Faro: Open-source (Apache-2.0) LVGL 9 on-device UI for LilyGo T-Deck / T-Deck Plus, built on unmodified MeshCore

[radek-sixi]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working on Faro, an open-source, clean-room on-device user interface for MeshCore on the LilyGo T-Deck and T-Deck Plus (touchscreen, physical keyboard, and trackball), so the handheld can be used standalone without a phone.

We just published Release v0.9.2 under the Apache-2.0 licence and would love feedback and bug reports from the community.

Links

• GitHub Repository & Source: https://github.com/radek-sixi/sixi-tdeck-plus
• Latest Release (v0.9.2 binaries & .deb): https://github.com/radek-sixi/sixi-tdeck-plus/releases/tag/v0.9.2
• Interactive Screen Preview & Device Chooser: https://sixi.ai/en/meshcore-ui/
• Documentation: https://sixi.ai/en/docs/firmware/faro/

Key Highlights

• Zero patches to MeshCore: Faro uses unmodified upstream MeshCore (companion-v1.18.0, commit 81dbae5) pinned as the external/MeshCore submodule and hooked in via platformio.local.ini.
• Clean-room LVGL 9 UI (no GPL code): Written from scratch under Apache-2.0 with light and dark themes (switchable with one tap).
• On-device features:
  • Direct messages (with ACK/retry state) and group channels (# channels, QR codes)
  • Contact discovery and directory with distance/bearing
  • Multi-hop trace path view showing per-hop SNR
  • 2D neighbour mesh graph and an on-device RF link-budget / time-on-air calculator
  • Offline maps loaded from the MicroSD card
  • Repeater/room administration, region scopes, and on-screen CLI
• Preserves your existing MeshCore identity: Uses the standard ESP32-S3 partition layout (/_main.id on SPIFFS). Flashing the -app.bin update image at 0x10000 keeps your existing private key, contacts, and channels intact. You can also import/back up keys via the MeshCore app, CLI (set prv.key), or MicroSD card.
• Supported targets in v0.9.2:
  • LilyGo T-Deck / T-Deck Plus
  • LilyGo T-Deck MAX
  • Elecrow ThinkNode M9
  • Headless companion builds (BLE + Wi-Fi) for LilyGo T-Beam S3 Supreme and Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3
  • Ubuntu x86_64 Desktop Console (.deb and .tar.gz) + headless UI simulator, built and tested in public GitHub Actions CI.

If you have a T-Deck or one of the supported boards and give it a spin, please let me know what works and what breaks—especially in the issue tracker:
https://github.com/radek-sixi/sixi-tdeck-plus/issues

Thanks to everyone building and maintaining MeshCore!