A BBS server for Meshtastic for posting bulletins, sending mail to users, and channel directory.
This is the TC²-BBS system integrated with Meshtastic devices. The system allows for message handling, bulletin boards, mail systems, and a channel directory.
If you're a Docker user, TC²-BBS Meshtastic is available on Docker Hub!
Clone the repository:
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/TheCommsChannel/TC2-BBS-mesh.git
cd TC2-BBS-mesh
Set up a Python virtual environment:
python -m venv venv
Activate the virtual environment:
venv\Scripts\activate
source venv/bin/activate
Install the required packages:
pip install -r requirements.txt
Set up the configuration in config.ini
:
[interface]
If using type = serial
and you have multiple devices connected, you will need to uncomment the port =
line and enter the port of your device.
Linux Example:
port = /dev/ttyUSB0
Windows Example:
port = COM3
If using type = tcp you will need to uncomment the hostname = 192.168.x.x line and put in the IP address of your Meshtastic device.
[sync]
Enter a list of other BBS nodes you would like to sync messages and bulletins with. Separate each by comma and no spaces as shown in the example below.
You can find the nodeID in the menu under Radio Configuration > User
for each node, or use this script for getting nodedb data from a device:
Example Config:
[interface]
type = serial
# port = /dev/ttyUSB0
# hostname = 192.168.x.x
[sync]
bbs_nodes = !f53f4abc,!f3abc123
Run the server with:
python server.py
Be sure you've followed the Python virtual environment steps above and activated it before running.
If you would like to have the script automatically run at boot, follow the steps below:
Edit the service file
First, edit the mesh-bbs.service file using your preferred text editor. The 3 following lines in that file are what we need to edit:
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh
ExecStart=/home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/venv/bin/python3 /home/pi/TC2-BBS-mesh/server.py
The file is currently setup for a user named 'pi' and assumes that the TC2-BBS-mesh directory is located in the home directory (which it should be if the earlier directions were followed)
We just need to replace the 4 parts that have "pi" in those 3 lines with your username.
Configuring systemd
From the TC2-BBS-mesh directory, run the following commands:
sudo cp mesh-bbs.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl enable mesh-bbs.service
sudo systemctl start mesh-bbs.service
The service should be started now and should start anytime your device is powered on or rebooted. You can check the status ofk the service by running the following command:
sudo systemctl status mesh-bbs.service
If you need to stop the service, you can run the following:
sudo systemctl stop mesh-bbs.service
If you make changes to the watchlist.txt file, you will need to restart the service with the following command:
sudo systemctl restart mesh-bbs.service
You interact with the BBS by sending direct messages to the node that's connected to the system running the Python script. Sending any message to it will get a response with the main menu.
Make selections by sending messages based on the letter or number in brackets - Send M for [M]ail Menu for example.
A video of it in use is available on our YouTube channel:
Big thanks to Meshtastic and pdxlocations for the great Python examples:
python/examples at master · meshtastic/python (github.com)
pdxlocations/Meshtastic-Python-Examples (github.com)
GNU General Public License v3.0