Manage nodes remotely

AdvancedMeshtasticMeshCoreAbout 30 minutes

You'll need

• Physical USB access to both nodes for the first setup
• The Meshtastic Python CLI or app
• or the MeshCore app

Set this up before the node goes on the roof.

Meshtastic: admin keys (firmware 2.5 and later)

A node only accepts remote settings from radios whose public key is in its admin key list (up to three).

1. Connect your controlling radio by USB and get its public key:

   meshtastic --get security.public_key

2. Connect the remote node by USB and add that key:

   meshtastic --set security.admin_key "base64:PASTEPUBLICKEYHERE"

   This adds to the list; --set security.admin_key 0 clears it.
3. Later, send changes over the mesh with --dest and the node ID:

   meshtastic --dest '!28979058' --get lora

   (On Windows, leave out the quotes around the node ID.)

In the apps: on Android, copy the key from Settings → Security on the controller and add it in the target’s Security menu; remote administration is under the node’s details. On Apple, enable Administration in App Settings first. The web client can’t send remote admin commands.

Careful

Remote changes can knock a node off the mesh (for example, changing its preset). Test settings on a node at your desk first.

Older firmware (2.4 and earlier) used a secondary channel named admin instead. That still works on newer firmware only if you turn on the legacy admin setting.

MeshCore: remote management

Repeaters and room servers can be managed over the air from the MeshCore app’s Remote Management, using the admin password. Change that password from its default (password) first. See Set up a MeshCore repeater.

Sources

Checked on October 18, 2026.

1. meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/remote-admin
2. github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore
3. docs.meshcore.io/cli_commands