The internet stops at the cell tower. deadmesh starts where it ends.

Meshtastic networks are incredible for messaging and telemetry, but they
weren't designed for general Internet access. Each protocol (HTTP, SMTP, DNS)
would need custom mesh-aware implementations; a chicken-and-egg problem where
applications won't add mesh support without users, and users won't adopt mesh
without applications.

deadmesh sits in the middle:

1. Mesh side: Speaks fluent Meshtastic (protobuf over LoRa serial with proper API handshake)
2. Internet side: Speaks every protocol your applications already use
3. Bridges transparently: Fragments outgoing requests, reassembles incoming responses

Result: Your phone/computer just works, email clients, web browsers, CLI tools, API services; everything works without modifying a single line of code.

This very blog runs on infrastructure designed for these conditions. (Media-heavy browsing not recommended over LoRa, current page is deliberately light.)

Critical Scenarios

• Disaster Response: Coordinate rescue operations when cell towers are down
• Rural Connectivity: Share one satellite uplink across dozens of kilometers
• Censorship Resistance: Maintain communication during Internet blackouts
• Off-Grid Networks: Festival/protest/research networks that disappear when powered off
• Development Projects: Bring Internet services to areas with zero infrastructure

What It Does

• Universal Protocol Support: HTTP/HTTPS, SMTP/IMAP, SOCKS4/5, WebSocket, FTP. If it runs over TCP/IP, it works
• Transparent TLS Interception: Inspect and cache HTTPS traffic with HTTP/1.1 ALPN negotiation to minimize mesh bandwidth
• Intelligent Fragmentation: Automatically chunks large requests/responses into ~220-byte Meshtastic packets
• Serial API Handshake: Proper want_config initialization, auto-discovers node ID, receives full mesh state on startup
• Live Mesh Visibility: Decodes all Meshtastic packet types (text messages, positions, telemetry, node info, routing)
• Store-and-Forward: Delay-tolerant networking handles intermittent mesh connectivity
• Connection Pooling: Reuses upstream connections aggressively with TLS session reuse to reduce LoRa airtime cost
• Plugin Extensibility: Ad blocking, rate limiting, compression, caching, custom protocol handlers
• Embedded Dashboard: Real-time gateway monitor with SSE streaming, self-contained in the binary, no external assets
• Live Node Table: Persistent mesh node database: names, hops, SNR, battery, position, last heard

Ready to try it yourself? Clone the repo, get a compatible LoRa radio and observe your first LongFast message propagate across the mesh.