A command is “not found”

Open a new terminal window and try again. The installer may have added a line to your shell settings so the commands are found, and only new windows read it.

If that does not help, run the command with its full path, for example:

~/.local/bin/rnstatus

The meshchat command does something else

Another program, or a shortcut of your own, may use the same name. To see what runs when you type meshchat:

type -a meshchat

The installer’s copy is ~/.local/bin/meshchat. Run it with that full path, or open MeshChatX from the app menu.

“Another program is already running Reticulum”

The installer stops if MeshChatX, Sideband, NomadNet or another Reticulum program is already open, because the new settings would not take effect. The message names the program. Quit it, run the installer again, then open the program again afterwards.

“curl” is not found

Some systems do not come with curl. Install it, then paste the install command again:

SystemCommand
Debian, Ubuntusudo apt install curl
Fedorasudo dnf install curl
Archsudo pacman -S curl

“permanet-rns” is not found

Open a new terminal window. If that does not help, run ~/.local/bin/permanet-rns.

No other devices show up on my local network

Give it a few minutes. Then check these, one at a time:

  1. Both devices are on the same network. A phone on mobile data, or a computer on a guest Wi-Fi, cannot see devices on your home network.

  2. A VPN is off. Some VPNs block local network traffic.

  3. The firewall lets it through. If you use ufw, allow Reticulum’s local discovery with these three commands (they only allow traffic from your local network):

    sudo ufw allow proto udp from fe80::/10 to any port 29716
sudo ufw allow proto udp from fe80::/10 to any port 29717
sudo ufw allow proto udp from fe80::/10 to any port 42671

  4. Reticulum started after the network. If your Wi-Fi took a long time to connect, restart Reticulum. Close MeshChatX first, then start both again, in this order:

    meshchat --stop
systemctl --user restart rnsd
meshchat

MeshChatX says “Could not find path to destination”

MeshChatX remembers nodes it heard about earlier. If that node is switched off, or it is outside your local network and you are offline, there is no route to it right now. Try again later, or go online.

MeshChatX’s Interfaces page is empty

That’s normal. MeshChatX doesn’t connect to the network itself: it goes through Reticulum, which the installer set up and which holds your connections (your local network, and I2P if you went online). To see them, open Terminal and type rnstatus. To change how you connect, run the installer’s permanet-rns --online or permanet-rns --offline. Don’t add interfaces on MeshChatX’s Interfaces page: some of those connect over the plain internet, which shows your IP address to strangers.

rnstatus shows I2PInterfacePeer with Status : Down.

  1. Wait. The first time, it can take up to 10 minutes, sometimes longer.

  2. Check that i2pd runs:

    systemctl --user status permanet-rns-i2pd --no-pager

    You should see active (running). If not, start it:

    systemctl --user restart permanet-rns-i2pd

  3. Check that the computer can reach the internet at all, for example by opening a website.

MeshChatX says its port is in use

Something else already uses port 8000 on your computer, often a second copy of MeshChatX. Close it, then run meshchat again. To stop the background copy of MeshChatX: meshchat --stop.

Reticulum stops when I log out

This only matters on a computer that should stay on for the network. Let your user’s programs keep running after you log out:

sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

The installer offers this when you answer Yes to carrying traffic.

Where to find the logs

These show what Reticulum and MeshChatX did recently:

journalctl --user -u rnsd --no-pager | tail -30
journalctl --user -u meshchat --no-pager | tail -30

Logs can contain the addresses of nodes you talked to. Check what is in them before you share them with anyone.