Setting region & scope – MeshCore Belgium

The essentials in 5 lines

For the Belgian MeshCore network.

From 1 August 2026, messages without a scope (unscoped) are no longer flooded without limit in the Belgian MeshCore network.
Repeaters should preferably only pass messages carrying one of the scopes eu, bx, be, be-vlg and their own province (in the example: be-vli, Limburg).
Repeaters away from the coast: set flood.max.unscoped 3. At the coast, all unscoped messages are stopped.
As a user, set the Default Region Scope in your companion (experimental settings) to e.g. be; otherwise your DMs go no further than the number of hops set by flood.max.unscoped.
For messages from users in Belgium, the scope be is recommended. Always choose the smallest scope that still reaches everyone who needs to receive the message.

Set up now: to-do list

Three steps. Open the panel that matches your device.

Belgian values. The request to review the configuration is addressed to all Belgian repeater operators; the recommended scope be applies to messages from users in Belgium. For a repeater or companion in another country this guide gives no settings.

1Choose your province and your region codes

The regional structure follows the international standards: according to ISO 3166 the country code for Belgium is BE; Belgium is divided into 3 regions and 10 provinces (ISO 3166-2). For the message scope you work in lower case: the country code therefore becomes be.

My province (or Brussels)

Your choice is kept only in this browser. Hainaut is missing from the source's code table, so we cannot give a code for it.

All codes are in the region code table. The minimum configuration consists of country and province.

2Set the scope(s) on your device

Repeater – via the CLI Companion app or USB/serial

You configure the repeater's regions via the CLI (command line interface). Log in to your repeater via the Companion app or via a USB/serial connection. Use a nested structure and run the commands one at a time; wait for an OK confirmation after each command.

Example for a repeater in Limburg:

region def eu bx be be-vlg be-vli

region default be

region save

Check with the region command that the configuration succeeded. You should see this:

region
*
 eu F
  bx F
   be^F
    be-vlg F
     be-vli F

Always finish with region save, so that your configuration is still active after a reboot.

The example is for Limburg (be-vli in be-vlg). The codes of the other regions and provinces are in the table; there are no separate examples per province.

Companion app – Default Region Scope for your DMs

DMs are sent without a scope by default. To let your DMs travel further than the number of hops set via flood.max.unscoped, set the Default Region Scope in your companion, under experimental settings, to e.g.:

be

Then, provided all Belgian repeaters have be set as a region, you can send DMs within Belgium.

When you send a message yourself, always choose the smallest scope that still reaches everyone who needs to receive it. A local message does not need to become a Benelux message.

3Repeater: limit the flooding of unscoped messages

At the coast the choice is to stop all unscoped messages. For repeaters elsewhere in Belgium a somewhat more lenient approach is probably desirable:

set flood.max.unscoped 3

This still gives new users or visitors from neighbouring regions the possibility to spread regional messages, even if they are not yet familiar with the scope system. This setting offers a good balance between openness to new users, regional interoperability and protection against large volumes of irrelevant external messages.

No separate command is documented for "stop all unscoped messages" at the coast; we do not invent one here either.

"2-byte" / path-hash setting: not covered in the sources used. This guide deliberately makes no statement about it; consult the MeshCore documentation instead.

Region codes for Belgium

ISO code in upper case, region code (for the scope) in lower case.

Country and wider

Region code	Meaning	Copy
`eu`	Europe
`bx`	Benelux
`be`	Belgium (ISO 3166: `BE`)

Belgian regions

ISO code	Region code	Region
BE-BRU	`be-bru`	Brussels-Capital Region
BE-VLG	`be-vlg`	Flemish Region
BE-WAL	`be-wal`	Walloon Region

Provinces

ISO code	Region code	Province
BE-VAN	`be-van`	Antwerp
BE-WBR	`be-wbr`	Walloon Brabant
BE-VLI	`be-vli`	Limburg
BE-WLG	`be-wlg`	Liège
BE-WLX	`be-wlx`	Luxembourg
BE-WNA	`be-wna`	Namur
BE-VOV	`be-vov`	East Flanders
BE-VBR	`be-vbr`	Flemish Brabant
BE-VWV	`be-vwv`	West Flanders

The code table contains these nine provinces (Hainaut is not in it). We reproduce the table as it is.

The change in flood policy

Announced on 24 July 2026, in force from 1 August 2026.

What changes?

From 1 August, a change to the processing of unscoped messages is introduced within the Belgian MeshCore network. From that date it is recommended to configure your repeater so that only messages with one of the following scopes are passed on:

eu (europe)
bx (benelux)
be (Belgium)
be-vlg (Flemish Region)
be-vli (provincial level: in this example Limburg)

Messages without a scope (unscoped) will no longer be flooded without limit through the network.

Why this change?

In recent months there has been a strong increase in traffic originating from the United Kingdom. This is especially noticeable at the coast, where:

favourable propagation conditions regularly make connections across the Channel possible;
at least one repeater operator uses a directional antenna (Yagi) that transmits specifically towards the European mainland.

