LoRa Commands

CLI reference for GhostESP LoRa Meshtastic

All LoRa commands are under the lora prefix. Run lora help or help all for the live list.

Lifecycle

  • lora status — show radio state, region, frequency, modem settings, TX power, companion mode, and last error.
  • lora start — power Vext (Heltec), init SX1262, join LongFast channel, begin RX/TX.
  • lora stop — stop RX, deinit radio, release Vext if held.

Configuration

  • lora set region <code> — set the legal region, such as anz, us915, eu868, eu433, or jp. Persists to NVS.
  • lora set sf <5..12> — spreading factor. Higher SF = longer range, lower rate.
  • lora set bw <kHz> — bandwidth (125, 250, or 500). Must match peers.
  • lora set tx <dBm> — TX power, clamped to the region limit.
  • lora set owner <long> <short> — set the advertised node names. Keep the long name to 24 bytes and the short name to 4 bytes, then send NodeInfo again.
  • lora set companion <wifi|ble> — transport for the GhostESP companion app bridge.

Changes take effect on next lora start (or immediately if already running, where supported).

Messaging and nodes

  • lora chat <text> — broadcast a text message on the LongFast channel (default-key encrypted).
  • lora dm <node> <text> — send an authenticated PKI direct message. The peer key must already be known.
  • lora nodes — list known nodes: ID, short/long name, last heard, SNR/RSSI, hops.
  • lora nodeinfo [node] — advertise our name/key and request a NodeInfo reply. Use this after either node is wiped.
  • lora pkinfo <node> — show the stored peer key and our key. The command is pkinfo, without a space.
  • lora diag — IRQ counters, TX queue, app FIFO, and last RX metadata.
  • lora cad — run five channel-activity trials with instantaneous RSSI.
  • lora reg <hex-address> [count] — read one to eight consecutive SX1262 registers after a successful start; for example, lora reg 0740 2 should report the SX1262-encoded Meshtastic sync word 24 B4.

lora pubkey, lora pkselftest, lora pkitest, lora pktry, and lora pki-regen are diagnostic commands. Avoid pki-regen during normal troubleshooting because it replaces the identity key that peers have stored.

BLE bridge

  • lora ble on — start the Meshtastic BLE GATT service (Ghost-XXXX adv).
  • lora ble off — stop the BLE service and advertising.
  • lora ble status — show BLE link state, MTU, connected phone, and nonce sync.

Companion and setup

  • lora app — print companion app pairing hint (advertised name + channel hash).
  • lora companion wifi — bridge mesh to companion app over Wi-Fi (keeps BLE free for scans).
  • lora companion ble — bridge over BLE (shares radio; prefer wifi when scanning).
  • lora setup — interactive wizard: region → channel → companion transport → start.

See Getting Started for first-run order and BLE App Link for phone pairing.