:core:takserver
Overview
The :core:takserver module implements the Meshtastic ↔ TAK (Team Awareness Kit) bridge. It embeds an mTLS TCP server (port 8089) compatible with ATAK (Android), iTAK (iOS), and WinTAK clients, enabling mesh-networked position sharing and GeoChat with TAK-enabled devices.
Targets: Android · JVM (Desktop) · iOS — fully multiplatform with expect/actual splits for compression, file I/O, and the TCP server itself.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve an mTLS TCP listener (port 8089) compatible with the CoT (Cursor-on-Target) protocol
- Convert Meshtastic protobuf packets (
TAKPacketV2) to CoT XML events and vice versa - Generate ATAK Data Package
.zipexports (team contacts, map overlays) - Compress CoT payloads using Zstd (TAK SDK format) with
expect/actualplatform implementations - Buffer up to 50 CoT messages for 5 minutes when no TAK clients are connected; drain on reconnect
- Provide Crowdin-localised TAK preference XML for ATAK client provisioning
Source Structure
src/
├── commonMain/kotlin/org/meshtastic/core/takserver/
│ ├── TAKServer.kt ← interface + expect createTAKServer()
│ ├── TAKServerManager.kt ← interface + TAKServerManagerImpl (offline queue)
│ ├── TAKMeshIntegration.kt ← bridges mesh service ↔ TAK server
│ ├── CoTConversion.kt ← Position/User → CoTMessage extension fns
│ ├── CoTXml.kt / CoTXmlParser.kt / CoTXmlFrameBuffer.kt
│ ├── CoTXmlDataClasses.kt
│ ├── CoTDetailStripper.kt
│ ├── TAKModels.kt ← CoTMessage, TAKClientInfo, TAKConnectionEvent
│ ├── TAKPacketConversion.kt
│ ├── TAKPacketV2Conversion.kt
│ ├── TAKDefaults.kt
│ ├── TAKDataPackageGenerator.kt
│ ├── RouteDataPackageGenerator.kt
│ ├── TAKPrefXmlDataClasses.kt
│ ├── TakV2TypeMapper.kt
│ ├── TakConversionHelpers.kt
│ ├── XmlUtils.kt
│ ├── AtakFileWriter.kt ← expect
│ ├── TakSdkCompressor.kt ← expect (Zstd TAK-SDK frame)
│ ├── TakV2Compressor.kt ← expect (Zstd TAKPacketV2 frame)
│ ├── ZipArchiver.kt ← expect
│ ├── TakFixtureLoader.kt ← expect (test fixtures)
│ ├── TakMeshTestRunner.kt
│ └── di/
│ └── CoreTakServerModule.kt
├── jvmAndroidMain/kotlin/ ← actual TAKServerJvm, TAKClientConnection, TakCertLoader
├── androidMain/kotlin/ ← actual AtakFileWriter (Android)
├── jvmMain/kotlin/ ← actual AtakFileWriter (Desktop), XML pull-parser
└── iosMain/kotlin/ ← actual TAKServerIos, actual compression impls
Notable APIs
TAKServer (interface)
interface TAKServer {
val connectionCount: StateFlow<Int>
var onMessage: ((CoTMessage, TAKClientInfo?) -> Unit)?
var onClientConnected: (() -> Unit)?
suspend fun start(scope: CoroutineScope): Result<Unit>
fun stop()
suspend fun broadcast(cotMessage: CoTMessage)
suspend fun broadcastRawXml(xml: String)
suspend fun hasConnections(): Boolean
}
The mTLS listener binds on port 8089 using a bundled server.p12 / ca.pem identity, compatible with the ATAK Data Package provisioning flow.
TAKServerManager (interface)
interface TAKServerManager {
val isRunning: StateFlow<Boolean>
val connectionCount: StateFlow<Int>
val inboundMessages: SharedFlow<InboundCoTMessage>
suspend fun start(scope: CoroutineScope)
fun stop()
suspend fun broadcast(cotMessage: CoTMessage)
suspend fun broadcastRawXml(xml: String)
}
TAKServerManagerImpl adds an offline queue: buffers up to 50 CoT messages for 5 minutes when no clients are connected and drains them automatically on the next onClientConnected callback.
CoTMessage
@Serializable
data class CoTMessage(
val uid: String,
val type: String, // e.g. "a-f-G-U-C" (friendly ground unit)
val time: Instant,
val lat: Double, val lon: Double, val hae: Double,
val contact: CoTContact?,
val group: CoTGroup?,
val track: CoTTrack?,
val chat: CoTChat?,
val remarks: String?,
// ...
)
// Factory helpers
CoTMessage.pli(uid, callsign, lat, lon, ...) // Position Location Information
CoTMessage.chat(senderUid, callsign, message, chatroom)
CoT Conversion
// Meshtastic proto → CoT
org.meshtastic.proto.Position.toCoTMessage(uid, callsign, team, role, battery): CoTMessage
org.meshtastic.proto.User.toCoTMessage(position, team, role, battery): CoTMessage
Dependency Graph
core:takserver
├── api → core:repository (exported)
├── core:common, core:di, core:model, core:proto
├── okio, kotlinx.serialization.json
├── xmlutil-core, xmlutil-serialization
├── ktor-client-core, ktor-network (TCP socket)
└── zstd-jni (jvmAndroid/jvm), kotlinx.datetime
Local TAK Server Feature
The Local TAK Server can be enabled from the app's Settings screen. When running, ATAK/iTAK clients on the same network can connect to <device-ip>:8089 and their position reports are automatically bridged onto the mesh. Mesh node positions are broadcast to all connected TAK clients in real time.
Dependency Graph
graph TB
:core:takserver[takserver]:::kmp-library
:core:takserver --> :core:repository
:core:takserver -.-> :core:common
:core:takserver -.-> :core:di
:core:takserver -.-> :core:model
:core:takserver -.-> :core:proto
:core:takserver -.-> :core:testing
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classDef android-application-compose fill:#CAFFBF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef compose-desktop-application fill:#CAFFBF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef android-feature fill:#FFD6A5,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef android-library fill:#9BF6FF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef android-library-compose fill:#9BF6FF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef android-test fill:#A0C4FF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef jvm-library fill:#BDB2FF,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef kmp-feature fill:#FFD6A5,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef kmp-library-compose fill:#FFC1CC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef kmp-library fill:#FFC1CC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;
classDef unknown fill:#FFADAD,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#000;