Node-RED Meshtastic messages node

This node allows sending and receiving packets to a Meshtastic mesh network thru a device connected via HTTP(S) or serial. It is based on Meshtastic Web library.

Features

• Send and receive text messages to/from any device in the mesh
• Supervise/monitor device status
• Subscribe and receive all types of events supported by Meshtastic Web (examples: Atak, Position, Range Test, Map Report, Store and Forward, etc...)
• Send packets to any Meshtastic APP (port num)
• Plug and Play: no additional servers, no containers, no CLI, no binary files
• Indirect support to MQTT via uplink/downlink channels
• Supported connection modes: HTTP, HTTPS (TLS) and Serial
• Can connect to multiple Meshtastic devices simultaneously

Limitations

• Connect directly to MQTT server: this is not supported by Meshtastic Web
• Connect to a device via Bluetooth: Not supported by Meshtastic Web

Automatic installation (recommended)

From Node-RED palette manager, search for the package @danpeig/node-red-meshtastic-msg in the community library or NPM.

Manual installation

1. Place the project files inside a folder called node-red-meshtastic-msg inside the Node-RED base directory (where the settings.js file is located)
2. Run npm install ./node-red-meshtastic-msg

To uninstall, run npm remove @danpeig/node-red-meshtastic-msg from the same base directory.

Known issues and troubleshooting

• Device is connecting and can send messages but not receive: This is on the device end, probably overload.
  • Try increasing the fetch interval
  • Connect directly to the IP address instead of hostname
  • Double check if the there are no other clients connected to it (phone app, CLI)
  • Disable TLS
  • Disble MQTT
  • Disable any other features that can take processor time or RAM: GPS, bluetooth, displays, modules, etc...
  • Connect using the serial port
• Node-RED crashing after an update: This can happen if the update alters the structure of the device configuration node. Find the connection node in your flows.json and delete it. After restarting Node-RED you will be able to create a new device configuration node.
• Node-RED error message TypeError: fetch failed: The host name or IP address cannot be reached from Node-RED server. This is caused by network connectivity problems. There is a Node test script in this project folder to help diagnosing the problem: test_connection.mjs.
• Permission to access serial devices: The linux user running Node-RED must be part of the dialout group sudo usermod -a -G dialout USER_NAME

Examples

An example flow with the acceptable input message formats can be found in the examples sub-directory.

BONUS for developers - Meshtastic Web fundamentals boilerplate

The fundamentals_meshtastic_web.mjs illustrates how to use Meshtastic Web library from plain NodeJS Javascript (No TypeScript, no React, no compilation, no nothing).

License

This node was created by Daniel BP and is available under the MIT license.

Version history

• 3.1 (11/11/2025)
  • Trace and error messages now use Node-RED implementation (trace messages require special configuration in Node-RED settings.js)
  • Added status indicators for all nodes
  • Improved the status node with textual output and extra status levels
  • Updated example: error catch and status node
  • Bug fix: all errors should be handled by the nodes preventing Node-RED crashes
  • Improved Mesthastic Web fundamentals boilerplate
• 3.0 (06/11/2025)
  • Meshtastic Web library version 2.6.7
  • Tested/validated with the following versions of the device firmware: 2.6.11
  • Added support for serial connections
  • Fixed connection issues when more than one Meshtastic device is used at the same time
  • Renamed and updated the Meshtastic Web fundamentals example, fundamentals_meshtastic_web.mjs (bonus for developers)
  • Updated README and instructions
• 2.0 (02/11/2025)
  • Migrated from the deprecated Meshtastic.js to the all new Meshtastic Web library
  • Meshtastic Web library version 2.6.7
  • New log level setting in the device connection configuration
  • Custom .npmrcis no longer required
  • Tested/validated with the following versions of the device firmware: 2.6.11
  • Renamed example file
  • Improved error handling and debug messages
  • Improved the experiments_meshtastic.js
  • Handlers for the following events: onAtakPacket, onDeviceMetadataPacket, onCannedMessageModulePacket, onAudioPacket, onAtakPluginPacket, onAtakForwarderPacket, onClientNotificationPacket
  • Updated the instructions
• 1.7 (18/05/2025)
  • Updated @meshtastic/js version to 2.6.0-0: this should fix some loop and HTTP connection errors.
  • Updated README.md based on user frequent questions.
  • Tested/validated with the following versions of the device firmware: 2.5.18 and 2.6.4.
  • Tested/validated with the following version of Node-RED: 4.0.9 (docker)
• 1.6 (27/01/2025)
  • Updated @meshtastic/js version to 2.5.9-3: this should fix some loop and HTTP connection errors.
  • Updated README.md based on user frequent questions.
  • Tested/validated with the following version of the device firmware: 2.5.18.9.
  • Tested/validated with the following version of Node-RED: 4.0.8 (docker)
• 1.5 (13/11/2024)
  • Updated @meshtastic/js version to 2.5.9-2. This should fix protobuf decoding errors with the latest device firmware.
  • Tested/validated with the following version of the device firmware: 2.5.11.
• 1.4 (21/09/2024)
  • Updated dependency versions
• 1.3 (30/07/2024)
  • Added Meshtastic.js log node
• 1.2 (29/07/2024)
  • Improved documentation
  • Meshtastic visual identity
  • Improved NPM descriptions
• 1.1 (28/07/2024)
  • Fixed path to the Meshtastic library when installed from NPM
• 1.0 (28/07/2024)
  • Initial release

