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Protobufs

Overview​

Protocol Buffers, commonly referred to as Protobufs, are a language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible mechanism for serializing structured data. They are used by Meshtastic software for encoding and transmitting data between the App and Device, as well as for Device-to-Device communication.

Protobufs provide a efficient and lightweight way of exchanging data, making them well-suited for use in resource-constrained environments like the Meshtastic network. They offer several advantages over traditional data formats like XML or JSON, including:

  • Smaller serialized size: Protobuf serialized data is typically much smaller than XML or JSON representations of the same data.
  • Faster serialization and deserialization: Protobufs are designed to be serialized and deserialized quickly, which is important for applications that need to process large amounts of data.
  • Type-safe and self-describing: Protobuf messages are type-safe, and the message formats are self-describing, making it easier to work with and maintain the data over time.

Meshtastic Protobufs​

The Meshtastic project defines its own set of Protobuf messages for various types of data exchanged between app-device and device-device. These messages are organized into different modules.

The official documentation for the Meshtastic Protobuf messages can be found on the Buf Schema Registry (BSR). The BSR provides a centralized location for managing and documenting the Protobuf schemas used by the project.