Develop realtime mapping and edge AI solutions with the Bee

Installation

python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Build

bash build.sh [output_name] [entrypoint]

will output myplugin.py by default, or specify a custom name:

Development

Use src/plugin/example.py to edit variables, etc.

Local Development

While connected to the device over WiFi (password hivemapper), run the following to interact with the device

To disable automatic over-the-air updates, which will wipe out local changes, enable dev mode:

To upload a local build artifact

python3 devtools.py -i myplugin.py

This will automatically restart the plugin service on the device

To manually restart the plugin service on the device

To enable automatic over-the-air updates, which will wipe out local changes, disable dev mode:

Fixture Data

To load fixture data, specify a fixture dataset like:

python3 devtools -f tokyo

Provided Fixtures

• sf
• tokyo

To dump cache contents to local machine:

State dump

To dump the device logs and state to a zip file:

Networking

To switch the network client to use WiFi, specify a SSID/password:

python3 device.py -Wi mynetworkssid -P mynetworkpassword

To switch the network client back to LTE:

To view the WiFi SSIDs openly broadcasting to the Bee:

To view WiFi status/settings:

Calibration

To retrieve device-specific calibration data:

python3 device.py -C > calibration.json

Encrypted Secrets

Plugins can securely load arbitrary environment variables at runtime instead of hardcoding credentials in source code. Keys are not restricted — any string key-value pairs work.

Usage in your plugin

import beeutil

def _setup(state):
    # Load all secrets (cached after first call)
    # Tries: .env file → Hivemapper API via ODC (in that order)
    env = beeutil.secrets.load('my-plugin')
    bucket = env['AWS_BUCKET']

    # Or get a single key
    bucket = beeutil.secrets.get('my-plugin', 'AWS_BUCKET')

Local Development (.env file)

Create /data/plugins/<plugin-name>/.env on the device, or push via devtools:

python3 devtools.py -e path/to/.env

Example .env:

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY
AWS_BUCKET=my-bucket
AWS_REGION=us-west-2
MY_CUSTOM_KEY=whatever

Production (encrypt + upload to Hivemapper backend)

Use the provided upload script:

python3 util/upload_secrets.py \
    --plugin-name my-plugin \
    --plugin-secret <plugin-api-key> \
    --env-file .env

This will:

1. Parse the .env file into key-value pairs
2. Fetch the plugin's _id from the Hivemapper backend
3. Encrypt the KV pairs using _id as key material (PBKDF2 + AES-256-CBC)
4. Upload the encrypted blob via PUT /plugins/:name/secrets

The device fetches and decrypts at runtime via ODC API. Use --dry-run to encrypt without uploading.

Technical details

• Algorithm: AES-256-CBC with PKCS7 padding
• Key derivation: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 (100k iterations, salt: hivemapper-plugin-secrets)
• Library: Uses cryptography (pre-installed on device)
• Loading priority: .env file → Hivemapper API (via ODC)

Deploy

Use your provided plugin name and secret key to build and deploy the build artifact

python3 deploy.py -n plugin-name -s mysecretkeygoeshere -i myplugin.py