An independent development from Meshtastic LLC. focused on Privacy and Field Operators. Licensed under GPL-3.0.
Warning
DarkMesh is designed for FULL-OFFGRID usage only.
If you plan to use MQTT or control your node remotely via Wi-Fi, this project is not suitable for your use case.
Important
The Android application and the Darkmesh firmware are provided without any guarantee of operation or reliability, neither express nor implied. Use takes place under the user’s sole responsibility. The author of the software declines all responsibility for any violations of regulations, as well as for direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use, misuse, or inability to use the software. Use of the software entails the implicit acceptance of the conditions indicated above.
DarkMesh is an independent fork and autonomous development of the Meshtastic project,
focused on scheduled messaging and metadata forwarding to online mapping platforms (optional and disabled by default).
Designed for advanced users and field operators, DarkMesh introduces a range of
new features to enhance decentralized networking and node-to-node interaction
in tactical or remote scenarios.
Streams real-time telemetry from mesh nodes to a remote server
for display on a dynamic online map.
Ideal for tracking, live monitoring, or operational coordination.
A short setup guide is available here!
Plan and schedule private or group messages to be automatically
sent at specific times.
Useful for automations, time-based alerts, or mission coordination.
Send periodic beacons with customizable text payloads.
Beacons can be used for automatic identification, emergency status reporting,
or node discovery within the network.
It is possibile to visualize traceroutes on the application map. Forward route and Backward Route. It is also shown the total distance of the roundtrip.
You can configure your distress beacon by using short Plus Codes inside text messages, typically encoded in ~8–9 ASCII characters. This ensures a significantly smaller payload over the mesh, resulting in less airtime and higher reliability.
The database import/export feature has been introduced using a proprietary .dmdb file format. You can export the entire database or selectively export only nodes marked as favorites. This can be useful if you want to share your nodes with someone.
DarkMesh introduces message compression, reducing payload size (e.g. from ~30 to ~20 characters).
This results in lighter radio traffic, improved LoRa efficiency, and a higher probability of message delivery.
This feature is supported exclusively by the DarkMesh firmware.
DarkMesh offers enhanced network transparency with real-time user feedback.
The app displays toast notifications whenever:
- a message is retransmitted across the mesh, or
- a trace request targets your node.
This behavior provides full awareness of ongoing network events and
makes debugging or situational analysis far more intuitive.
This project is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
See the LICENSE file for details.
DarkMesh is based on the open-source Meshtastic ecosystem.
All credit for the base protocol, APIs, and firmware design goes to
the Meshtastic community and its contributors.
DarkMesh has grown over time and is now adopted by a wide range of users. Its evolution requires continuous maintenance, regular updates, and the development of new features (it is developed and maintained solely by me). Voluntary support helps sustain ongoing development and ensures the long-term continuity of the project.
DarkMesh — decentralized communication, refined for the field.