats.
### System Requirements
- The Meshtastic binary, `meshtasticd`, necessitates root access or a user with permissions to access GPIO, SPI, and other interfaces.
- A Linux distribution compatible with the Meshtastic installation package, which is compiled for Debian Bookworm and not compatible with Bullseye.
## Installation
### Installing Meshtasticd
- Necessary system libraries should be installed before building or installing Meshtastic.
- The .deb Package is available as part of the release, installing the binary, a systemd service, and a config file. It is compiled for Debian Bookworm and incompatible with Bullseye.
- The meshtasticd configuration is at `/etc/meshtasticd/config.yaml` by default. If a `config.yaml` is found in the current directory, that takes precedence. And a config file specified with the `-c/--config` option has the highest precedence.
To enable a LoRa radio connected to your device, uncomment the appropriate lines in the config file, including the Module line. As an example, the Waveshare SX126X module would have a Lora section that looks like this:
#### Creating and Enabling a Systemctl Script (non .deb installs)
To configure the device to start and stop meshtasticd as as service using systemctl you can setup the service unit using the instructions below.
Create the service unit file:
Create a new file in the /etc/systemd/system/ directory with a name like meshtasticd.service.
```shell
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/meshtasticd.service
```
Add the following content to the file:
```plaintext
[Unit]
Description=Meshtastic Daemon
After=network.target
[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/meshtasticd
Restart=always
User=root
Group=root
Type=simple
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```
Reload systemd to recognize the new service:
```shell
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Enable the service to start on boot:
```shell
sudo systemctl enable meshtasticd
```
##### Starting and Stopping the Service
Start the service:
```shell
sudo systemctl start meshtasticd
```
Check the status of the service:
```shell
sudo systemctl status meshtasticd
```
Stop the service:
```shell
sudo systemctl stop meshtasticd
```
This will give you a detailed view of the service status and any potential errors.
By following these steps, you set up a systemd service for meshtasticd that will start automatically at boot and restart if it crashes. You can manage it using the standard systemctl commands (start, stop, restart, status, etc.).
#### View Logs of Mesthastic
To view the log output of the meshtasticd service, use the below command to read them out of the system journal.
