{"slug": "reticulum", "name": "Reticulum", "category": "networking", "category_name": "Networking and VPN", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 9, "warners": 0, "score": 4.814, "rising": 0.02, "first": "2026-01-19", "latest": "2026-10-26", "why": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 3, "compare": 2, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already.", "icon": false, "domain": "reticulum.network", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://reticulum.network", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Reticulum"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 803760080, "item_id": 50235005, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235005", "by": "netbioserror", "date": "2026-10-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Reticulum. Encryption-required mesh-routing alternative to the IP stack.", "excerpt": "Reticulum. Encryption-required mesh-routing alternative to the IP stack. Can route over just about any medium (piggyback IP, Lora, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, microwave P2P, anything). Also future-proofed with support for high-bandwidth persistent connections.", "context": "", "use_case": "censorship-resistant mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I refuse to accept a censored Internet. Join Me at FOSDEM 27"}, {"id": 766070272, "item_id": 47879392, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47879392", "by": "lukeasch21", "date": "2026-04-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already.", "excerpt": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already. I believe the base project might be in need of new maintainers(?) at the moment and the main dev has some very strong takes, but it is a very well-thought out approach to distributed networking at the protocol layer. The existing implementations out there include a desktop app which can function over the internet (IP", "context": "", "use_case": "distributed mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "MeshCore development team splits over trademark dispute and AI-generated code"}, {"id": 765250849, "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": 746984480, "item_id": 46686530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686530", "by": "405nm", "date": "2026-01-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it hit version 1.0.0 this summer and it works!", "excerpt": "it hit version 1.0.0 this summer and it works! to get started easily, check out meshchat: https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat or sideband on android: https://github.com/markqvist/Sideband you can already send photos and voice chat over lora, and when lora runs out of bandwidth or if there\u2019s no link, the protocol can seamlessly go over any other link type.", "context": "", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reticulum, a secure and anonymous mesh networking stack"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "tingletech", "context": "plays with LoRa radios", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50246175", "date": "2026-10-26"}, {"by": "markik", "context": "independent Rust developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49213502", "date": "2026-08-07"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["mesh networking", "lora networking", "censorship-resistant mesh networking", "connecting to a pi remotely", "texting friends", "distributed mesh networking"], "compared": [{"slug": "meshcore", "name": "MeshCore", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "tailscale", "name": "Tailscale", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "meshtastic", "name": "Meshtastic", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686273", "title": "Reticulum, a secure and anonymous mesh networking stack", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244583", "title": "Partyline: A group voice application for Reticulum, built on LXST", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50233929", "title": "I refuse to accept a censored Internet. Join Me at FOSDEM 27", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49325061", "title": "Reticulum \u2013 Decentralized Mesh Network", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49156682", "title": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2026)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48299638", "title": "I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803938800, "item_id": 50246175, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50246175", "by": "tingletech", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been playing with LoRa radios and planning to take a look at it.", "excerpt": "It's very interesting, I've been playing with LoRa radios and planning to take a look at it. It has rather esoteric licensing however. LXST and the sideband chat client are CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 but the main repo looks like a BSD, but with custom clauses: \"\"\" - The Software shall not be used in any kind of system which includes amongst its functions the ability to purposefully do harm to human beings. - The Software shall ", "context": "plays with LoRa radios", "use_case": "LoRa networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Partyline: A group voice application for Reticulum, built on LXST"}, {"id": 803760080, "item_id": 50235005, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235005", "by": "netbioserror", "date": "2026-10-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Reticulum. Encryption-required mesh-routing alternative to the IP stack.", "excerpt": "Reticulum. Encryption-required mesh-routing alternative to the IP stack. Can route over just about any medium (piggyback IP, Lora, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, microwave P2P, anything). Also future-proofed with support for high-bandwidth persistent connections.", "context": "", "use_case": "censorship-resistant mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I refuse to accept a censored Internet. Join Me at FOSDEM 27"}, {"id": 789233184, "item_id": 49327074, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49327074", "by": "Garlef", "date": "2026-08-16", "stance": "compare", "quote": "\"open, distributed alternative to tailscale\"", "excerpt": "> Anyone here on reticulum? Is that even the right question? I only read the intro message but the framing I arrived/guessed at was: \"open, distributed alternative to tailscale\" So I think my first usecase would be to use this instead of tailscale to connect to my Pi?", "context": "", "use_case": "connecting to a Pi remotely", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reticulum \u2013 Decentralized Mesh Network"}, {"id": 787416033, "item_id": 49213502, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49213502", "by": "markik", "date": "2026-08-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "verified live against successive versions of the Python reference (RNS 1.3.8, 1.4.0, 1.4.2)", "excerpt": "Location: Kentucky, USA Remote: Yes Willing to relocate: Yes Technologies: Rust (systems, async, no_std embedded), wgpu, nRF52/ESP32 firmware, LoRa mesh (Reticulum), P2P protocols R\u00e9sum\u00e9: merelyllc.com or linkedin.com/in/markik Email: mark@merelyllc.com Independent Rust developer, one-man Kentucky LLC. Current work, all public at https://github.com/merely-made: \u2022 Retinue: a wire-compatible Rust implementation of the ", "context": "independent Rust developer", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2026)"}, {"id": 772864865, "item_id": 48304054, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48304054", "by": "smlacy", "date": "2026-05-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "something like reticulum will be ok", "excerpt": "IMHO this article misses a couple really important points. First, if the mesh can use Internet or other transports then it will, and it will be built out in a way where these become a necessity. If all you want is a silly new way to text your friends, then something like reticulum will be ok. But if you want a serious solution for emergency response and free communication -- free as in \"no one can stop me or control ", "context": "", "use_case": "texting friends", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm Getting into Mesh Networks (Meshtastic, MeshCore, and Reticulum)"}, {"id": 766070272, "item_id": 47879392, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47879392", "by": "lukeasch21", "date": "2026-04-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already.", "excerpt": "I would absolutely encourage everyone reading this to check out Reticulum [1] if you haven't already. I believe the base project might be in need of new maintainers(?) at the moment and the main dev has some very strong takes, but it is a very well-thought out approach to distributed networking at the protocol layer. The existing implementations out there include a desktop app which can function over the internet (IP", "context": "", "use_case": "distributed mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "MeshCore development team splits over trademark dispute and AI-generated code"}, {"id": 765250849, "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": 747026721, "item_id": 46689170, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46689170", "by": "pona-a", "date": "2026-01-20", "stance": "compare", "quote": "How does Reticulum differ?", "excerpt": "Surprised to see nobody mentioned Yggdrasil [0]. It's a routing protocol with cryptographic, non-topologic addresses, which could be used on top of TCP/IP or any alternative stack, like LoRA. I've been using it as a Tailscale replacement for a few weeks, including hosting game servers, with about equivalent latency, and it seemed pretty stable. How does Reticulum differ? [0] https://yggdrasil-network.github.io/", "context": "", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reticulum, a secure and anonymous mesh networking stack"}, {"id": 746984480, "item_id": 46686530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46686530", "by": "405nm", "date": "2026-01-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it hit version 1.0.0 this summer and it works!", "excerpt": "it hit version 1.0.0 this summer and it works! to get started easily, check out meshchat: https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat or sideband on android: https://github.com/markqvist/Sideband you can already send photos and voice chat over lora, and when lora runs out of bandwidth or if there\u2019s no link, the protocol can seamlessly go over any other link type.", "context": "", "use_case": "mesh networking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reticulum, a secure and anonymous mesh networking stack"}]}