MeshCore Mode

GhostESP runs MeshCore as an alternative to Meshtastic on the same radio. Use it when the people you talk to are on MeshCore. Only one protocol runs at a time.

MeshCore is an independent platform; GhostESP is an independent implementation and is not affiliated with the MeshCore project.

mesh switch meshcore       # stop Meshtastic, start MeshCore, remember the choice
meshcore status            # confirm it is running

You can also switch with the protocol toggle in the on-device app. The remembered choice is what mesh on and boot auto-start use.

First run

1. Name your node. This is what neighbours see:

meshcore set name Ghost

On the device it is MeshCore Settings → Node name.

2. Announce yourself. Contacts are learned from adverts:

meshcore advert            # zero-hop: neighbours only
meshcore advert flood      # flood: the whole mesh learns your name and key

3. Check your identity. MeshCore identifies nodes by public key, not a node number:

meshcore pubkey            # our key and one-byte node hash, e.g. !3A
meshcore contacts          # who has been heard

4. Talk

meshcore send hello                      # group message on channel 0
meshcore ch 3 hello                      # group message on another channel
meshcore dm GhostTwo hello               # direct message a contact
meshcore messages                        # show received messages

Direct messages are encrypted to the contact’s full key and tracked with an ACK. On the device a DM shows Sending → Delivered, or Failed with a tap-to-retry. When the CLI picks a contact, prefer the name from meshcore contacts. A one-byte !hex prefix still works, but it is ambiguous when several contacts share a first byte.

On the device

Open LoRa from the main menu. With the radio off, the first row starts the selected protocol.

• MeshCore Contacts lists known contacts; picking one opens the conversation.
• Conversations are kept per channel, so channel 0 and channel 3 stay separate.
• MeshCore Settings holds the radio toggle, node name, frequency, modem, TX power and the two advert buttons.
• On encoder boards, double-press on the status screen toggles the radio.

Heltec OLED page

Press PRG to cycle pages; the compact page is reachable whether the radio is running or not.

• Double-press PRG on that page to toggle the radio.
• Stopped, it shows MC OFF and PRESS 2X TO START.
• Running, it shows MESHCORE, frequency/SF, contacts/messages, TX/RX, app-link state and the last received message.

Start on boot

meshcore autostart on      # boot into MeshCore (also selects it as the boot protocol)
meshcore autostart off     # disable

Equivalent: lora autostart meshcore, mesh autostart meshcore.

Reference

The on-device page mirrors the settings: frequency, modem, TX power (tap to cycle) and the advert buttons. Changing frequency or modem re-tunes the radio in place. Every node in a group needs the same frequency, bandwidth, spreading factor and coding rate.

Companion app

meshcore ble on            # MeshCore app link (Nordic-UART-style GATT)
meshcore ble status        # link state and MTU

Only one protocol’s BLE service runs at a time, because one radio owns the SX1262.

If something is off

See First run for the Meshtastic path and Command reference for boot and switching.