Bitchat Integration for MeshCore

Overview

The Bitchat integration enables MeshCore devices to communicate with the Bitchat Android app through a bridge layer that translates between Bitchat protocol and MeshCore mesh networking. This is an additive feature that preserves all existing MeshCore functionality while adding Bitchat compatibility.

Key Principles

1. Additive, Not Substitutive: Bitchat support is added alongside MeshCore, not replacing it
2. No Infrastructure Changes: Repeaters and room servers require no modifications
3. Encapsulation Strategy: Bitchat messages are encapsulated in standard MeshCore packets
4. Backward Compatible: Existing MeshCore nodes continue to work normally

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            MeshCore Device                               │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    ┌────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │    WITH DISPLAY (Menu)      │    │     BUTTON-ONLY (T1000-E)      │  │
│  │   ┌─────────────────────┐   │    │   ┌────────────────────────┐   │  │
│  │   │   BITCHAT Page      │   │    │   │   5x Button Press      │   │  │
│  │   │  ┌─────┐  ┌─────┐   │   │    │   │   (Quintuple)          │   │  │
│  │   │  │  M  │  │  B  │   │   │    │   │  ┌──────────────────┐  │   │  │
│  │   │  │Mesh │  │BitC │   │   │    │   │  │ LED: 3 blinks    │  │   │  │
│  │   │  └──┬──┘  └──┬──┘   │   │    │   │  │ Buzzer: tone     │  │   │  │
│  │   │     └────┬───┘      │   │    │   │  └────────┬─────────┘  │   │  │
│  │   └──────────┼──────────┘   │    │   └───────────┼────────────┘   │  │
│  └──────────────┼──────────────┘    └───────────────┼────────────────┘  │
│                 │                                   │                    │
│                 └───────────────────┬───────────────┘                    │
│                                     ▼                                    │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │                    SerialBLEInterface                               │ │
│  │  • MeshCore UART Service (6E400001-B5A3-F393-E0A9-E50E24DCCA9E)    │ │
│  │  • Bitchat Service (F47B5E2D-4A9E-4C5A-9B3F-8E1D2C3A4B5C)        │ │
│  │  • Only ONE service advertised at a time                           │ │
│  │  • Auto-disconnects clients on mode switch                         │ │
│  │  • PIN auth (MeshCore) / Open access (Bitchat)                    │ │
│  └────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                   │                                      │
│                       ┌───────────▼────────────┐                        │
│                       │    BitchatBridge       │                        │
│                       │  • Encapsulate         │──► MeshCore GRP/TXT    │
│                       │  • Decapsulate         │◄── BC magic header     │
│                       │  • Loop prevention     │                        │
│                       └───────────┬────────────┘                        │
│                                   │                                      │
│                       ┌───────────▼────────────┐                        │
│                       │       MyMesh           │                        │
│                       │     (MeshCore)         │                        │
│                       └───────────┬────────────┘                        │
│                                   │                                      │
│                       ┌───────────▼────────────┐                        │
│                       │     LoRa Radio         │                        │
│                       │    (SX1262/etc)        │                        │
│                       └────────────────────────┘                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Platform Support

With Display (Menu-Based)

Navigate to the BITCHAT page and press ENTER to toggle between modes. Display shows large M (MeshCore) or B (Bitchat).

Button-Only (T1000-E)

Press the user button 5 times rapidly (within ~3 seconds) to toggle modes. See Button-Based Mode Switching for details.

Quick Start

Enable Bitchat (For Developers)

Add to your platformio.ini:

build_flags =
    -D ENABLE_BITCHAT=1
    -D BLE_MODE_SWITCHING=1

Check Device Compatibility

Bitchat requires either a display with buttons OR button-only with LED feedback for mode switching.

📋 See Complete Device List — Find your specific device

Quick Start

Enable Bitchat Support

# Build with Bitchat support
export ENABLE_BITCHAT=1
pio run -e WioTrackerL1_companion_radio_ble

Runtime Control

Bitchat mode is controlled on-device via the UI or button presses:

With Display:

1. Navigate to BITCHAT page using LEFT/RIGHT buttons
2. Press ENTER to toggle between MeshCore and Bitchat modes
3. Display shows large M (MeshCore) or B (Bitchat)

Button-Only (T1000-E):

1. Press user button 5 times rapidly (within ~3 seconds)
2. LED blinks 3 times (fast=Bitchat 150ms, slow=MeshCore 500ms)
3. Buzzer plays acknowledgment tone (if available)

Note: The device always boots in MeshCore mode. Mode is not persisted across reboots.

Message Flow

Bitchat → MeshCore

1. Bitchat app sends MESSAGE via BLE to #mesh channel
2. BitchatBLEService receives and parses message
3. BitchatBridge formats for MeshCore with 📱 prefix
4. Message sent as PAYLOAD_TYPE_GRP_TXT via mesh on #mesh channel

MeshCore → Bitchat

1. MeshCore receives group message on #mesh channel
2. BitchatBridge verifies channel secret matches SHA256("#mesh")
3. BitchatBridge detects non-Bitchat origin (no 📱 prefix)
4. Message formatted as Bitchat MESSAGE with TLV payload
5. Sent to Bitchat app via BLE notification for #mesh channel

#mesh Channel

The #mesh hashtag channel is the primary interoperability channel between Bitchat and MeshCore.

Channel Key Derivation

#mesh secret = first_16_bytes(SHA256("#mesh"))
             = 0x5B664CDE0B08B220612113DB980650F3

The channel secret is the first 16 bytes of the SHA256 hash of the UTF-8 encoded channel name string (including the # prefix).

Both Bitchat Android app and MeshCore firmware derive the same channel secret using this mechanism, enabling seamless group messaging.

Firmware Implementation

• Secret Computation: BitchatBridge::computeMeshSecret() derives the secret at initialization
• Channel Verification: BitchatBridge::isMeshChannel() verifies messages belong to #mesh
• Channel Initialization: MyMesh::addHashtagChannel("mesh") creates the channel on startup

See Protocol Specification for technical details.

Known Limitations

Menu-Based BLE Mode Switching

Due to BLE advertising size constraints, both nRF52 and ESP32 platforms use menu-based switching rather than simultaneous services:

Navigation:

1. Use LEFT/RIGHT keys to navigate to the BITCHAT page
2. Display shows:

• “M” with “MeshCore” text → MeshCore mode active
• “B” with “Bitchat” text → Bitchat mode active

1. Press ENTER to toggle between modes

Platform-Specific Implementation:

• nRF52: Switches advertisement data between Nordic UART and Bitchat service UUIDs
• ESP32: Uses setBitChatMode() to dynamically change advertised UUID via SerialBLEInterface

Both platforms provide identical user experience for mode switching.

Compatibility

References

• Bitchat Android App
• MeshCore Companion Protocol: companion_protocol.md
• MeshCore Packet Structure: packet_format.md

Bitchat Integration for MeshCore was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.