meshcore-bot/docs/configuration.md

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

Logging and log rotation

• Startup (config.ini): Under [Logging], log_file, log_max_bytes, and log_backup_count are read when the bot starts. They control the initial RotatingFileHandler for the bot log file (see config.ini.example).

• Live changes (web viewer): The Config tab can store maint.log_max_bytes and maint.log_backup_count in the database (bot_metadata). The scheduler’s maintenance loop applies those values to the existing rotating file handler without restarting the bot—but only after you save rotation settings from the web UI (which writes the metadata keys). Editing config.ini alone does not update bot_metadata, so hot-apply will not see a change until you save from the viewer (or set the keys another way).

If you rely on config-file-only workflows, restart the bot after changing [Logging] rotation options.

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 (code fallback); 7 in the shipped config templates. The bot will ignore messages that have traveled more than this number of hops. A value at or below 10 is recommended — in most meshes, anything higher is almost never an intentional message meant to trigger this bot, so lowering it keeps the bot from amplifying long flood traffic (#161).
• outgoing_flood_scope_override – Optional. Overrides the scope the bot uses for all outbound channel message sends. When not set (default), the bot automatically mirrors the scope of each incoming TC_FLOOD message: a reply to a #west-scoped message is sent with #west scope, and a reply to a plain (unscoped) FLOOD message is sent as classic global flood. When set to a region name like #west, the bot always uses that fixed scope for every outbound send, ignoring the incoming message's scope.
• flood_scopes – Optional. Comma-separated list of named scopes the bot will accept and reply to. When set, this acts as an allowlist: only TC_FLOOD messages matching one of these scopes receive a reply, and the reply is sent using the same scope as the incoming message (auto-mirror). Regular (unscoped) FLOOD messages are blocked unless * is included in the list. Leave empty or omit to accept all messages regardless of scope.

outgoing_flood_scope_override vs flood_scopes

These two options are independent and serve different purposes:

Option	Controls
outgoing_flood_scope_override	What scope the bot sends replies with (fixed outbound override; omit for auto-mirror)
flood_scopes	Which incoming scopes the bot accepts (allowlist + per-message scope mirroring)

Example — auto-mirror incoming scope (default, no override needed):

flood_scopes = #west, #east

Only TC_FLOOD messages scoped to #west or #east receive a reply; unscoped FLOOD is silently ignored. Replies automatically use the same scope as the incoming message (#west → reply with #west, etc.).

Example — accept specific regions plus unscoped FLOOD:

flood_scopes = #west, #east, *

Same as above, but * opts in to also accepting regular (unscoped) FLOOD messages.

Example — fixed outbound scope regardless of incoming scope:

outgoing_flood_scope_override = #west

The bot always sends replies using the #west scope. All incoming messages (scoped or not) are accepted.

Example — fixed outbound scope, restricted to a matching inbound scope:

outgoing_flood_scope_override = #west
flood_scopes                  = #west

Public channel guard

The bot refuses to start if monitor_channels includes the Public channel, unless an explicit override key is set in [Bot]. This prevents accidental bot deployments on the shared channel that is visible to all mesh users by default.

If you genuinely intend to run the bot on Public, add to [Bot]:

i_understand_that_running_the_bot_on_the_public_channel_is_potentially_disruptive_to_other_users_enjoyment_of_the_mesh_and_i_would_like_to_do_it_anyway = true

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.
• [Cmd_Command] – cmd behavior. Set cmd_reference_url to return Full command reference: <url> instead of the generated compact command list.
• [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.
• [RandomLine] – Trigger-based random-line responses via triggers.<key>, file.<key>, optional prefix.<key>, optional channel restriction (channel.<key>/channels.<key>), and optional website category override (category.<key>). Website command reference groups RandomLine entries under Fun Commands by default unless category.<key> is set.

Common per-command options (when supported by that command):

• channels – Restrict where that command runs in channels:
  • Omit key: follow global [Channels] monitor_channels
  • Empty (channels =): DM-only
  • Comma list: only those channels
• aliases – Extra trigger words for that command, comma-separated stems only (e.g. aliases = weather, w). Do not put the bot's command_prefix or punctuation in this value (no ! or .)

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.