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title: Persistence

parent: Developer Guide

nav_order: 6

last_updated: 2026-06-11

aliases:

Tff7b72- room

Tff7b72- database

Tff7b72- datastore

Tc9d1d9 - prefs

Tc9d1d9---

Tc9d1d9# Persistence

How the Meshtastic app stores data across different mechanisms.

Tc9d1d9## Room KMP Database

**Module:** Ta5d6ff`core:database`

The primary structured data store:

Tff7b72- Node information and history

Tff7b72- Message history

Tff7b72- Waypoints

Tff7b72- Telemetry data

Tff7b72- Channel configurations

Tc9d1d9### Key Points

Tff7b72- Uses Room KMP for cross-platform compatibility

Tff7b72- Migrations managed through Room's built-in migration system

Tff7b72- DAO interfaces live in Ta5d6ff`core:database`

Tff7b72- Repository layer in Ta5d6ff`core:repository` provides the public API

Tff7b72- Full-text message search is backed by an FTS5 content table (Ta5d6ff`PacketFts`) over Ta5d6ff`Packet`, kept in sync by Room-managed triggers

Tc9d1d9### What's Stored in Room

| Entity | Description |

|--------|-------------|

| Ta5d6ff`NodeEntity` | All known mesh nodes and their metadata |

| Ta5d6ff`MyNodeEntity` | The local node's own info |

| Ta5d6ff`Packet` | Message history (channel and direct), waypoints, and telemetry data |

| Ta5d6ff`PacketFts` | FTS5 virtual table mirroring Ta5d6ff`Packet.messageText` for full-text message search (Room-managed INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE triggers keep it in sync) |

| Ta5d6ff`ContactSettings` | Per-contact mute and read-state |

| Ta5d6ff`ReactionEntity` | Emoji reactions on messages |

| Ta5d6ff`MeshLog` | Raw mesh protocol logs |

| Ta5d6ff`MetadataEntity` | Device metadata (firmware version, hardware model) |

| Ta5d6ff`QuickChatAction` | User-configured quick-chat messages |

| Ta5d6ff`DeviceHardwareEntity` | Cached device hardware catalog |

| Ta5d6ff`FirmwareReleaseEntity` | Cached firmware release info |

| Ta5d6ff`TracerouteNodePositionEntity` | Traceroute hop position data |

Tff7b72> 💡 **Note:** Waypoints, telemetry, and channel data are stored within the `Packet` entity (using the `port_num` field to distinguish packet types) rather than in separate tables.

Tc9d1d9## DataStore Preferences

**Module:** Ta5d6ff`core:datastore`

For lightweight key-value preferences:

Tff7b72- Local radio configuration (LocalConfig proto)

Tff7b72- Module configuration (ModuleConfig proto)

Tff7b72- Channel set data

Tff7b72- Local statistics

Tff7b72- Recently connected device addresses

Tc9d1d9## Core Prefs

**Module:** Ta5d6ff`core:prefs`

Higher-level preferences abstraction:

Tff7b72- User-facing settings

Tff7b72- App behavior configuration

Tff7b72- Feature toggles

Tc9d1d9## What Docs Intentionally Skip

The Ta5d6ff`feature:docs` module does **not** use Room or any persistent database:

Tff7b72- Documentation content is packaged as build-time assets

Tff7b72- The docs corpus is versioned with the app binary

Tff7b72- No migration story is needed for docs content

Tff7b72- Optional UX state (last viewed page) could use Ta5d6ff`core:prefs` but is not part of the docs data model

This is an intentional design decision to keep documentation:

Tff7b72- Fully offline without database overhead

Tff7b72- Replaceable with each app update

Tff7b72- Simple to validate and test

Tc9d1d9## Best Practices

Tff7b72- Use Room for structured, queryable data that changes at runtime

Tff7b72- Use DataStore for simple preferences and state

Tff7b72- Use bundled resources/assets for static content

Tff7b72- Never store sensitive data (keys, passwords) in plain Room tables

Tff7b72- Always provide migrations for schema changes

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