Node reference guide

This information can also be found in the specific node help pages, directly from Node-RED interface.

Send text node

Send a text message to the mesh connected device

Input

• msg.payload (string) : the text message to be sent to the network
• [msg.channel] (integer): the Meshtastic channel number. Defaults to 0 (primary)
• [msg.destination] (integer): the destination node number, broadcast or self. Defaults broadcast
• [msg.wantAck] (boolean): if the receiving devices should acknowldege receipt. Defaults to true

[] = optional fields

Receive text node

Receive a text message from the mesh connected device

Outputs

• msg (json) : object with all package properties
• msg.payload (string): text content of the message

Receive status node

Receive the status code and connection status of the Meshtastic device

Outputs

• msg (json): object with all status data
• msg.payload(integer): status code of the device
• msg.text (text): status label

Status codes

• 0: idle
• 1: restarting
• 2: disconnected
• 3: connecting
• 4: reconnecting
• 5: connected
• 6: configuring
• 7: configured
• 8: error

Receive event node

This node will watch for the defined event and output the payload received. Typically, the output should be a JSON field but there are some events that report numbers or simple strings. Events are defined in the eventSystem.ts file from Meshtastic Web.

Settings

• event (string): select the event to monitor/watch

Outputs

• msg (json): data from the event

Send packet node

Send a packet to the mesh connected device. Input packet can be either in the string format (msg.payload) or Uint8Array (msg.byteData) format.

Input

• msg.payload (string): Will be converted to Uint8Array and used if byteData field is not set
• [msg.byteData] (json) : Data properly encoded as Uint8Array. If set, will be used instead of payload. Example [72, 101, 108, 108, 111, 32, 119, 111, 114, 108, 100, 33]
• [msg.portNum] (integer): Application number. Defaults to 1 (text messsage app).
• [msg.destination] (integer string): Destination node number, broadcast or self. Detaults to broadcast
• [msg.channel] (integer): Channel number, defaults to 0 (primary channel)
• [msg.wantAck] (boolean): Confirmation, defaults to true
• [msg.wantResponse] (boolean): Defaults to false
• [msg.echoResponse] (boolean): Defaults to false
• [msg.replyId] (integer): Defaults to null
• [msg.emoji] (integer): Defaults to null

[] = optional fields

Receive Meshtastic.js log node

Output the log from Meshtastic Web library. Usefull for debug purposes and connection status info. The log level can be set in the device configuration node. Note: This is not Node-RED log neither the Lora device log, it the the log of the library that does the bridge between the device and the server.

Outputs

• msg (json) : object with all log message properties
• msg.payload (string): text content of the log entry (fields [0] and [1] concatenated)

Device configuration node

This will setup the connection to the Meshtastic node. The connection protocol can be HTTP, HTTPS or Serial. Bluetooth or MQTT are not supported yet.

Options

• Connection mode: Select the type of the connection. Default is http.
• IP, hostname or device (string) : IP address, hostname or device of the Meshtastic radio to connect. Examples: 192.168.0.15, meshtastic.local, /dev/ttyUSB0
• Fetch interval (integer): Interval between polling data from the device. Default is 5000ms.
• Log level (integer): Default is 3. Recommended for production is 5

Log levels

• 0: everything
• 1: trace
• 2: debug
• 3: info
• 4: warn
• 5: error
• 6: fatal