Clients and apps

Overview

The firmware on your board decides which apps work with it. Meshtastic, MeshCore and Reticulum use different protocols, so a Meshtastic app cannot talk to a MeshCore node and vice versa. This page lists the clients we found documented for each, and how they connect to the radio. Flash your board first with Flash Meshtastic, Flash MeshCore or RNode and Reticulum setup.

If you do not own a radio yet, see Zero-hardware start.

How an app connects to the radio

A common workflow: pair a phone to the node over Bluetooth for daily messaging, and use a laptop over USB serial when you need to change settings or flash firmware.

Meshtastic

Meshtastic's documentation lists Android and Apple (iOS) apps, a web client, a Python command-line tool, and a site planner for range prediction.

• Phone apps (Android, iOS). Connect by Bluetooth. This is the normal client.
• Web client at client.meshtastic.org. It connects by HTTP (ESP32 only; the hosted version needs HTTPS, so you must trust the node's self-signed certificate), Bluetooth (Web Bluetooth, Chromium browsers) or USB serial (Web Serial, the least widely supported).
• Python CLI, also listed in the documentation.

The first thing to set on any new node is the region, EU_868 in the UK. See Flash Meshtastic.

MeshCore

• Web app at app.meshcore.nz, plus Android and iOS apps. Downloads are linked from files.liamcottle.net/MeshCore, per the MeshCore FAQ. Liam Cottle writes the client apps.
• Companion firmware decides how the app connects: the BLE companion for a phone, the USB serial companion for a computer, and a Wi-Fi companion option is described on GitHub.
• Configuration tool at config.meshcore.io.
• MeshOS is a UK vendor's software listed on meshcore.co.uk; we did not examine it, and the relationship between that site and the MeshCore project is unconfirmed.

Remember that MeshCore clients do not repeat; a phone app on its own only reaches radios it can hear. See Flash MeshCore.

Reticulum

Reticulum is a stack, not an app, so you choose a client. Several exist, from independent authors. Sideband, NomadNet and MeshChat use LXMF, Reticulum's messaging format, and are described as compatible with each other. Over LoRa, expect kilobits per second; see RNode and Reticulum setup.

Sideband

The Reticulum manual's Getting Started page, in its Android notes, says: "The easiest way to get started is using an app like Sideband". That is the manual's suggestion for Android, not a general recommendation for every platform. Sideband is by Mark Qvist (the author of Reticulum). It does LXMF messaging and LXST voice calls, telemetry, image and file transfer, audio messages and offline and online maps, on Android, Linux, Raspberry Pi, macOS and Windows. Its licence is CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (non-commercial).

Ratspeak

Ratspeak is a real, independent project: "a native desktop and mobile client for E2EE conversations over Reticulum", under AGPL-3.0-or-later, with a site at ratspeak.org. It targets macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. It offers messaging, offline messaging, shared channels, experimental voice and games, over LoRa, BLE, Wi-Fi and TCP, and its site names the T-Deck Plus, Cardputer Adv, T-Pager and ThinkNode M9 as hardware targets. The site says identities use a 12-word backup phrase.

We rate it as a promising modern client, but a few cautions apply:

• It is alpha. Its own repository says to expect bugs and quirks.
• It is not the official recommendation. Reticulum's manual suggests Sideband (for Android), and Ratspeak is not stated to be affiliated with Mark Qvist.
• iOS: the repository README now carries a banner linking an "iOS TestFlight Public Beta", although its platform paragraph still says iOS has no public download yet (checked 29 October 2026). Some desktop builds are unsigned.
• A third-party article describes a "Ratspeak community organization" with its own public node map and docs.

If you try it, do so alongside a more established client rather than instead of one.

NomadNet

NomadNet is a client from the same author as Reticulum, described as beta software. It offers encrypted messaging, distributed message storage, hosting of pages and files, a text-based browser, and an RRC chat client. Sideband's README names it as compatible.

Reticulum MeshChat

Reticulum MeshChat by Liam Cottle is MIT-licensed and does messaging, file sharing and audio calls. It is compatible with Sideband and NomadNet. It runs as an Electron app (Windows, Mac, Linux), in Docker, on a Raspberry Pi, on Android via Termux, or in a browser at localhost:8000.

Columba and Crosstalk

Both are described in a third-party article (hamradio.my), and we did not read their own repositories. Columba is an Android 12+ native app with LXMF messaging, voice calls and offline MBTiles maps under MPL 2.0, from Torlando Tech. Crosstalk is a desktop and single-board-computer "network workbench" under MIT, built on a MeshChat fork. Check each project's own page before relying on these details.

RMAP

RMAP is a Reticulum node auto-discovery map. Its "Copy Config" feature gives interface snippets for your Reticulum config, which gives you a way to connect over the internet. See also Find a local mesh.

Which should you pick

1. Just want to message nearby people: Meshtastic phone app, or MeshCore app, depending on what your local group uses (see Which mesh is right for you).
2. Want end-to-end encrypted messaging over Reticulum: start with Sideband, and try Ratspeak or MeshChat if you want something newer or desktop-first. See Privacy and encryption.
3. No radio yet: the Reticulum clients can use internet links; see Zero-hardware start.

Whatever you choose, an app on a phone is only as good as the node behind it. Place the antenna well (Antenna placement), and read What you can actually do for realistic expectations.