meshtastic-firmware/docs/software/build-instructions.md

Build instructions

This project uses the simple PlatformIO build system. PlatformIO is an extension to Microsoft VSCode.

GUI

1. Purchase a suitable radio.
2. Install PlatformIO.
3. Click the PlatformIO icon on the side bar.
4. Under Quick Access, Miscellaneous, Clone Git Project enter the URL of the Meshtastic repo found here.
5. Select a file location to save the repo.
6. Once loaded, open the platformio.ini file.
7. At the line default_envs you can change it to the board type you are building for ie. tlora-v2, tlora-v1, tlora-v2-1-1.6, tbeam, heltec, tbeam0.7 (boards are listed further down in the file).
8. Click the PlatformIO icon on the side bar. Under Project Tasks you can now build or upload.

Command Line

1. Purchase a suitable radio.
2. Install PlatformIO
3. Download this git repo and cd into it:

git clone https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-device.git
cd Meshtastic-device

4. Run git submodule update --init --recursive to pull in dependencies this project needs.
5. If you are outside the USA, run "export COUNTRY=EU865" (or whatever) to set the correct frequency range for your country. Options are provided for EU433, EU865, CN, JP and US (default). Pull-requests eagerly accepted for other countries.
6. Plug the radio into your USB port
7. Type pio run --environment XXX -t upload (This command will fetch dependencies, build the project and install it on the board via USB). For XXX, use the board type you have (either tlora-v2, tlora-v1, tlora-v2-1-1.6, tbeam, heltec, tbeam0.7).
8. Platform IO also installs a very nice VisualStudio Code based IDE, see their tutorial if you'd like to use it.

Decoding stack traces

If you get a crash, you can decode the addresses from the Backtrace: line:

1. Save the Backtrace: 0x.... line to a file, e.g., backtrace.txt.
2. Run bin/exception_decoder.py backtrace.txt (this uses symbols from the last firmware.elf, so you must be running the same binary that's still in your .pio/build directory).