---
id: linux-native-hardware
title: Meshtastic on Linux-Native Devices
sidebar_label: Linux Native Devices
sidebar_position: 11
---

This guide outlines the setup of Meshtastic on Linux-native devices, utilizing portduino to run the Meshtastic firmware under Linux.

## Prerequisites and Hardware Compatibility

Before proceeding with the setup, ensure the device meets the following requirements:

### Tested Devices
- Raspberry Pi zero, zero 2 , 3,4, Pi 400, and Pi 5.[^1]
- Ubuntu 22.04 X86_64 with a CH341-SX1262 DIY dongle.[^2]
- Debian GNU/Linux trixie/sid riscv64 on Cvitek CV180X ASIC, C906 (Milk-V Duo), on the SPI bus.

[^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.

### Hardware Compatibility
- Tested radios include Waveshare SX126X, Adafruit RFM9x, and Elecrow Lora RFM95 IOT.
- 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.
- UART HATs and SX1302/SX1303 chip-based HATs are not supported.

### 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.

```shell
sudo apt install libgpiod-dev libyaml-cpp-dev libbluetooth-dev
```
- And optionally for web server support
```shell
sudo apt install openssl libssl-dev libulfius-dev liborcania-dev
```

- 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.
```shell
sudo apt install ./meshtasticd_{version}arm64.deb
```

## Configuration

### Hardware Interfaces

For devices requiring SPI or I2C:

- SPI support can be enabled in `/boot/config.txt` or `/boot/firmware/config.txt`:

```plaintext
dtparam=spi=on
dtoverlay=spi0-0cs
```

- I2C support is enabled with:

```plaintext
dtparam=i2c_arm=on
```

### Meshtasticd Configuration

- 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:

```yaml
Lora:
Module: sx1262 # Waveshare SX126X XXXM
DIO2_AS_RF_SWITCH: true
CS: 21
IRQ: 16
Busy: 20
Reset: 18
```

### Web Server

- Meshtasticd has web server support starting with release 2.3.0 To enable this:

```plaintext
Webserver:
  Port: 443 # Port for Webserver & Webservices
  RootPath: /usr/share/doc/meshtasticd/web # Root Dir of WebServer
```

### GPS Support

Enabling UART for GPS hats requires modifications in `/boot/firmware/config.txt`:

```plaintext
# Needed for all Pi device.
enable_uart=1

# Needed for the Pi 5 only.
dtoverlay=uart0
```

- The correct port for UART GPS on the Pi 5 after a reboot is `/dev/ttyAMA0`.
- The correct port for UART GPS on earlier Pi versions after a reboot is `/dev/ttyS0`.

### Persistence

- The persistent .proto db files of the portduino version of meshtasticd are stored under: `/root/.portduino/default/prefs/`.

### Advanced Setup and Troubleshooting

- Installation of drivers for CH341 is required for Ubuntu 22.04 and other systems for SPI/I2C/GPIO support.

```shell
git clone https://github.com/frank-zago/ch341-i2c-spi-gpio.git
cd ch341-i2c-spi-gpio
make
sudo insmod ch341-core.ko
sudo insmod gpio-ch341.ko
sudo insmod i2c-ch341.ko
sudo insmod spi-ch341.ko
```

- Devices with kernels older than 5.16 may need to blacklist ch341, while kernels 6.0 and newer are observed to work more reliably.

## CLI Configuration

Interaction with Meshtastic can be conducted via the command line:

```shell
meshtastic --host localhost ...
```