meshcore-hub/docs/seeding.md

Seed Data

The database can be seeded with node tags from YAML files in the SEED_HOME directory (default: ./seed).

Running the Seed Process

Seeding is a separate process and must be run explicitly:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml --profile seed up

This imports data from the following files (if they exist):

• {SEED_HOME}/node_tags.yaml - Node tag definitions
• {SEED_HOME}/channels.yaml - Channel decryption keys
• {SEED_HOME}/routes.yaml - Route health monitoring definitions

Directory Structure

seed/                          # SEED_HOME (seed data files)
├── node_tags.yaml            # Node tags for import
├── channels.yaml             # Channel keys for import
└── routes.yaml               # Route health definitions for import

data/                          # DATA_HOME (runtime data)
└── collector/
    └── meshcore.db           # SQLite database

Example seed files are provided in example/seed/.

Node Tags

Node tags allow you to attach custom metadata to nodes (e.g., location, role, owner). Tags are stored in the database and returned with node data via the API.

Node Tags YAML Format

Tags are keyed by public key in YAML format:

# Each key is a 64-character hex public key
0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef:
  name: Gateway Node
  description: Main network gateway
  lat: 37.7749
  lon: -122.4194

fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210fedcba9876543210:
  name: Oakland Repeater
  elevation: 150

Tag values can be:

• YAML primitives (auto-detected type): strings, numbers, booleans
• Explicit type (when you need to force a specific type):

  altitude:
    value: "150"
    type: number
  

Supported types: string, number, boolean

Channels

Channel keys are used to decrypt encrypted mesh messages. They are stored in the database and loaded by the collector at startup, with periodic refresh.

Channels YAML Format

Channels support two formats:

Shorthand (name → hex key string):

MyChannel: AABBCCDD11223344AABBCCDD11223344

Expanded (name → dict with options):

MyChannel:
  key: AABBCCDD11223344AABBCCDD11223344
  enabled: true

Key rules:

• Keys must be uppercase hex, 32 characters (AES-128) or 64 characters (AES-256)
• Seeded channels always have visibility: community — to set member/operator/admin visibility, use the CLI or API
• The Public and test built-in keys are always loaded into the decoder regardless of database contents
• Test channel messages are only stored when a test channel row exists in the database with enabled: true

Managing Channels via CLI

# List all channels
meshcore-hub collector channel list

# Add a channel
meshcore-hub collector channel add --name MyChannel --key AABBCCDD11223344AABBCCDD11223344

# Enable/disable a channel
meshcore-hub collector channel enable --name MyChannel
meshcore-hub collector channel disable --name MyChannel

# Remove a channel
meshcore-hub collector channel remove --name MyChannel

Routes

See routes.md for the route health monitoring feature overview and evaluation semantics.

Routes define multi-hop mesh paths to monitor for health. Each route is keyed by its from/to endpoint labels and is upserted (created or updated) by that label pair.

Routes YAML Format

A list under the top-level routes: key. Each entry requires from, to, and an ordered path of at least 2 distinct node public keys:

routes:
  - from: Ipswich
    to: Norwich
    description: A140 corridor route
    visibility: community
    match_width: 1
    window_hours: 48
    packet_count_threshold: 5
    # clear_threshold: 15      # optional; omit/null = 3x threshold
    # max_hop_span: 8           # optional; omit/null = unlimited
    # max_path_length: 16       # optional; omit/null = unlimited (drops over-long packet paths)
    enabled: true
    reversible: true              # match both directions (A->B and B->A)
    path:
      - a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2
      - 9a8b7c6d5e4f9a8b7c6d5e4f9a8b7c6d5e4f9a8b7c6d5e4f9a8b7c6d5e4f9a8b
    # observers:                 # optional; omit/empty = all observers
    #   - 0102030405060102030405060102030405060102030405060102030405060102

Rules:

• Path nodes must already exist in the database (create them via node_tags.yaml or let the collector discover them). A missing path node is a hard error.
• Observer nodes that don't exist yet are skipped with a warning (not an error).
• The (from, to) label pair must be unique across all routes.