{"slug": "meshtastic", "name": "Meshtastic", "category": "networking", "category_name": "Networking and VPN", "description": "", "recommenders": 2, "commenters": 5, "warners": 1, "score": 1.275, "rising": -0.65, "first": "2025-11-29", "latest": "2026-06-15", "why": "Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 1, "compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": false, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/westurner/firmware", "official_url": "https://github.com/westurner/firmware", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Meshtastic"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 769016256, "item_id": 48063516, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48063516", "by": "yardie", "date": "2026-05-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using Meshtastic for years.", "excerpt": "I've been using Meshtastic for years. Still have a few Heltec v2 nodes running. It's been a lot of fun. It also encouraged me to get my HAM license since most of the local meshtastic/meshcore users are also in the radio clubs. It reminds me of the early internet. In the early 90s the entire list of URLs could fill a notebook. And it was my first exposure to P2P nets. Meshtastic is a bit like that where it doesn't wor", "context": "ham radio licensee", "use_case": "off-grid mesh messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Meshtastic"}, {"id": 765250848, "item_id": 47828178, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47828178", "by": "culi", "date": "2026-04-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that", "excerpt": "> How I wish we could have a new generation of network engineers who just say \"fuck this shit\" and build their own internet. There are plenty of anarchists and disaster aid groups interested in building a more decentralized alternative to the internet. Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that Then there's also stuff like Dave Ackley's robust-first computing that's looking towards a comple", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "The world in which IPv6 was a good design"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 776791296, "item_id": 48549456, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48549456", "by": "subscribed", "date": "2026-06-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Meshtastic / meshcore at this point look like a dead end of the development.", "excerpt": "Meshtastic / meshcore at this point look like a dead end of the development. Take a look at HaLow if you insist, but in general if a bulb has esp32 then you could likely replace the module for one with LoRA capabilities.", "context": "", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb"}]}], "who": [{"by": "westurner", "context": "built a rudimentary SDL-based simulator for InkHUD", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50142486", "date": "2026-10-18"}, {"by": "yardie", "context": "ham radio licensee", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48063516", "date": "2026-05-08"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["off-grid mesh messaging", "epaper gui development simulator", "esp32 eink display firmware", "mesh networking", "decentralized networking", "off-grid messaging"], "compared": [{"slug": "meshcore", "name": "MeshCore", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "reticulum", "name": "Reticulum", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 788201552, "item_id": 49262597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49262597", "by": "westurner", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "weather in embedded C++ (for an ESP32-S3   with an ePaper screen and InkHUD and other devices supported by Meshtastic)", "excerpt": "Here's weather in embedded C++ (for an ESP32-S3 with an ePaper screen and InkHUD and other devices supported by Meshtastic), from 3 weeks ago: meshtastic/firmware//src/modules/weather/NWSWeatherProvider.cpp at add_weather_http_json_protobufs \u00b7 westurner/firmware: https://github.com/westurner/firmware/blob/add_weather_http_json_protobufs/src/modules/weather/NWSWeatherProvider.cpp The http://api.weather.gov HTTP API as", "context": "", "use_case": "weather module on ESP32", "switched_from": "", "story": "What's the most memory-efficient way to check the weather forecast?"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50131189", "title": "Show HN: Esp32sim \u2013 Run ESP32 firmware in the browser", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49262482", "title": "What's the most memory-efficient way to check the weather forecast?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49054107", "title": "An ESP32 based plane radar for my desk", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48547985", "title": "Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48061566", "title": "An Introduction to Meshtastic", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47821429", "title": "The world in which IPv6 was a good design", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"compare": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"warn": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 802279776, "item_id": 50142486, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50142486", "by": "westurner", "date": "2026-10-18", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "because Meshtastic compiles for x86, too", "excerpt": "One weekend, on a branch that isn't merged, I built a rudimentary SDL-based simulator for (InkHUD) ePaper GUI development that works on x86 without ESP32 emulation because Meshtastic compiles for x86, too. https://github.com/westurner/firmware/commits/add_weather_http_json_protobufs/ The SPI display driver that records screencasts to MAV (Mu Animation Video) format - just like a fax - might be useful. In another proj", "context": "built a rudimentary SDL-based simulator for InkHUD", "use_case": "ePaper GUI development simulator", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Esp32sim \u2013 Run ESP32 firmware in the browser"}, {"id": 784964944, "item_id": 49060309, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49060309", "by": "westurner", "date": "2026-07-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "to an ESP32-S3 with a 2\" eInk screen with Meshtastic InkHUD", "excerpt": "From https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43261684 : > Can any aircraft navigation system plot drone Remote ID beacons on a map? > How sensitive of a sensor array is necessary to trilaterate Remote ID signals and birds for aircraft collision avoidance? Could aircraft locate birds with CSI Channel State Information? > A Multispectral sensor array (standard) would probably be most robust. I started working on adding we", "context": "", "use_case": "ESP32 eInk display firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "An ESP32 based plane radar for my desk"}, {"id": 776791296, "item_id": 48549456, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48549456", "by": "subscribed", "date": "2026-06-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Meshtastic / meshcore at this point look like a dead end of the development.", "excerpt": "Meshtastic / meshcore at this point look like a dead end of the development. Take a look at HaLow if you insist, but in general if a bulb has esp32 then you could likely replace the module for one with LoRA capabilities.", "context": "", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb"}, {"id": 769016256, "item_id": 48063516, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48063516", "by": "yardie", "date": "2026-05-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using Meshtastic for years.", "excerpt": "I've been using Meshtastic for years. Still have a few Heltec v2 nodes running. It's been a lot of fun. It also encouraged me to get my HAM license since most of the local meshtastic/meshcore users are also in the radio clubs. It reminds me of the early internet. In the early 90s the entire list of URLs could fill a notebook. And it was my first exposure to P2P nets. Meshtastic is a bit like that where it doesn't wor", "context": "ham radio licensee", "use_case": "off-grid mesh messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Meshtastic"}, {"id": 765250848, "item_id": 47828178, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47828178", "by": "culi", "date": "2026-04-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that", "excerpt": "> How I wish we could have a new generation of network engineers who just say \"fuck this shit\" and build their own internet. There are plenty of anarchists and disaster aid groups interested in building a more decentralized alternative to the internet. Meshtastic, AnoNet, Reticulum, MeshCore, etc are all evidence of that Then there's also stuff like Dave Ackley's robust-first computing that's looking towards a comple", "context": "", "use_case": "decentralized networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "The world in which IPv6 was a good design"}, {"id": 752638227, "item_id": 47039889, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47039889", "by": "celsoazevedo", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "compare", "quote": "they're not very reliable for messaging (especially Meshtastic, Meshcore works better here in London", "excerpt": "For offline maps, I switched to CoMaps when they forked Organic Maps. Development seemed to be moving faster there. I still have Google Maps and Here Maps installed, both with offline maps of the areas I'm usually at or to where I'm travelling. Too much redundancy perhaps, but no service/data source is good everywhere and I have a lot of free space on my phone, so it's not a problem for me. For communications, I've b", "context": "", "use_case": "off-grid mesh messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "We Need Apocalypse-Proof Software"}, {"id": 737498288, "item_id": 46093643, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46093643", "by": "linsomniac", "date": "2025-11-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I love the idea of bringing an alternative to SMS to my area.", "excerpt": "For the last 2-3 years I've been \"this close\" to getting a few devices and setting up a repeater node on my home roof and my office roof, and one to play with... I love the idea of bringing an alternative to SMS to my area. But at the end of the day, is anyone actually using it for anything?", "context": "", "use_case": "off-grid messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Meshtastic"}]}