MeshFile - Reliable File Transfer Over Meshtastic Networks

MeshFile is a lightweight tool for transmitting files over long-range, low-power LoRa networks using Meshtastic devices. It compresses files, splits them into chunks. Missing chunks are automatically requested, making the system resilient to packet loss.

Features

• Reliable File Transfer – Ensures complete and accurate file delivery.

• Compression – Reduces file size before transmission with Zlib.

• Retransmission – Automatically requests missing chunks.

• Manual retransmission - Resend a part of the file to complete it

Hardware Requirements

• 2 x computers – One for sending, one for receiving.

• 2 x Meshtastic LoRa Devices (e.g., T-Beam, Heltec LoRa 32)

• Antennas – Properly tuned to the frequency of your region (433 MHz, 868 MHz, or 915 MHz).

• USB Cable – To connect the LoRa devices to the computer.

Software Requirements

• Linux

• Python 3

• Meshtastic Python Library

• zlib – For compression.

• HashLib

Setup

1. Install Required Packages

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-serial git
pip3 install meshtastic
pip3 install zlib
pip3 install hashlib

2. Connect Meshtastic Devices

1 Connect the LoRa device to each Raspberry Pi via USB.

2 Verify device detection:

ls /dev/ttyUSB*

3 Confirm connection:

python3 -m meshtastic --info

3. Clone MeshFile

git clone https://github.com/cotteux/MeshFile.git
cd meshfile

Sending a File

Sender (PC 1):

python3 sender.py <file.txt> '<destination>' <chunk to start(optionnal)>

Like This for simply send:

python3 sender.py bob.jpg '!75ce81b8'

or like This to resume with chunk 3 and after:

python3 sender.py bob.jpg '!75ce81b8' 3

• Compresses and sends the file in chunks.

• Hash is transmitted for verification at the end. Receiver (PC 2): Receiving a File (Continuous Listening)

nohup python3 receiver.py &

• Continuously listens for incoming files and reconstructs the file from received chunks.

• Verifies hash to ensure integrity.

License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

MeshFile - Reliable File Transfer Over Meshtastic Networks Copyright (C)