Although this is technically interesting and shows how powerful MeshCore can be, these messages provide no relevant information for most Belgian users. The result is that a large number of messages enter the Belgian mesh and spread further. This causes:

extra load on repeaters;
higher channel occupancy;
unnecessary storage of messages;
an increased risk of network saturation.

From when, and what is asked of you?

The change applies from 1 August 2026. All Belgian repeater operators are asked to review their configuration before 1 August and, where possible, apply one of the recommended settings (see the to-do list).

Our goal is not to make international connectivity impossible, but to ensure that the Belgian network remains performant and available for the users it is intended for.
quotation translated from the source (see bottom of page)

What about my DMs?

DMs are sent without a scope by default. To make sure your DMs still get further than the number of hops set via flood.max.unscoped, you can set the Default Region Scope in your companion, in the experimental settings, to e.g. be. Then, provided all Belgian repeaters have be set as a region, you can send DMs within Belgium.
quotation translated from the source (see bottom of page)

Choose deliberately which regions you configure

Configure on your repeater only the regions your installation is genuinely geographically part of. A repeater in Limburg does not need to pass every available region. The wider you configure, the greater the chance that messages travel further through the network than necessary, and that is exactly what we want to avoid.
For repeaters in border areas it can make sense to set more than one region, e.g. a repeater that can usefully support traffic from both Belgian and Dutch Limburg. There too: be selective and do not overdo it. Configuring too many regions at once leads to unnecessary network load and unpredictable behaviour.
In border areas it is therefore often better to agree together on a separate, logical region. A scope covering Belgian and Dutch Limburg is more efficient than immediately using the broad bx scope (Benelux). That way you keep the message flow within the area where it is genuinely relevant.
When you send a message yourself, always choose the smallest scope that still reaches everyone who needs to receive it. A local message does not need to become a Benelux message.
Never make these decisions alone. Coordinate with the operators of neighbouring repeaters, so that everyone uses the same regions and the network keeps working efficiently and predictably.

Extra: nested regions

When creating regions, always indicate their relationship to each other.

be-vlg is part of be, therefore:

region put be-vlg be

be-vli is part of be-vlg:

region put be-vli be-vlg

If you also want to add Flemish Brabant (be-vbr) to this repeater's regions, nest it under be-vlg:

region put be-vbr be-vlg

And if you add Kuringen (bekrn):

region put bekrn be-vli

Always finish with region save, so that the configuration you entered is still active after a reboot.

Note: the current repeater firmware does not take the nested region structure into account. A child region therefore does not yet inherit the flood settings of a parent region.

Checklist: check your settings

Tick what is in order (kept only in this browser).

I know my region codes: country be, my region and my province (lower case, see table).
Repeater: logged in via the Companion app or USB/serial, and regions defined with region def … (nested structure; at least country and province).
Repeater: region default be set.
Repeater: region save run and structure checked with region (every command returned OK).
Repeater: flooding of unscoped messages limited (set flood.max.unscoped 3 elsewhere in Belgium; at the coast all unscoped messages are stopped).
Companion: Default Region Scope (experimental settings) set to e.g. be, so my DMs travel further.
I have only configured regions my installation is genuinely part of, and coordinated with neighbouring repeater operators.
When sending, I choose the smallest scope that reaches everyone who needs to receive the message.

Glossary

Short explanation in our own words, derived from how the terms are used in the source.

Flood / flooding: The spreading (forwarding) of a message across the network by repeaters. From 1 August 2026 unscoped messages are "no longer flooded without limit through the network".
Unscoped message: A message without a scope. DMs are sent without a scope by default.
Scope: The region code attached to a message, which determines where it is relevant (e.g. be). Choose the smallest scope that still reaches everyone who needs to receive the message.
Region / region code: An area designation based on ISO 3166 (country) and ISO 3166-2 (regions, provinces), in lower case: be, be-vlg, be-vli… Set on a repeater with the region commands.
Nested region (parent/child): Regions defined as parts of each other, e.g. be-vli under be-vlg under be (region put be-vli be-vlg). Note: a child region does not yet inherit the parent's flood settings.
flood.max.unscoped: Repeater setting that determines how many more hops an unscoped message may travel; away from the coast set flood.max.unscoped 3 is recommended.
Hop: One forwarding step of the message via a repeater.
Default Region Scope: Setting in the companion's experimental settings that defines the default scope for your messages (including DMs); recommended: e.g. be.
Companion: The MeshCore app/device you use as a user to send messages and with which you can also log in to a repeater.
Repeater: A node that forwards (floods) other people's messages. Configured via the CLI.
CLI: Command line interface: the text commands (region def …, set …) you run on the repeater via the Companion app or a USB/serial connection.
Path-hash / 2-byte: Not covered in the sources used; this guide therefore gives no explanation of it.