Permanet Reticulum Network

Privacy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Your name on the network

MeshChatX and NomadNet send out short announcements so others can find you. Each one carries the name you chose. Anyone on the network can read that name, now and later, and you cannot take it back.

Pick a name that says nothing about you. Do not use your real name, your town, your job, or a username you use anywhere else. The same goes for the name of a NomadNet node and for anything you write on its pages.

Troubleshooting

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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:

Uninstall

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Remove the software

Open a terminal.
Type this and press Enter:
```
permanet-rns --uninstall
```

It stops Reticulum, MeshChatX and the installer’s i2pd, then removes everything the installer added: the software, the commands in ~/.local/bin, the background services, the app menu entry and i2pd’s data.

What stays

These folders stay, because they hold your identity and messages:

Folder	What is in it
`~/.reticulum`	Your Reticulum identity and settings
`~/.meshchat`	Your MeshChatX identity
`~/.meshchatx`	Your MeshChatX messages and settings
`~/.nomadnetwork`	Your NomadNet identity, if you used NomadNet

If you install again later, you keep the same identity and your old messages.

Client software

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What is included

The installer puts these on your computer, at the versions shown:

Software	Version	What it does	License
Reticulum	1.5.5	The network itself. `rnsd` runs in the background.	Reticulum License
LXMF	1.2.0	The message format that MeshChatX and NomadNet use.	Reticulum License
MeshChatX	4.10.7	Chat, chat rooms, calls and node browsing, in your web browser. Start here. Intel Macs get MeshChat 2.4.0 instead, which it is based on.	0BSD (its MeshChat parts: MIT)
NomadNet	1.4.4	Messaging and pages in a terminal. You can also host your own pages with it.	GPLv3

If you go online, the installer also adds i2pd, the I2P router, from your system’s software source. It is BSD-3-Clause licensed. An offline install does not include it.

Hardware

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

To get started

A Linux computer with a desktop, or a Mac, is all you need. Two computers on the same Wi-Fi or Ethernet network can already reach each other. A radio is optional.

LoRa radios

LoRa is a low-power radio that can carry small amounts of data a long way without any internet. Reticulum uses LoRa through an RNode, a small radio board running the RNode firmware. You plug it into your computer with a USB cable.

Flash an RNode

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

These steps turn a supported LoRa board into an RNode. They were tested on a Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4 on Linux, in Chrome. Flashing replaces the firmware that is on the board, such as MeshCore. Save anything you want to keep first.

Read Before you power on a radio first. Attach the antenna before you plug the board in.

Allow access to USB devices (Linux)

Your user needs permission to open USB serial devices. Do this once, with the group for your system:

FAQ

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

What is Reticulum?

Networking software that connects devices directly, over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, radio or the internet, with no central provider. Devices have addresses that belong to them, not to a place or an internet connection.

What is Permanet?

Permanet is an installer and guides that set up Reticulum and its apps for beginners, plus a community network to join. It is not made by the people who make Reticulum.

Resources

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These sites are run by other people. Opening them is a normal internet visit, and they see your internet address.

Reticulum

Apps

MeshChatX, and MeshChat, which it is based on
NomadNet
LXMF, the message format
Sideband, for Android and other systems
Columba, for Android

Radios

RNode Firmware
RNode Firmware Community Edition, where new board support is added
RNode Flasher, the project our flasher is based on

I2P

i2pd, the I2P router the installer uses
i2pd documentation
The I2P project

This project

Source code

Install on Linux

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On a Mac? See Install on macOS.

What you need

A Linux computer with a desktop (Arch, Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora families are the targets), and a normal user account. Do not use sudo or the root account to run the installer.
Python 3.8 or newer. Most systems have it already. If a piece of it is missing, the installer offers to install it for you and shows the exact command first.
An internet connection for the install only (it downloads the software once). Using the network afterwards does not need one.

Steps

Open a terminal. It is usually in your app menu under the name “Terminal”.
Copy this whole line, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter:
```
curl -fsSL https://codeberg.org/permanet/rns-installer/releases/download/v0.1.8/rns-installer-linux.sh | bash
```
This downloads the installer, checks that the download is complete and unchanged, and starts it. If it says curl is not found, see Troubleshooting.

Answer the questions. Press Enter to accept the answer shown in brackets.

Question	What to answer
Carry traffic for other people’s devices?	No for a laptop or a computer that is not always on. Yes only for a computer that stays on, which helps the network.
Go online now?	No is fine. You can switch later: see Going online.

The installer shows a plan of everything it will do. Read it. Type y and press Enter to go ahead, or n to stop.
It finishes by checking that Reticulum runs and prints its status. You should see a line with Status : Up and, after a few minutes, other devices listed under your local network.

Install on macOS

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

What you need

A Mac with macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer. Macs with Apple’s own chips (M1 and later) are tested. Macs with an Intel processor should work, but nobody has tried one yet.
Your normal account. Do not use sudo to run the installer.
An internet connection for the install only (it downloads the software once). Using the network afterwards does not need one.

Nothing else. The installer brings its own copy of Python, so it does not touch the one on your Mac.

First run

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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.

Going online

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Out of the box your computer only talks to Reticulum devices on your local network. Going online adds links to the wider community network over I2P, an anonymous network that runs on top of the internet. Other people on Reticulum can then reach you, but they cannot see your internet address, and you cannot see theirs.

You can switch back to offline at any time. Your identity, your messages and your other settings stay as they are.

Permanet Reticulum Network

Privacy

Your name on the network link

Troubleshooting

A command is “not found” link

The meshchat command does something else link

Uninstall

Remove the software link

What stays link

Client software

What is included link

Hardware

To get started link

LoRa radios link

Flash an RNode

Allow access to USB devices (Linux) link

FAQ

What is Reticulum? link

What is Permanet? link

Resources

Reticulum link

Apps link

Radios link

I2P link

This project link

Install on Linux

What you need link

Steps link

Install on macOS

What you need link

First run

Open MeshChatX link

What you will see link

Going online

Your name on the network

A command is “not found”

The `meshchat` command does something else

Remove the software

What stays

What is included

To get started

LoRa radios

Allow access to USB devices (Linux)

What is Reticulum?

What is Permanet?

Reticulum

Apps

Radios

I2P

This project

What you need

Steps

What you need

Open MeshChatX

What you will see