Open MeshChatX

Open MeshChatX from your application menu, or type this in a terminal and press Enter:

meshchat

Your web browser opens MeshChatX. The page comes from your own computer, and other computers cannot open it. MeshChatX keeps running in the background, so you can close the terminal.

To stop it: meshchat --stop.

What you will see

Under Favourites there is already a node the community runs. Click it to read its pages.

Other Reticulum devices on your local network appear within a few minutes. If there are none around, the lists stay empty, and that is normal.

MeshChatX also gives you an address that other people can use to message you, with a name you choose. That name goes out to everyone who can hear you, so do not use your real name, your town or a username you use elsewhere.

If you went online, Relay Chat already has the Permanet Chat hub, with the room lobby joined. Everyone in a room reads what you write there, and so does the hub.

MeshChatX can also make and take voice calls. Anyone who knows your address can call you. You can turn incoming calls off in MeshChatX’s settings.

Leave MeshChatX’s Interfaces page alone. Reticulum already has your connections. Anything you add there, and any “discovered” or suggested interface you switch on, can connect over the plain internet, which shows your internet address to strangers. See Going online.

Why some nodes say “Could not find path to destination”

MeshChatX remembers nodes it heard about earlier, including ones that were reachable when you were online. If you are offline, or that node is switched off, MeshChatX cannot find a route to it and shows this message. It is not a fault. Try again later, or go online to reach nodes beyond your local network.

Check that everything runs

In a terminal:

rnstatus

You should see Shared Instance with Status : Up, and AutoInterface with Status : Up. While MeshChatX is open, Serving shows 1 program.

Next

Going online, or Privacy to see what others can learn about you.