Mesh Plugin Manager (MPM)

A lightweight package manager for Meshtastic plugins with dependency resolution, version management, and lockfile support.

Features

• Install and manage Meshtastic plugins from a remote registry
• Automatic dependency resolution with SemVer support
• Lockfile generation for reproducible builds
• Protobuf file generation for plugins
• PlatformIO build system integration

Installation

pip install mesh-plugin-manager

Usage

# List installed plugins
mpm list

# List all available plugins from registry
mpm list --all

# Install a plugin
mpm install <slug>

# Install all plugins from meshtastic.json
mpm install

# Link local plugin directories (for development)
mpm install --link /path/to/plugin1 /path/to/plugin2

# Note: When using --link, if a plugin's dependencies should also be linked (instead of cloned),
# they must be specified as paths in the same --link command. Dependencies not specified
# will be recorded in the lockfile but not installed. To install them, run a normal
# mpm install command afterward.

# Remove a plugin
mpm remove <slug>

# Generate protobuf files for all plugins
mpm proto

Why aren't we using PlatformIO's package management system?

• Libraries are very slow to install using pio pkg install because they install ONCE for EVERY environment target. We don't need that capability.
• MPM can add security features such as enforcing signed releases and revoking bad releases (refusing to compile)
• MPM can enforce Meshtastic-specific target environment compatibility and refuse to compile plugins into targets that will not work.
• MPM can maintain a Meshtastic-specific plugin registry where plugin discovery is easier and publishing is faster due to a streamlined approval process.