# 📚 AlteriomPainlessMesh Documentation

Welcome to the comprehensive documentation for the Alteriom fork of painlessMesh - a user-friendly ESP8266/ESP32 mesh networking library with advanced OTA updates, MQTT integration, and structured IoT packages.

## 🌟 What's New in Alteriom Fork

- **Broadcast OTA Distribution** - 98% network traffic reduction for large meshes
- **MQTT Status Bridge** - Enterprise monitoring integration (Grafana, InfluxDB)
- **Structured Packages** - SensorPackage, CommandPackage, StatusPackage
- **Enhanced CI/CD** - Automated releases to NPM, PlatformIO, Arduino Library Manager

## 📖 Documentation Structure

### Getting Started

- [Quick Start Guide](getting-started/quickstart.md) - Get up and running in minutes
- [Installation](getting-started/installation.md) - Detailed installation instructions
- [First Mesh Network](getting-started/first-mesh.md) - Your first working mesh

### Architecture & Design  

- [Mesh Architecture](architecture/mesh-architecture.md) - How painlessMesh works internally
- [Plugin System](architecture/plugin-system.md) - Understanding the plugin architecture
- [Message Routing](architecture/routing.md) - Message routing algorithms and strategies
- [Time Synchronization](architecture/time-sync.md) - Mesh-wide time synchronization

### API Reference

- [Core API](api/core-api.md) - Main painlessMesh class methods
- [Shared Gateway API](api/shared-gateway.md) - Shared Gateway Mode reference (v1.9.0+)
- [Plugin API](api/plugin-api.md) - Creating custom packages and plugins
- [Configuration](api/configuration.md) - Configuration options and constants
- [Callbacks](api/callbacks.md) - Event handling and callbacks

### Tutorials & Examples

- [Basic Examples](tutorials/basic-examples.md) - Simple mesh networking examples
- [Custom Packages](tutorials/custom-packages.md) - Creating your own message types
- [Sensor Networks](tutorials/sensor-networks.md) - Building IoT sensor networks
- [Bridge to Internet](../BRIDGE_TO_INTERNET.md) - Connecting mesh to WiFi/Internet/MQTT

### Alteriom Extensions

- [Alteriom Overview](alteriom/overview.md) - Alteriom-specific functionality
- [Sensor Packages](alteriom/sensor-packages.md) - Environmental sensor data handling
- [Command System](alteriom/command-system.md) - Device command and control
- [Status Monitoring](alteriom/status-monitoring.md) - Device health and diagnostics

### 📡 MQTT Integration

- **[MQTT Bridge Commands](MQTT_BRIDGE_COMMANDS.md)** - Complete MQTT command API
- **[MQTT Bridge Implementation](MQTT_BRIDGE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md)** - Implementation details
- **[MQTT Schema Compliance](MQTT_SCHEMA_COMPLIANCE.md)** - Schema validation
- **[OTA Commands Reference](OTA_COMMANDS_REFERENCE.md)** - OTA update commands
- **[Mesh Topology Guide](MESH_TOPOLOGY_GUIDE.md)** - Topology reporting over MQTT

### Advanced Topics

- [Performance Optimization](advanced/performance.md) - Optimizing mesh performance
- [Memory Management](advanced/memory.md) - Managing ESP8266/ESP32 memory constraints
- [Security Considerations](advanced/security.md) - Securing your mesh network
- [OTA Updates](advanced/ota.md) - Over-the-air firmware updates in mesh

### Troubleshooting

- [Common Issues](troubleshooting/common-issues.md) - Solutions to frequent problems
- [ESP32-C6 Compatibility](troubleshooting/ESP32_C6_COMPATIBILITY.md) - ESP32-C6 specific issues and solutions
- [Debugging Guide](troubleshooting/debugging.md) - Tools and techniques for debugging
- [FAQ](troubleshooting/faq.md) - Frequently asked questions
- [Network Issues](troubleshooting/network-issues.md) - Connectivity and mesh topology problems

### Development

- [Contributing](development/contributing.md) - How to contribute to painlessMesh
- [Building & Testing](development/building.md) - Development environment setup
- [Documentation](development/documentation.md) - Contributing to documentation
- [Release Process](development/releases.md) - Understanding releases and versioning
- **[Docker Testing](development/DOCKER_TESTING.md)** - Containerized testing environment
- **[Testing Summary](development/TESTING_SUMMARY.md)** - Complete test suite overview
- **[Arduino Compliance](development/ARDUINO_COMPLIANCE_SUMMARY.md)** - Arduino Library Manager standards
- **[PlatformIO Usage](development/PLATFORMIO_USAGE.md)** - PlatformIO integration guide

### 📦 Releases & Changelogs

- **[Feature History](releases/FEATURE_HISTORY.md)** - ⭐ Consolidated Phase 1 & 2 development history
- **[Release Notes v1.7.0](releases/RELEASE_NOTES_1.7.0.md)** - Detailed v1.7.0 release notes
- **[CHANGELOG](../CHANGELOG.md)** - Complete version history
- **[RELEASE_GUIDE](../RELEASE_GUIDE.md)** - Maintainer release process
- [Phase 1 Details](releases/PHASE1_SUMMARY.md) - v1.6.x detailed summary (archived)
- [Phase 2 Details](releases/PHASE2_SUMMARY.md) - v1.7.x detailed summary (archived)

### 🗂️ Core Documentation (Root)

- **[Main README](../README.md)** - Project overview and quick start
- **[CONTRIBUTING](../CONTRIBUTING.md)** - Contribution guidelines
- **[LICENSE](../LICENSE)** - LGPL-3.0 license terms

### 🗃️ Historical & Archive

- **[Archive](archive/)** - Historical bug fixes and obsolete documentation
  - Bug fix documentation (SCONS, VECTOR, LIBRARY fixes)
  - Legacy deployment guides
  - Superseded release documentation

### 🚀 Improvements & Enhancements

- **[Improvements Overview](improvements/README.md)** - Complete guide to library enhancements
- **[OTA & Status Enhancements](improvements/OTA_STATUS_ENHANCEMENTS.md)** 📋 - Complete reference for all options
  - ✅ Phase 1 (v1.6.x): Compressed OTA + Enhanced Status
  - ✅ Phase 2 (v1.7.0): Broadcast OTA + MQTT Bridge
  - 📋 Phase 3 (Future): Progressive rollout, P2P distribution, real-time telemetry
- **[Implementation History](improvements/IMPLEMENTATION_HISTORY.md)** 🔧 - Technical details for Phases 1-2
- **[Future Proposals](improvements/FUTURE_PROPOSALS.md)** 🚀 - Phase 3+ roadmap and specifications

## Quick Links

- **[GitHub Repository](https://github.com/Alteriom/painlessMesh)**
- **[API Documentation](https://alteriom.github.io/painlessMesh/#/api/doxygen)**
- **[Community Forum](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/painlessmesh-user)**
- **[Issue Tracker](https://github.com/Alteriom/painlessMesh/issues)**

## Need Help?

- Start with the [Quick Start Guide](getting-started/quickstart.md)
- Check the [FAQ](troubleshooting/faq.md) for common questions
- Browse [Examples](tutorials/basic-examples.md) for practical use cases
- Join our [Community Forum](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/painlessmesh-user)
- Report bugs on the [Issue Tracker](https://github.com/Alteriom/painlessMesh/issues)

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This documentation is maintained by the painlessMesh community. Contributions are welcome! See our [Documentation Contributing Guide](development/documentation.md) to get started.
