Routing¶

FORWARDING · DELAY · DUTY CYCLE · ADVERTS · HOP LIMITS

How a node passes traffic on: whether it forwards, how long it waits, how much airtime it may use, how often it announces itself and how far flood packets may travel. Most of the Dutch agreements are here; they come from Regulations & Duty Cycle.

[!NOTE] Source. This page was verified against the firmware itself: MeshCore v1.16.0, commit 03b6ef4, 28 July 2026 — files src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp, examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp, examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.h, examples/simple_room_server/MyMesh.cpp, examples/simple_room_server/MyMesh.h, examples/simple_sensor/SensorMesh.cpp, and the official docs/cli_commands.md. Line numbers refer to this commit and can be reproduced with tools/cli-commands.py.

[!WARNING] The firmware default for dutycycle is 50 %. That is far above the 10 % that applies in the Netherlands. A freshly flashed node is therefore not compliant until you give set dutycycle 10. See Regulations & Duty Cycle. The Dutch-MeshCore fork solves this with set dutycycle auto, which derives the limit from the sub-band — see Forks & variants.

Overview¶

The markers in the Role column are explained in the CLI reference. An empty cell means: works on repeater, room server and sensor.

Command	Role	Default	Source
`get repeat` / `set repeat <on\\|off>`		R `on` · RS `off` · S `off`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.560, r.798
`get path.hash.mode` / `set path.hash.mode <0\\|1\\|2>`		`0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.661, r.835
`get loop.detect` / `set loop.detect <off\\|minimal\\|moderate\\|strict>`	`effect: repeater`	`off`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.671, r.837
`get txdelay` / `set txdelay <0-2>`		`0.5`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.606, r.815
`get direct.txdelay` / `set direct.txdelay <0-2>`		R `0.3` · RS/S `0.2`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.642, r.823
`get rxdelay` / `set rxdelay <0-20>`		`0.0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.597, r.813
`get dutycycle` / `set dutycycle <1-100>`		`50`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.483, r.770
`get af` / `set af <value>`		`1.0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.495, r.775
`get int.thresh` / `set int.thresh <value>`		`0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.499, r.777
`get agc.reset.interval` / `set agc.reset.interval <seconds>`		`0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.503, r.779
`get multi.acks` / `set multi.acks <0\\|1>`	`effect: repeater, room server`	`0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.507, r.781
`get flood.advert.interval` / `set flood.advert.interval <hours>`		R/RS `47` · S `0`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.515, r.785
`get advert.interval` / `set advert.interval <minutes>`		`2`, `0` after the first saved change ¹	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.525, r.787
`get flood.max` / `set flood.max <0-64>`		`64`	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.633, r.821
`get flood.max.unscoped` / `set flood.max.unscoped <0-64>`	`effect: repeater, room server`	R/RS `64` · S `0` ¹	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.615, r.819
`get flood.max.advert` / `set flood.max.advert <0-64>`	`effect: repeater, room server`	R/RS `8` · S `0` ¹	`CommonCLI.cpp` r.624, r.817

Commands¶

repeat¶

Whether the node forwards packets. Only the value off switches it off; any other value switches it on. Room server and sensor are off by default (simple_room_server/MyMesh.cpp r.646, SensorMesh.cpp r.726). The official documentation states on for all roles.

Example:

set repeat off
  -> OK - repeat is now OFF
get repeat
  -> > off

Netherlands: on on a repeater. Switching it off means no relaying.

path.hash.mode¶

The size of the hash the node uses for itself in the path of its own adverts: 0 = 1 byte, 1 = 2 bytes, 2 = 3 bytes. Other values give Error, must be 0,1, or 2.

Example:

set path.hash.mode 1
  -> OK
get path.hash.mode
  -> > 1

loop.detect¶

Drops flood packets in which the node's own hash already appears too often in the path. Only the repeater uses it (MyMesh.cpp r.440–444); room server and sensor store the value but do nothing with it. Another value gives Error, must be: off, minimal, moderate, or strict.

Example:

set loop.detect minimal
  -> OK
get loop.detect
  -> > minimal

Netherlands: set loop.detect minimal.

txdelay¶

Factor for the random wait window before a flood packet is forwarded. Outside 0–2: Error, must be 0-2.

Example:

get txdelay
  -> > 0.5

Netherlands: leave at the default.

direct.txdelay¶

The same for direct traffic. The repeater is at 0.3 (MyMesh.cpp r.880); the official documentation states 0.2. Because of the float formatting, get shows 0.1999999 on room server and sensor.

Example (room server):

get direct.txdelay
  -> > 0.1999999

Netherlands: leave at the default.

rxdelay¶

Base for a delay when processing weakly received flood packets; 0 switches it off. Outside 0–20: Error, must be 0-20.

Example:

get rxdelay
  -> > 0.0

dutycycle¶

Maximum share of airtime. The firmware converts it to the airtime factor: af = 100 / dutycycle − 1. Outside 1–100: ERROR: dutycycle must be 1-100.

Example:

get dutycycle
  -> > 50.0%
set dutycycle 10
  -> OK - 10.0%

Netherlands: set dutycycle 10.

af¶

The airtime factor itself, deprecated since v1.15.0. set af checks no limits; at the next start the firmware constrains the value to 0–9 (CommonCLI.cpp r.100). The duty cycle is roughly 100 / (af + 1) percent.

Example:

set af 9
  -> OK
get af
  -> > 9.0

Netherlands: set af 9 on firmware older than v1.15.0.

int.thresh¶

Threshold for local interference; 0 disables the check. The command does not check the value.

Example:

get int.thresh
  -> > 0

agc.reset.interval¶

Interval in seconds at which the receiver's AGC is reset; 0 switches it off. The value is rounded down to a multiple of 4.

Example:

set agc.reset.interval 17
  -> OK - interval rounded to 16

multi.acks¶

Multiple ACKs per message. set does not check the value; at the next start the firmware constrains it to 0–1 (CommonCLI.cpp r.106). The sensor does not use the setting.

Example:

set multi.acks 1
  -> OK

flood.advert.interval¶

How often the node sends a flood advert, in hours: 3–168, or 0 for off. Otherwise Error: interval range is 3-168 hours. The official documentation states 12 as the repeater default; the firmware sets 47 (MyMesh.cpp r.891).

Example:

set flood.advert.interval 49
  -> OK

Netherlands: set flood.advert.interval 49.

advert.interval¶

How often the node sends a zero-hop advert, in minutes: 60–240, or 0 for off. Otherwise Error: interval range is 60-240 minutes. The value is stored halved, so odd values are rounded down.

Example:

set advert.interval 240
  -> OK
get advert.interval
  -> > 240

¹ A new installation sends every 2 minutes. At the first change that is saved, the firmware sets this to 0, because it is below 60 minutes (CommonCLI.cpp r.196–198). The official documentation states 0.

Netherlands: set advert.interval 240.

flood.max¶

Maximum number of hops for any flood packet. Above 64: Error, max 64.

Example:

get flood.max
  -> > 64

flood.max.unscoped¶

The same for flood packets without a scope (MyMesh.cpp r.433). The official documentation describes a value 0xFF that follows flood.max; that logic is not in this commit. See Regions and Scopes.

Example:

set flood.max.unscoped 3
  -> OK

¹ The sensor neither sets nor uses this value; get shows 0 there.

Netherlands: for example set flood.max.unscoped 3, see Getting Started.

flood.max.advert¶

The same for adverts (MyMesh.cpp r.434).

Example:

get flood.max.advert
  -> > 8

¹ See flood.max.unscoped.

Netherlands: 8, the default.

Sources¶

Translated from Dutch by Anthropic Claude