LORA macOS/iOS Communications App

🚧 Project Status: Active Development 🚧

A native Swift/Rust application rewrite of the original Electron-based meshtastic-macos-client, providing communication with Meshtastic/LoRa devices on macOS and iOS.

Note: This project is currently under active development. Core functionality is working but some features are still being implemented. See the Development Status section below for current progress.

Project Overview

This project is a complete rewrite of the JavaScript/Electron meshtastic-macos-client into a native Swift/Rust application architecture. The original project used:

• Frontend: React/TypeScript with Electron
• Backend: Node.js with direct CLI calls to meshtastic
• UI Framework: Electron with web technologies

The new architecture uses:

• Frontend: SwiftUI for both macOS and iOS
• Core Logic: Rust library with async device communication
• Bridge: C FFI for Swift-Rust interoperability
• Packaging: Native macOS app bundle and iOS app

Architecture

Core Components

• Swift Layer: Native macOS/iOS UI using SwiftUI
• Rust Core: Low-level device communication and protocol handling
• FFI Bridge: C interface between Swift and Rust
• Shared Models: Common data structures across platforms

Key Advantages

• Performance: Native code execution vs. JavaScript interpretation
• Memory Efficiency: No Chromium engine overhead
• iOS Support: Can run natively on iOS devices
• System Integration: Better macOS/iOS system integration
• Security: No web security concerns

Features

✅ Implemented

• Native macOS application with SwiftUI interface
• Serial/USB device connectivity
• Real-time messaging interface
• Device discovery and management
• Message encryption (AES-256) with macOS Keychain integration
• Redis caching layer for performance optimization
• Mesh network topology visualization
• Cross-platform shared Rust core logic

✅ Recently Completed

• Comprehensive Carbon Design System Integration

  • Complete IBM Carbon Design System color palette with semantic tokens
  • Full typography scale (Display, Headings, Body, Captions, Code)
  • Spacing and layout tokens for consistent design
  • Shadow and animation duration tokens
  • Comprehensive icon library mapped to SF Symbols

• Carbon SwiftUI Component Library

  • CarbonButton with all 5 button types (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Ghost, Danger)
  • CarbonTextField with labels, validation, and accessibility
  • CarbonSidebar with collapsible navigation and badges
  • CarbonModal for dialogs and confirmations
  • CarbonNotification system with toast notifications
  • CarbonProgressIndicator (linear and circular, determinate and indeterminate)
  • CarbonProgressSteps for multi-step workflows

• Design System Showcase

  • Interactive design system documentation and component showcase
  • Live examples of all colors, typography, components, and spacing
  • Accessible via "Design System" in the sidebar

✅ Recently Completed

• Enhanced CoreBluetooth Integration

  • Comprehensive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support for Meshtastic devices
  • Real-time connection progress tracking with visual indicators
  • Signal strength monitoring (RSSI) with quality assessment
  • Automatic device discovery and reconnection capabilities
  • Connection error handling with user-friendly error messages
  • Multi-step connection process visualization

• Advanced Bluetooth UI Components

  • Carbon Design System integrated Bluetooth device views
  • Enhanced device connection assistant with progress tracking
  • Signal strength indicators with visual bars and color coding
  • Detailed device information and technical specifications view
  • Connection status monitoring with real-time updates
  • Interactive device discovery with filtering and sorting

🚧 In Development

• Advanced radio settings (SF, BW, TX Power)
• Message delivery acknowledgments and retry logic
• Full Meshtastic protocol compliance
• RFCOMM support for legacy Bluetooth devices

📋 Planned

• Native iOS application
• TCP/IP device connectivity
• File transfer capabilities
• GPS integration for position messages
• Mesh routing optimization

Project Structure

LORA-macOS-iOS-Comms/
├── Core/                   # Rust core library
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── lib.rs         # Main library interface
│   │   ├── device/        # Device communication
│   │   ├── protocol/      # Meshtastic protocol handling
│   │   └── bridge/        # Swift-Rust bridge
├── macOS/                 # macOS Swift application
│   ├── LORA_macOS/
│   │   ├── ContentView.swift
│   │   ├── DeviceManager.swift
│   │   └── MessageView.swift
├── iOS/                   # iOS Swift application
│   ├── LORA_iOS/
│   │   ├── ContentView.swift
│   │   ├── DeviceManager.swift
│   │   └── MessageView.swift
└── Shared/                # Shared Swift code
    ├── Models/
    ├── ViewModels/
    └── Utilities/

Building

Prerequisites

• Xcode 15+
• Rust 1.70+
• Swift 5.9+

Build Instructions

1. Build the Rust core library:

   cd Core
   cargo build --release

2. Open the Xcode workspace and build the macOS/iOS targets.

Development Status

Current Progress

This project is actively being developed with the following components completed:

• Core Infrastructure: ✅

  • Swift/Rust FFI bridge working
  • macOS app bundle with proper code signing
  • Redis caching integration for performance

• Device Communication: ✅

  • Serial device detection and connection
  • Basic Meshtastic protocol support
  • Message sending and receiving

• Security: ✅

  • AES-256 message encryption
  • macOS Keychain integration for key storage
  • Secure message display

• User Interface: ✅

  • SwiftUI-based chat interface
  • Device management views
  • Message history with encryption indicators

Next Steps

1. Theming System: Implement centralized IBM Carbon Design-inspired theme manager
2. Bluetooth Support: Add CoreBluetooth integration for wireless devices
3. Protocol Enhancement: Complete Meshtastic protobuf implementation
4. Advanced Features: Radio settings, message acknowledgments, file transfer

Contributing

This project is currently in active development. If you're interested in contributing:

1. Check the open issues for tasks that need help
2. Review the MESHTASTIC_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md for technical details
3. Follow the build instructions above to set up your development environment

Known Issues

• Bluetooth connectivity is not yet implemented
• Some Meshtastic protocol features are still in development
• iOS version is planned but not yet started

License

MIT License