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Config validation

The bot can validate your config.ini for section names and path writability before you run it. Use this to catch typos (e.g. [WebViewer] instead of [Web_Viewer]) and missing required sections.

How to run

Standalone script (no bot startup):

python validate_config.py [--config config.ini]

At bot startup (validate then exit):

python meshcore_bot.py --validate-config [--config config.ini]

Inspect resolved config (redacted, then exit):

python meshcore_bot.py --show-config [--config config.ini]
python meshcore_bot.py --show-config-json [--config config.ini]
  • Exit 0 – No errors (warnings and info may still be printed).
  • Exit 1 – One or more errors; fix them before starting the bot.

Warnings and info do not change the exit code. Only errors cause exit 1.

What is checked

Required sections

The bot will not start without these sections. The validator reports them as errors if missing:

Section Purpose
[Connection] Serial, BLE, or TCP connection parameters
[Bot] Database path, bot name, rate limits, etc.
[Channels] Monitor channels, DM behavior, optional flood_scope / flood_scopes (scoped flooding)

Section names

  • Canonical sections (e.g. [Web_Viewer], [Feed_Manager]) and any section ending in _Command (e.g. [Path_Command], [Wx_Command]) are valid.
  • Known typos are reported as warnings with a suggestion, for example:
  • [WebViewer] → use [Web_Viewer]
  • [FeedManager] → use [Feed_Manager]
  • [Jokes] → use [Joke_Command] / [DadJoke_Command] (see Configuration and Upgrade for legacy support).
  • [Aliases] — Deprecated in v0.9. Move entries to per-command aliases = under each *_Command section. The validator may report this as info; see Upgrade guide.
  • Unknown sections (not in the canonical list and not a *_Command section) are reported as info; the validator may suggest a similar section name if it looks like a command.

Optional sections (info only)

If these are absent, the validator reports info (no error):

  • [Admin_ACL] – Absent means admin commands (repeater, webviewer, reload, channelpause) are disabled.
  • [Banned_Users] – Absent means no users are banned.
  • [Localization] – Absent means defaults (e.g. language=en, translation_path=translations/) are used.
  • [Rate_Limits], [Webhook] – Optional; no error if absent.

The validator does not deeply validate [Rate_Limits] key shapes or [Webhook] API settings — refer to config.ini.example and Configuration.

Public channel guard

If monitor_channels includes the Public channel (matched by name — Public, #public, etc.), the validator reports an error unless the override key is present in [Bot]. See Channels section — Public channel guard for the override key and rationale.

Path writability

The validator checks that paths for database, log file, and Web_Viewer db_path (when set) are writable. Problems are reported as warnings (e.g. directory does not exist or is not writable). Relative paths are resolved from the directory containing the config file.

Severity levels

Level Effect on exit code Typical meaning
Error Exit 1 Must fix (e.g. missing section)
Warning Exit 0 Likely mistake (e.g. section typo)
Info Exit 0 Informational (e.g. optional section absent)

Example

$ python validate_config.py --config config.ini
Warning: Non-standard section [WebViewer]; did you mean [Web_Viewer]?
Info: Section [Localization] absent; using defaults (language=en, translation_path=translations/).

Fix the [WebViewer] section name, then re-run. After fixing errors, the bot can start normally; you can also run with --validate-config before each start if you prefer.