Noshtastic operates as a standalone Nostr network, designed to function independently of internet-based Nostr relays. Unlike other setups that rely on gatewaying nostr events to and from internet-connected relays, Noshtastic focuses on creating a decentralized and fully self-sufficient communication network using only Meshtastic devices. This ensures reliable message synchronization even in environments without internet connectivity.
flowchart TD
CLIENT["`**Any Nostr Client**`"]
style CLIENT fill:#8fbc8f,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#000
RELAY["`**noshtastic-relay**
localhost nostr relay`"]
style RELAY fill:#6c757d,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
NOSTRDB@{ shape: lin-cyl, label: "nostrdb" }
style NOSTRDB fill:#DAA520,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
SYNC["`**noshtastic-sync**
(modified negentropy)`"]
style SYNC fill:#6c757d,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
LINK["`**noshtastic-link**
(encoding, fragmentation)`"]
style LINK fill:#6c757d,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
MESH["`meshtastic
radio`"]
style MESH fill:#4682B4,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
LORA(("`LoRa`"))
style LORA fill:#4682B4,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
PEER0["`Peer
Noshtastic
Node`"]
style PEER0 fill:#4682B4,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
PEER1["`Peer
Noshtastic
Node`"]
style PEER1 fill:#4682B4,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
PEER2["`Peer
Noshtastic
Node`"]
style PEER2 fill:#4682B4,stroke:#666,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
CLIENT<-->|wss|RELAY
subgraph **Phone App**
RELAY<-->|api|NOSTRDB
NOSTRDB<-->|api|SYNC
SYNC<-->|api|LINK
end
LINK<-->|ble,usb|MESH
MESH<-->LORA
LORA<-.->PEER0
LORA<-.->PEER1
LORA<-.->PEER2
Noshtastic uses negentropy-based synchronization configured using geohash-specified regions. A geohash location tag is added to events intended for Noshtastic distribution:
...
{
"tags": [
...
["nosh", "9q9p1dtf1"],
...
],
}
...
Noshtastic relays are configured to synchronize messages for specific
regions. For example a noshtastic relay might cover 9q[bc89]
(the region including 9qb, 9qc, 9q8, and 9q9).
Image source: Geohash Explorer by Chris Hewett
Check out the Noshtastic Blog
On Debian (and Ubuntu):
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential clang curl git make
sudo apt install -y pkg-config libssl-dev libudev-dev libdbus-1-dev
sudo apt install -y protobuf-compiler libprotobuf-dev libprotobuf-c-dev protobuf-c-compiler
sudo apt install -y openjdk-17-jdk unzip wget sdkmanager
On Fedora:
sudo dnf update
sudo dnf groupinstall -y "C Development Tools and Libraries" "Development Tools"
sudo dnf install -y clang curl git pkg-config openssl-devel systemd-devel
sudo dnf install -y protobuf protobuf-c protobuf-compiler protobuf-devel
sudo dnf install -y java-17-openjdk-devel
If you don't have rust installed:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.3 https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
rustup update
rustup component add clippy rustfmt
rustup target install aarch64-linux-android
cargo install cargo-ndk
If you don't have Android Studio and Android NDK installed:
sudo snap install android-studio --classic
export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=$ANDROID_HOME
export ANDROID_NDK_HOME=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/25.2.9519653
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools/bin
mkdir -p $ANDROID_HOME
yes | sdkmanager --licenses
sdkmanager "platform-tools" "platforms;android-33" "ndk;25.2.9519653"
Setup env variables in your startup script ...
cat << 'EOF' >> ~/.bashrc
# Android SDK/NDK setup
export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="$HOME/Android/Sdk"
export ANDROID_HOME="$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT"
export ANDROID_NDK_HOME="$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/ndk/25.2.9519653"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/tools/bin:$ANDROID_SDK_ROOT/platform-tools:$ANDROID_NDK_HOME:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/build-tools/selected"
EOF
... then source ~/.bashrc
Verify:
adb --version
ndk-build --version
echo $ANDROID_HOME $ANDROID_NDK_HOME
make cli
Connect an android phone via USB to the build computer and:
git submodule update --init
make android