mesh2traccar 0.1.1

A Python application to forward Meshtastic MQTT location messages to a Traccar server

Mesh2Traccar

A Python application to forward Meshtastic MQTT location messages to a Traccar server.

Installation

1. Install the Package:

   • Option A: Via PyPI (Recommended):

     pip install mesh2traccar
     

   • Option B: Via Git Clone (for developers or custom versions):

     git clone <repository_url>  # Replace with your GitLab/GitHub repository URL
     cd mesh2traccar
     pip install .
     

     Note for Developers: For local development, place mesh2traccar.conf in the current directory to use it instead of /etc/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.conf. Logs will be written to ./mesh2traccar.log if /var/log/mesh2traccar/ is not writable.

2. Create a User and Group:

   sudo groupadd mesh2traccar
   sudo useradd -r -g mesh2traccar -d /var/lib/mesh2traccar -s /sbin/nologin mesh2traccar
   

3. Set Up Directories:

   sudo mkdir -p /etc/mesh2traccar /var/lib/mesh2traccar /var/log/mesh2traccar
   sudo chown mesh2traccar:mesh2traccar /var/lib/mesh2traccar /var/log/mesh2traccar
   

4. Copy Configuration File:

   • For PyPI installation:

     sudo cp $(python -c "import pkg_resources; print(pkg_resources.resource_filename('mesh2traccar', 'mesh2traccar.conf'))") /etc/mesh2traccar/
     

   • For Git clone installation:

     sudo cp mesh2traccar.conf /etc/mesh2traccar/
     

   • Set permissions:

     sudo chown mesh2traccar:mesh2traccar /etc/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.conf
     sudo chmod 640 /etc/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.conf
     

5. Edit Configuration: Edit /etc/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.conf to set your MQTT and Traccar settings:

   • mqtt.broker: MQTT broker address.
   • mqtt.port: MQTT broker port (default 1883).
   • mqtt.username and mqtt.password: MQTT credentials (optional).
   • mqtt.client_id_prefix: Prefix for MQTT client ID.
   • mqtt.topic_sub: Meshtastic MQTT topic (e.g., msh/ANZ/2/json/LongFast/+).
   • traccar.url: Traccar server URL (e.g., http://your-traccar-server:5055).
   • traccar.device_id: Default device ID for Traccar.
   • traccar.api_key: Traccar API key (optional).

6. Install Systemd Service:

   • For PyPI installation:

     sudo cp $(python -c "import pkg_resources; print(pkg_resources.resource_filename('mesh2traccar', 'mesh2traccar.service'))") /etc/systemd/system/
     

   • For Git clone installation:

     sudo cp mesh2traccar.service /etc/systemd/system/
     

   • Enable the service:

     sudo systemctl daemon-reload
     sudo systemctl enable mesh2traccar.service
     

7. Start the Service:

   sudo systemctl start mesh2traccar.service
   

Usage

• Check Service Status:

  sudo systemctl status mesh2traccar.service
  

• View Logs:

  tail -f /var/log/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.log
  

• Stop or Restart:

  sudo systemctl stop mesh2traccar.service
  sudo systemctl restart mesh2traccar.service
  

Notes

• Ensure your MQTT broker and Traccar server are running and accessible.
• Register Meshtastic node IDs (e.g., !2f8382cc) in Traccar as device identifiers.
• If the ! prefix causes issues, modify mesh2traccar.py to remove it:

  device_id = format(from_id, 'x') if from_id is not None else TRACCAR_DEVICE_ID
  

• The software is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3). See the LICENSE file for details.

Troubleshooting

• Check /var/log/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.log (or ./mesh2traccar.log for local development) for errors.
• Verify MQTT topic and Traccar URL in the configuration file.
• Ensure the mesh2traccar user has permissions to read /etc/mesh2traccar/mesh2traccar.conf (or ./mesh2traccar.conf for development).