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title: TAK Integration

parent: User Guide

nav_order: 10

last_updated: 2026-07-08

description: Interoperate with ATAK and WinTAK — CoT position sharing, TAK roles, and plugin setup.

aliases:

• tak

• atak

• team-awareness-kit

Meshtastic integrates with the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) ecosystem, enabling interoperability between Meshtastic mesh devices and TAK applications like ATAK and WinTAK.

The TAK module allows Meshtastic nodes to:

• Share position data in TAK-compatible CoT (Cursor on Target) format

• Appear as team members on TAK map displays

• Receive TAK PLI (Position Location Information) messages

• ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) or WinTAK installed

• Meshtastic ATAK Plugin installed

• TAK module enabled on your Meshtastic radio

1. Navigate to Settings → Module Config → TAK.

2. Enable the TAK module.

3. Configure the TAK team/group settings:

!Module toggle switch

1. Install the Meshtastic ATAK Plugin from the plugin repository.

2. Open ATAK and enable the Meshtastic plugin.

3. The plugin bridges messages between ATAK and your mesh network.

The app can also run a local TAK server so ATAK/iTAK on the same device can connect directly, without a remote TAK server. The server binds to localhost only (T383838127.0.0.1:8089) and uses TLS with mutual certificate authentication (mTLS), so it is not reachable from other devices on the network. Open Settings → Module Config → TAK → TAK Server:

!Local TAK Server settings with enable toggle and export option

• Enable Local TAK Server — starts the loopback-only mTLS server on port 8089 for ATAK/iTAK connections from the same device.

• Export TAK Data Package — generates a T383838.zip data package that ATAK/iTAK can import to connect to this server.

Nodes configured with TAK-related roles behave differently from standard clients:

│ 💡 Tip: Use TAK Tracker for devices that only need to report position (e.g., a radio mounted in a

│ vehicle). Use TAK for devices where users actively participate in TAK operations.

TAK messages use the Cursor on Target XML format — a military standard for sharing situational awareness data. Meshtastic converts its internal protobuf messages to CoT format when bridging to TAK systems, so no manual format conversion is needed.

When using TAK roles, your node broadcasts identity information that appears on TAK maps:

These settings appear in Settings → Module Config → TAK when the TAK module is enabled. Your TAK callsign isn't a separate setting — it's derived automatically from your Meshtastic node name.

│ 💡 Tip: Team/role colors are the standard TAK affiliation colors. Coordinate with your TAK team

│ to use consistent team assignments.

Meshtastic supports two TAK wire formats, chosen automatically based on the connected radio's firmware — no manual configuration needed:

A node still relays legacy V1 packets from older nodes even while running V2 itself, so mixed-firmware meshes keep working.

Once configured:

• Meshtastic nodes appear as markers on the ATAK map with callsign labels

• Chat messages can bridge between mesh and TAK networks

• Position updates flow bidirectionally between Meshtastic and TAK

• TAK Tracker nodes broadcast PLI automatically — their positions appear on ATAK maps without any ATAK-side configuration

│ ⚠️ Note: TAK integration requires specific node roles and module configuration. Standard client

│ nodes don't automatically participate in TAK operations.

• TAK data shares your position and callsign information

• Ensure your channel encryption is configured when using TAK in sensitive environments

• The TAK module respects the same channel encryption as other Meshtastic messages

• Settings — Modules & Admin — TAK module configuration

• Nodes — TAK and TAK Tracker roles in the node list

• Map & Waypoints — node positions on the map

• ATAK plugin guide — detailed ATAK setup on meshtastic.org