MeshCore development team splits over trademark dispute and AI-generated code

Source: Hacker News

Since inception, the MeshCore development team have been working hard to build MeshCore.

We’ve released more than 85 versions of the MeshCore Companion, Repeater and Room Server firmwares with support for more than 75 hardware variants. All of this has been hand‑crafted by humans.

We have always been wary of AI‑generated code, but felt everyone is free to experiment. One of our own, Andy Kirby, decided to branch out and extensively use Claude Code, aggressively taking over all components of the MeshCore ecosystem: standalone devices, mobile app, web flasher and web config tools. He kept the small detail a secret—that it’s majority vibe‑coded.

We ran a poll in the MeshCore Discord about AI and trust, and these are the results:

The team didn’t feel it was our place to protest until we discovered that Andy applied for the MeshCore trademark (on 29 March, according to filings) without telling us. Discussions broke down and we now have no communication with Andy. It’s been a stressful few months, and a sad day to bring this out to the public. It feels like a slap in the face to the team that has worked so hard on this project.

“Official” MeshCore

The use of the “official” status is currently contested. Andy claims he owns the brand and heavily uses the term with his MeshOS line. In reality, the only “official” MeshCore is the GitHub repository—the source of truth for what MeshCore is, and Andy has never contributed to it.

Since the internal split, we launched the meshcore.io site, while Andy controls the meshcore.co.uk site and the original Discord server. After launching our site, Andy copied the look and feel (again using Claude) despite our request not to.

Project Growth

The MeshCore project has been on an incredible journey. Having only started in January 2025, we have grown extremely fast!

• The official MeshCore Map shows 38,000+ nodes worldwide.
• The official MeshCore App has 100,000+ active users across Android and iOS.

Community sites have sprung up for specific countries:

• MeshCore Portugal –
• MeshCore Switzerland –
• MeshCore UK –

Andy Kirby did an amazing job promoting the MeshCore project on his personal YouTube channel, but now only promotes his own products.

Where To From Here?

The core team is pushing ahead with the meshcore.io website, ongoing firmware feature development, bug fixes, PR management, and developer discussions. We now release changelogs, blog posts, and technical documentation for all new firmware and app releases here:

You’ll also find familiar faces on our blog posts:

• Scott – project founder, lead firmware engineer, and developer of the Ripple firmware.
• Recrof – MeshCore Map developer and Firmware Flasher guru.
• Liam Cottle – MeshCore App developer, posting guides for getting started.
• FDLamotte – Python tooling and STM32 firmware variants.
• Oltaco (Che Aporeps) – OTA Fix bootloader improvements.

The Core Team

The MeshCore team now consists of Scott, Liam, Recrof, FDLamotte, and Oltaco, all committed to designing and developing high‑quality, human‑written software.

Our New Home

Please update your bookmarks! This is where we will host all official releases, technical documentation, and community discussions moving forward. With the new website, we are also launching a fresh Discord server for direct interaction with MeshCore developers.

• Official Website:
• Latest Updates:
• Technical Docs:
• Official GitHub:
• Reddit:
• Facebook:
• Discord:

Thanks for being a part of this journey!

The MeshCore Team