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142 lines
5.2 KiB
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142 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
---
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id: python-uses
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title: Uses of the meshtastic command line interface tool
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sidebar_label: Use Cases
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---
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This section covers using the "meshtastic" command line executable, which displays packets sent over the network as JSON and lets you see serial debugging information from the Meshtastic devices.
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:::note
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The `meshtastic` command is not run within python but is a script run from your operating system shell prompt. When you type "meshtastic" and the prompt is unable to find the command in Windows, check that the python "scripts" directory [is in your path](https://datatofish.com/add-python-to-windows-path).
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:::
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## Getting a list of User Preferences
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You can get a list of user preferences by running '--get' with an invalid attribute such as 'all'.
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```shell
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meshtastic --get all
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```
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## Changing settings
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You can also use this tool to set any of the device parameters which are stored in persistent storage. For instance, here's how to set the device
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to keep the Bluetooth link alive for eight hours (any usage of the Bluetooth protocol from your phone will reset this timer)
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```shell title="Expected Output"
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# You should see a result similar to this:
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mydir$ meshtastic --set wait_bluetooth_secs 28800
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Connected to radio...
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Setting preference wait_bluetooth_secs to 28800
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Writing modified preferences to device...
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```
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Or to set a node at a fixed position and never power up the GPS.
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```shell
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meshtastic --setlat 25.2 --setlon -16.8 --setalt 120
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```
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Or to configure an ESP32 based board to join a Wifi network as a station:
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```shell
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meshtastic --set wifi_ap_mode false --set wifi_ssid mywifissid --set wifi_password mywifipsw
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```
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Or to configure an ESP32 to run as a Wifi access point:
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```shell
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meshtastic --set wifi_ap_mode true --set wifi_ssid mywifissid --set wifi_password mywifipsw
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```
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:::note
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For a full list of preferences which can be set (and their documentation) can be found in the [protobufs](/docs/developers/protobufs/api#radioconfiguserpreferences).
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:::
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### Changing channel settings
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The channel settings can also be changed, either by using a standard (shareable) meshtastic URL or you can set particular channel parameter (for advanced users).
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:::warning
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Meshtastic encodes the radio channel and PSK in the channel's URL. All nodes must connect to the channel again by using the URL provided after a change in this section by performing the `--info` switch.
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:::
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```shell
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meshtastic --ch-set name mychan --ch-index 1 --ch-set channel_num 4 --info
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```
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You can even set the channel preshared key to a particular AES128 or AES256 sequence.
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```shell
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meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set psk 0x1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b --info
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```
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Use `--ch-set psk none --ch-index 0` to turn off encryption.
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Use `--ch-set psk random --ch-index 0` will assign a new (high quality) random AES256 key to the primary channel (similar to what the Android app does when making new channels).
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Use `--ch-set psk default --ch-index 0` to restore the standard 'default' (minimally secure, because it is in the source code for anyone to read) AES128 key.
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All `ch-set` commands need to have the `ch-index` parameter specified:
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```shell
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meshtastic --ch-index 1 --ch-set name mychan --ch-set channel_num 4 --info
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```
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### Ham radio support
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Meshtastic is designed to be used without a radio operator license. If you do have a license you can set your operator ID and turn off encryption with:
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```shell title="Expected Output"
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# You should see a result similar to this:
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mydir$ meshtastic --port /dev/ttyUSB1 --set-ham KI1345
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Connected to radio
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Setting Ham ID to KI1345 and turning off encryption
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Writing modified channels to device
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```
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## Changing the preshared key:
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You can set the channel preshared key to a particular AES128 or AES256 sequence.
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```
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meshtastic --ch-set psk 0x1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b1a1a1a1a2b2b2b2b --info
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```
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Use "--ch-set psk none" to turn off encryption.
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Use "--ch-set psk random" will assign a new (high quality) random AES256 key to the primary channel (similar to what the Android app does when making new channels).
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Use "--ch-set psk default" to restore the standard 'default' (minimally secure, because it is in the source code for anyone to read) AES128 key.
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All "ch-set" commands will default to the primary channel at index 0, but can be applied to other channels with the "ch-index" parameter.
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## FAQ/common problems
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This is a collection of common questions and answers from our friendly forum.
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### Permission denied: ‘/dev/ttyUSB0’
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As previously discussed on the [forum](https://meshtastic.discourse.group/t/question-on-permission-denied-dev-ttyusb0/590/3?u=geeksville)
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This indicates an OS permission problem for access by your user to the USB serial port. Typically this is fixed by the following.
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```shell
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sudo usermod -a -G dialout <username>
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```
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If the adding the user to the dialout group does not work, you can use the following command to find out which group to add your user to.
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In this example (from Arch Linux) the group was "uucp"
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```shell
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❯ ls -al /dev/ttyACM0
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crw-rw---- 1 root uucp 166, 0 Jul 20 21:52 /dev/ttyACM0
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```
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### Mac OS Big Sur
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There is a problem with Big Sur and pyserial. The workaround is to install a newer version of pyserial:
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```shell
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pip3 install -U --pre pyserial
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```
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