🔃 Watch and Reboot

Watch and Reboot is a lightweight Python script, watchdog and remediation tool designed for MeshMonitor and Meshstatic based deployments.

It can:

• Watch a target device by IP (ping + optional SSH)
• Watch a Meshtastic node reached via a BLE bridge TCP proxy (e.g., Yeraze/meshtastic-ble-bridge)
• Automatically remediate by:
  • Restarting the BLE bridge (systemd or docker/compose)
  • Restarting MeshMonitor (systemd or docker/compose)
  • Rebooting the actual target device (via SSH + shutdown -r now)
• Emit “unhealthy”, “action”, and “recovered” events via:
  • MQTT (mosquitto_pub)
  • Webhook (curl)
  • Optional Meshtastic text message (via meshtastic Python library)

It is:

• Cron-friendly
• Capability-aware
• Cooldown-protected (prevents reboot storms)
• Self-contained (replaces prior MeshTools scripts)

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Project Lineage (MeshTools → Watch and Reboot)

This capability originally existed as an internal MeshTools script set.

v2.0 is the simplified public release:

• Single executable script
• No dependency on external management scripts
• Cleaner remediation order
• Safer defaults
• Easier to deploy across nodes

This tool replaces previous management helpers such as:

• meshmonitor-manage.sh
• meshtastic-manage.sh

Everything is now unified into:

meshmonitor-watchandreboot

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Quick Start

1) Install

Copy the script to:

/usr/local/sbin/meshmonitor-watchandreboot

Then make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/meshmonitor-watchandreboot

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2) Check Capabilities

meshmonitor-watchandreboot status

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3) Run a One-Time Health Check

IP mode:

meshmonitor-watchandreboot watch-once 10.0.0.10 --mode ip --user pi

BLE bridge mode:

meshmonitor-watchandreboot watch-once bridge-host --mode ble --ble-bridge-host 127.0.0.1 --ble-bridge-port 4403

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Modes

Mode: IP (default)

Health check:

• ping
• ssh

Default remediation order:

1. Restart MeshMonitor (optional)
2. Reboot device (if allowed)

Use this for:

• Raspberry Pi nodes
• SDR feeders
• Remote Linux boxes
• Field repeaters

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Mode: BLE (Bridge-Based)

Health check:

• TCP connect to bridge_host:port (default 127.0.0.1:4403)

Default remediation order:

1. Restart BLE bridge
2. Restart MeshMonitor
3. Reboot host

Use this for:

• Meshtastic nodes accessed via BLE bridge
• USB-attached radios
• Adapter instability recovery

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Cron Usage

Run every 5 minutes:

*/5 * * * * /usr/local/sbin/meshmonitor-watchandreboot watch-once 10.0.0.10 --mode ip --user pi

Watch BLE bridge every 2 minutes:

*/2 * * * * /usr/local/sbin/meshmonitor-watchandreboot watch-once bridge-host --mode ble --ble-bridge-restart-mode local

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Configuration (Environment Variables)

All configuration can be done via environment variables.

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Core

MM_MODE=ip|ble
MM_TARGET_HOST=10.0.0.10
MM_REMOTE_USER=pi
MM_SSH_PORT=22

MM_FAIL_THRESHOLD=3
MM_COOLDOWN_SECONDS=1800
MM_RECOVERY_TIMEOUT=600
MM_CHECK_INTERVAL=20

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IP Mode Requirements

MM_REQUIRE_PING=1
MM_REQUIRE_SSH=1

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MeshMonitor Restart (Optional)

MM_RESTART_MODE=local|remote|off
MM_SYSTEMD_SERVICE=meshmonitor
MM_COMPOSE_DIR=/opt/meshmonitor
MM_CONTAINER_NAME=meshmonitor

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BLE Bridge (Yeraze/meshtastic-ble-bridge)

MM_BLE_BRIDGE_HOST=127.0.0.1
MM_BLE_BRIDGE_PORT=4403

MM_BLE_BRIDGE_RESTART_MODE=local|remote|off
MM_BLE_BRIDGE_SYSTEMD_SERVICE=
MM_BLE_BRIDGE_COMPOSE_DIR=/opt/meshmonitor
MM_BLE_BRIDGE_CONTAINER_NAME=meshmonitor-ble-bridge

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Reboot Control

MM_ALLOW_REBOOT=1

Set to 0 if you want restart-only behavior.

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Notifications

MQTT

MM_MQTT_HOST=10.0.0.5
MM_MQTT_PORT=1883
MM_MQTT_TOPIC_PREFIX=meshwatch

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Webhook

MM_WEBHOOK_URL=https://example.com/webhook

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Custom Shell Hook

MM_NOTIFY_CMD=echo "{EVENT} {HOST} {DETAILS}"

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Optional Meshtastic “Recovered” Message

Requires Python meshtastic library installed.

MM_MESHTASTIC_NOTIFY=1
MM_MESHTASTIC_TEXT=Recovered: {HOST} is back online
MM_MESHTASTIC_TCP_HOST=127.0.0.1
MM_MESHTASTIC_TCP_PORT=4403
MM_MESHTASTIC_SERIAL=/dev/ttyUSB0
MM_MESHTASTIC_DEST=

If MM_MESHTASTIC_DEST is empty, it broadcasts.

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Safety Notes

This tool can:

• Restart services
• Restart containers
• Execute remote SSH commands
• Reboot devices

Best practices:

• Use SSH keys (BatchMode)
• Restrict sudo permissions
• Keep cooldown enabled
• Avoid very low fail thresholds
• Prefer private/VPN networks

Cooldown prevents reboot storms.

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Design Philosophy

• KISS (Keep It Simple)
• Capability-aware
• Infrastructure-safe defaults
• Replace multiple scripts with one unified tool
• MeshMonitor-native thinking

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Logs & State

Default locations:

State: /var/tmp/meshmonitor-watchandreboot
Log: /var/log/meshmonitor-watchandreboot.log

Falls back to state directory if /var/log is not writable.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

See the LICENSE file for details.
Full license text: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. Open an issue first to discuss ideas or report bugs.

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Acknowledgments

• MeshMonitor built by Yeraze

Discover other community-contributed scripts for MeshMonitor: https://meshmonitor.org/user-scripts.html