Announcing Helium Console Open Source Release

We’re excited to announce the release of Helium Console under the Apache 2.0 license. Console joins a growing list of Helium open source projects including blockchain core, the wallet, the blockchain explorer, the Helium app and others, which all can be found here.

To host your own version of Console, the GitHub repository is here and technical documentation can be found here.

For a list of major Console features, check this 2021 retrospective blog.

We invite the community to host their own versions and contribute by sharing feedback, ideas, and communicating issues here.

Before working on any planned pull requests, please review contribution guidelines here.

Increasing Decentralization and Accelerating Usage

Today represents a big milestone for Helium. Helium Console released as open source moves the Network toward full decentralization and accelerates usage.

To jump start the Network Helium needed to build Hotspots to provide coverage, and Console to onboard and manage the devices. Last year we shifted hardware manufacturing to third-party companies (check announcement here).

Similar to our hardware strategy, providing Console as open source removes Helium as the bottleneck for usage of the Network and enables an entire new wave of users and devices.

Get Started

Releasing Helium Console as open source ensures the Network is truly decentralized and can continue to operate without a single company controlling either coverage or usage of the Network.

Interested in learning how to host your own version of Helium Console? Soon we will share a tutorial on our YouTube channel with one of our engineers walking through the entire process with a partner. Subscribe to our channel here.

FAQ

Will Helium, Inc still contribute to Helium Console development?

Yes! The team built a strong foundation last year, and will continue to maintain the instance hosted by Helium, Inc, and share our contributions. We expect in the short-term the majority of the pull requests will still be handled by the team at Helium, Inc, but over time the community’s contributions will increase.

Does this version leverage the Packet Purchaser that’s already public?

No. This version combines the capabilities of the Packet Purchaser and a LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS). However, to execute on our strategy to integrate with other LNS we made the decision to decouple the Packet Purchaser component. In future versions of Console we’ll make a decision to decouple these two on the current stack.

How do I get started to host my own instance of Helium Console?

You’ll need to obtain an OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier), a slot of DevAddrs slabs, and a pool of Data Credits to fund data transfer.

An overview of what’s necessary to run your own instance of Helium Console is here.

Step by step documentation is here.

What gateway configuration do I need to make to move from the Helium, Inc Console instance to another one hosted by a different organization?

No, there’s no Hotspot/gateway configuration needed.

Will I need to re-onboard the gateway using the Onboarding server?

No. If the gateway was already onboarded and on the blockchain there is no need to re-onboard it.