# liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat

A simple mesh network communications app powered by the Reticulum Network Stack.

Repository: https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/reticulum-meshchat
Homepage: https://meshchat.app
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: lora, lxmf, offgrid, reticulum, webchat, codec2, electron, encryption, mesh, mesh-networks, nomadnet, rnode, meshchat, p2p, ed25519, x25519, rns, radio, sideband
Last push: 2026-08-15T00:45:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 92, longevity 61
- inputs: {"age_days": 857, "days_push": 19, "days_rel": 58, "gap_med": 16, "n_releases_24m": 20}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1218, forks 134 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:01.545747+00:00)

## What it is
Reticulum MeshChat is an Electron-based mesh network communications app built on the Reticulum Network Stack. It lets users exchange encrypted messages, files, and audio calls over WiFi, Ethernet, the internet, or LoRa radio via RNode hardware, interoperating with other LXMF clients like Sideband and Nomadnet.

## Use cases
- chat over a mesh network without internet
- send encrypted messages over LoRa radio
- communicate off-grid with an RNode
- exchange files and voice messages with Sideband users
- browse Nomad Network micron pages
- run a self-hosted messaging relay over TCP
- message peers over a local network automatically

## When to choose
- you need encrypted off-grid messaging over LoRa or local networks
- you want an LXMF client compatible with Sideband and Nomadnet
- you need decentralized communication without centralized servers
- you want to browse Nomad Network nodes and download files over the mesh

## When to avoid
- you need mainstream chat with SMS or phone-number identity
- you require high-bandwidth media streaming over slow radio links
- you want a hosted turnkey service rather than managing Reticulum interfaces
- you need a mobile-first app (use Sideband instead)

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: cryptography, chat-interface, file-upload, audio-processing, networking, p2p
- domain: messaging-platforms, privacy, networking, self-hosted, censorship-circumvention
- platform: cross-platform, windows
- tags: reticulum, lora, lxmf, mesh-network, offgrid, rnode, radio, ed25519, x25519, nomadnet, sideband, codec2, desktop, electron, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.545747+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:17:04.376974+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/liamcottle/reticulum-meshchat (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.545747+00:00, sha 75312f8289f2)
  - homepage: https://meshchat.app (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:38.693224+00:00, sha 984b3b1d85e5)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.