The AltGrid Project

AltGrid, and the ViaTux mascot.

AltGrid builds tools for the world after the grid — when cloud services fail, networks fragment, and simplicity wins.
It’s a family of open projects focused on one guiding idea: that technology should keep working even when the internet doesn’t.

AltGrid systems are designed around Simplicity · Portability · Autonomy.
They favor text over apps, terminals over touchscreens, and radio over Wi-Fi. Everything can be built, run, and repaired using ordinary Linux tools.

Core Projects

  • ViaText Core — Linux command-line toolkit for sending and receiving plaintext messages through LoRa radios.
  • ViaText Node — ESP32-based field hardware for off-grid communication.
  • AltGrid Live — a portable Debian-based live OS that runs AltGrid tools entirely from a USB stick.

Together, they form a self-contained communication network — part radio, part post office, part act of defiance against disposable tech.

Build like it’s 1986. Communicate like it’s 2086.

More posts under this section will explore the hardware, firmware, and philosophy behind the project — along with field experiments, design notes, and appearances by our mascot, ViaTux, the Linux survivalist of the post-cloud world.

Introduction to ViaText Node

Leo Blanchette
Introduction to ViaText Node

« Back to AltGrid Project

Introduction to ViaText Node

NOTE: This project is still very young in development.

ViaText Node is the hardware side of the ViaText system — an ESP32-based LoRa communication device that pairs directly with the ViaText Core (Linux) software.

Together, they form a complete off-grid, text-based communication system:

  • ViaText Core runs on your Linux computer. It handles CLI commands, message routing, and serial communication.
  • ViaText Node runs on your TTGO LoRa32 V2.1 board (ESP32). It listens for packets from the Core, executes them, and handles the radio transmission layer.

Build like it’s 1986. Communicate like it’s 2086.
Simplicity · Portability · Autonomy

[Read more →]

Introduction to Viatext Core

Leo Blanchette
Introduction to Viatext Core

ViaText Core (Linux)

« Back to AltGrid Project

Status: In Development
Repository: github.com/AltGrid/viatext-core

ViaText Core is the Linux-side command line and library system used for the ViaText communications project.
It allows a Linux computer to scan, manage, and message LoRa nodes directly — without phones, apps, or cloud servers.

See also Introduction to ViaText

Overview

ViaText is built to support human-readable communication between computers and microcontroller-based radio nodes.
It follows three design standards:

[Read more →]

Introduction to AltGrid Live Usb

Leo Blanchette
Introduction to AltGrid Live Usb

« Back to AltGrid Project

Introduction

NOTE: This is still young in production.

AltGrid Live is a portable Linux operating system built for independence. It’s a Debian-based live USB environment that can transform nearly any computer into a functional off-grid workstation — complete with LoRa radio communication, scripting tools, and a curated offline toolkit.
You can think of it as Tails for the resilient technologist: focused not on anonymity, but self-reliance.

[Read more →]

Introduction to Viatext

Leo Blanchette
Introduction to Viatext

« Back to AltGrid Project

Introduction

ViaText is an off-grid, Linux-first messaging system under the AltGrid project family — a toolkit for communication when the cloud disappears and cables end. Its guiding philosophy is Simplicity · Portability · Autonomy.

At its heart, ViaText connects computers directly through LoRa radio or serial links. It doesn’t need cell towers, Wi-Fi, or even the internet — just small, low-power devices that talk to each other the old-fashioned way: by signal and intent. Messages are human-readable, inspectable with a text editor, and portable across Linux systems.

[Read more →]