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Chris Barker 8966be89a6 Adds max_response_hops

Before this there was no way to prevent the bot to reply to random
channel noise from a temprorary strong link to another distant mesh.

This provides the ability for users in larger meshes to cap the bot
to reply to only messages sent likely from nearby repeaters. This works
well in conjunction with region scoping.

Default value is still 64, to not change behavior on existing installs,
but the example config.ini's all include a suggested start valu of 10.

2026-03-30 15:11:05 +01:00

5.2 KiB

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Configuration

The bot is configured via config.ini in the project root (or the path given with --config). This page describes how configuration is organized and where to find command-specific options.

config.ini structure

Sections are named in square brackets, e.g. [Bot], [Connection], [Path_Command].
Options are key = value (or key=value). Comments start with # or ;.
Paths can be relative (to the directory containing the config file) or absolute. For Docker, use absolute paths under /data/ (see Docker deployment).

The main sections include:

Section	Purpose
`[Bot]`	Bot name, database path, response toggles, command prefix
`[Connection]`	Serial, BLE, or TCP connection to the MeshCore device
`[Channels]`	Channels to monitor, DM behavior, optional channel keyword whitelist
`[Admin_ACL]`	Admin public keys and admin-only commands
`[Keywords]`	Keyword → response pairs
`[Weather]`	Units and settings shared by `wx` / `gwx` and Weather Service
`[Logging]`	Log file path and level

Channels section

[Channels] controls where the bot responds:

monitor_channels – Comma-separated channel names. The bot only responds to messages on these channels (and in DMs if enabled).
respond_to_dms – If true, the bot responds to direct messages; if false, it ignores DMs.
channel_keywords – Optional. When set (comma-separated command/keyword names), only those triggers are answered in channels; DMs always get all triggers. Use this to reduce channel traffic by making heavy triggers (e.g. wx, satpass, joke) DM-only. Leave empty or omit to allow all triggers in monitored channels. Per-command channels = (empty) in a command’s section also forces that command to be DM-only; see config.ini.example for examples (e.g. [Joke_Command]).
max_response_hops - Default: 64. The bot will ignore messages that have traveled more than this number of hops. Suggested to set at 10 or below, since in most meshes that is not an intentional message meant to trigger this particular bot.

Command and feature sections

Many commands and features have their own section. Options there control whether the command is enabled and how it behaves.

Enabling and disabling commands

enabled – Common option to turn a command or plugin on or off. Example:
```
[Aurora_Command]
enabled = true
```
Commands without an enabled key are typically always available (subject to Admin_ACL for admin-only commands).

Command-specific sections

Examples of sections that configure specific commands or features:

[Path_Command] – Path decoding and repeater selection. See Path Command for all options.
[Prefix_Command] – Prefix lookup, prefix best, range limits.
[Weather] – Used by the wx / gwx commands and the Weather Service plugin (see Weather Service).
[Airplanes_Command] – Aircraft/ADS-B command (API URL, radius, limits).
[Aurora_Command] – Aurora command (default coordinates).
[Alert_Command] – Emergency alerts (agency IDs, etc.).
[Sports_Command] – Sports scores (teams, leagues).
[Joke_Command], [DadJoke_Command] – Joke sources and options.

Full reference: see config.ini.example in the repository for every section and option, with inline comments.

Data retention

Database tables (packet stream, stats, repeater data, mesh graph) are pruned automatically. Retention periods and defaults are described in Data retention. The bot’s scheduler runs cleanup daily even when the standalone web viewer is not running.

Path Command configuration

The Path command has many options (presets, proximity, graph validation, etc.). All are documented in:

Path Command – Presets, geographic and graph settings, and tuning.

Service plugin configuration

Service plugins (Discord Bridge, Packet Capture, Map Uploader, Weather Service) each have their own section and are documented under Service Plugins.

Config validation

Before starting the bot, you can validate section names and path writability. See Config validation for how to run validate_config.py or meshcore_bot.py --validate-config, and what is checked (required sections, typos like [WebViewer] → [Web_Viewer], and writable paths).

Reloading configuration

Some configuration can be reloaded without restarting the bot using the reload command (admin only). Radio/connection settings are not changed by reload; restart the bot for those.

Pausing channel responses (remote)

Admins can DM channelpause or channelresume (see [Admin_ACL] in config.ini) to stop or resume bot reactions on public channels only—greeter, keywords, and commands on channels are skipped; DMs still work. The setting is in memory only (back to responding on channels after restart). Scheduled channel posts from the scheduler are not blocked by this toggle.

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