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Version: 2.8

Meshtastic on OpenWrt Routers

Warning

Please submit any issues at meshtastic/openwrt, rather than the primary firmware project.

This page outlines the setup of Meshtastic on OpenWrt routers, utilizing the openwrt-repo.

Prerequisites and Hardware Compatibility​

Before proceeding with the setup, ensure the device meets the following requirements:

Tested Devices​

Hardware Compatibility​

  • >2MB free flash storage.
  • An unused USBUSB (Universal Serial Bus). The wired connection used to power a device, flash firmware onto it, and communicate with it over serial. port, or SPISPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). A bus used between the microcontroller and peripherals such as the LoRa radio and the display. interface.

Meshtastic OpenWrt packages are built for every CPU architecture supported by OpenWrt.

Supported OpenWrt versions​

  • SNAPSHOT (main)
  • 25.12 (stable)
  • 24.10 (oldstable)
  • 23.05 (legacy)
  • 22.03 (legacy)

Installation​

Installing Meshtasticd on OpenWrt​

OpenWrt 24.10 (stable)​

Connect to the router via SSH (ex: ssh root@192.168.1.1)

  1. Add the Meshtastic OpenWrt repository

  2. Install meshtasticd

opkg install meshtasticd
# Optional: install meshtasticd web interface
opkg install meshtasticd-web

meshtasticd can also be installed from the LuCI web interface, after the repo has been added.

OpenWrt SNAPSHOT​

Ensure your router is running the latest SNAPSHOT version of OpenWrt, or install it from https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/

Connect to the router via SSH (ex: ssh root@192.168.1.1)

  1. Add the Meshtastic OpenWrt repository

  2. Install meshtasticd

apk add meshtasticd
# Optional: install meshtasticd web interface
apk add meshtasticd-web

meshtasticd can also be installed from the LuCI web interface, after the repo has been added.

Configuration​

Meshtasticd Configuration​

See meshtasticd configuration

Persistence​

  • The persistent .proto db files of the portduino version of meshtasticd are stored under: /srv/meshtasticd/.portduino/default/prefs/.

Using meshtasticd​

Start/Stop​

Upon installing meshtasticd on your router, an init script is automatically created, and set to auto-start upon reboot.

The following commands can be used to control the meshtastic service:

/etc/init.d/meshtasticd status
/etc/init.d/meshtasticd start
/etc/init.d/meshtasticd stop
/etc/init.d/meshtasticd restart

View Logs​

meshtasticd logs are sent to OpenWrt syslog.

logread