FAQ

Short answers to common questions

Is this an official Meshtastic project?

No — Perch and Coop are an independent, Meshtastic-compatible community project (free binaries; the source is the author's). Meshtastic® is a registered trademark of Meshtastic LLC; the compatibility is exactly what their published client API exists for.

What does it cost?

Nothing. Free to use — signed, notarized builds with no accounts, no telemetry, and no cloud dependency. Your only spend is a radio (from ~$20).

Mac only?

The polished app is macOS today (signed bundle, Coop included). The engine and dashboard ship as static Linux and Windows binaries on the releases page too, and headless Linux capture boxes are a first-class setup.

Where does my data go?

A SQLite file in your Documents folder. That's the complete list. The optional MQTT observer receives from a community broker; whether your radio transmits to one is a radio setting you control.

Is my location visible?

Perch doesn't share anything — but your radio broadcasts what its channels are configured to share, typically truncated position on public channels. If home privacy matters, lower the channel's position precision or disable position broadcast; see Channels & keys.

Can I run it without a radio?

The demo is the full app on a captured snapshot. Beyond that, MQTT-observer-only mode works radio-free — a real dashboard of your community mesh with zero hardware. You'll want the radio eventually; that's the fun part.

Multiple radios? Remote radios?

Yes — one Coop per radio, and Perch switches between them (Tailscale makes remote feel local). One merged multi-radio view is the roadmap headline. See Multi-engine setups.

How is this different from the official clients?

The phone/web apps are companions to one radio. Perch is a command center: persistent capture with SQL access, city-scale observation via MQTT, network probing with per-hop SNR, a rearrangeable live dashboard — the mission-control view, complementing (not replacing) the official apps you'll still use for firmware and field use.

What's RoostOS?

The maker's umbrella — a family of open-source appliance projects (a T-Deck AI communicator, a home server, and this). Perch is the mesh wing: roostos.dev.