MeshCore team splits: trademark filed in secret, AI-generated code dispute
The MeshCore project, which started in January 2025 and now reports 38,000+ nodes and 100,000+ active app users, has experienced a public split. The original development team has forked away from contributor Andy Kirby after discovering that Kirby secretly filed for the MeshCore trademark on March 29, 2026, and aggressively took over multiple components of the ecosystem — including standalone devices, mobile app, web flasher, and web config tools — using AI-generated code (primarily Claude Code) without disclosing that fact to the team.
According to the official blog post at meshcore.io, the team polled their Discord community about AI use and trust, but the core dispute centers on the trademark filing and the lack of communication. The blog states: “Andy is adamant that he owns the brand, and is using the word very heavily with his MeshOS line. Meanwhile, in reality, the only ‘official’ MeshCore is the github repo. It’s the source of truth in terms of what is MeshCore, and Andy has never contributed to that.”
The remaining core team — Scott (project founder, lead firmware engineer), Liam Cottle (app developer), Recrof (map developer), FDLamotte (Python tooling, STM32 firmware), and Oltaco (OTA fix bootloader) — have launched a new home at meshcore.io, including a fresh Discord server. They pledge to continue development with “human-written software.” The blog notes that Andy Kirby controls the original meshcore.co.uk domain and Discord server, and that after the split he copied the look and feel of the new site (again using Claude) despite the team asking him not to.
Key resources for the official project:
- Official website: https://meshcore.io
- Blog: https://blog.meshcore.io
- Technical docs: https://docs.meshcore.io
- Official GitHub: https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore
The situation highlights friction points in open-source projects where AI-generated code and trademark ownership collide. For developers following the MeshCore ecosystem, the split means there are now two competing “official” channels — the original discord and .co.uk site vs. the new meshcore.io.
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