Choosing a client
More actions
Reticulum is a stack, not an application. Once it is running you need something that actually does something with it. This page is opinionated: it says what we would recommend, and why.
The short answer
Install MeshChatX. It bundles Reticulum, configures itself, runs on everything, and does messaging, files and voice. If you are new, stop reading and install that.
The rest of this page is for when you want something different, or something more.
The options
| Client | Runs on | Good for | Bundles Reticulum? |
|---|---|---|---|
| MeshChatX | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Everything, from a graphical app | Yes |
| Sideband | Android, Linux, macOS | Messaging on a phone, especially with a radio attached | Yes |
| Nomad Network | Anywhere Python runs | Terminal use, browsing and hosting pages | No — uses your config |
| Command line tools | Anywhere Python runs | Diagnosing, scripting, file transfer | No — ships with Reticulum |
MeshChatX
The most complete client, and the one under most active development. Messaging, file and image sharing, voice calls, pages, and an interface editor that means you never open a config file. Installers for Windows (installer and portable), macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux (deb, rpm, AppImage, Flatpak) and Android.
It is a fork of the original Reticulum MeshChat and has moved well ahead of it. If you find guides referring to plain “MeshChat”, the instructions usually still apply.
Sideband
Written by the author of Reticulum itself, so it tracks the stack closely. Best on Android, particularly if you have an RNode paired over Bluetooth — that combination gives you a genuinely off-grid messenger in your pocket, with no phone network involved at all.
Narrower than MeshChatX in scope: it is a messaging client rather than an everything client.
Nomad Network
A terminal application, and something slightly unusual: as well as messaging, it browses and hosts pages served entirely inside Reticulum, with no DNS, certificates or hosting provider involved. Our own node serves its pages this way.
Best on a machine you leave running. If you want to publish something to the mesh rather than only read it, this is the one. See Nomad Network for how to host.
The command line tools
These ship with Reticulum and are worth knowing even if you live in a graphical client, because they are how you find out what is actually happening.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
rnstatus
|
Shows every interface, whether it is up, and its traffic. The first thing to run when something is wrong. |
rnpath
|
Shows or requests the path to a destination. Answers “can I even reach this?” |
rnprobe
|
Sends a probe to a destination and reports the round trip. |
rncp
|
Copies files over Reticulum. |
rnx
|
Runs a command on a remote node you have access to. |
rnodeconf
|
Flashes and configures RNode hardware. |
Which should you actually use?
- New, on a laptop or phone — MeshChatX.
- Android with an RNode — Sideband.
- You want to publish pages to the mesh — Nomad Network, alongside whatever else you run.
- Running a node with no screen — the command line tools, and Nomad Network if you want it to serve something.
You can run several at once. They all talk to the same Reticulum instance, so there is no cost to having a graphical client for daily use and the tools available when something breaks.