loraPython

Python wrapper for a LoRa Raspberry Pi HAT.

It was tested with RFM95W LoRa module. Therefore it should work with following modules:

• RFMW95W
• SX1278
• SX1276

Additional information on how to use the driver can be found on my blog.

API Documentation

The Python wrapper for a LoRa module offers the following functions:

• init()
• recv()
• send()
• mode()
• txdone()

Constants

• SYNC_WORD_FACTORY (0x12) — default LoRa sync word
• SYNC_WORD_LORAWAN (0x34) — reserved for LoRaWAN networks

init(mode, frequency, spread_factor, sync_word=SYNC_WORD_FACTORY)

Initializes LoRa module. Has to be invoked every time when the mode (transmitter/receiver) is being changed.

Takes 3 positional arguments and 1 optional keyword argument:

• mode (0 for transmitter, 1 for receiver),
• frequency expressed in Hertz (make sure the LoRa module is compatible with selected frequency),
• spread_factor Lora spread factor, available are 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12.
• sync_word (optional) LoRa sync word, defaults to SYNC_WORD_FACTORY.

Currently only bandwidth 125kHz and coding rate 4/5 are supported.

Returns 0 on success.

recv()

Returns a tuplet with 6 elements:

• buffer (bytes),
• number of received bytes,
• PRRSI last packet RSSI (received signal strength indicator) [dBm]
• RRSI current RSSI [dBm]
• SNR signal noise ratio
• error code (0, no error, != 0, otherwise)

If no data was received the second element of the tuplet is set to 0.

send(data)

Takes 1 parameter:

• data byte array to be send (max 255 bytes).

mode(mode)

Changes the LoRa module mode without reinitializing. Takes 1 argument:

• mode (0 for transmitter, 1 for receiver).

Returns 0 on success.

txdone()

Checks if the transmission is complete. Returns 1 if done, 0 otherwise.

Connection

The module has to be connected to the Raspberry Pi according to the table below

RFM95W pin	Raspberry Pi pin	Description
3.3V	3V3, pin 1	3V3 power supply
GND	GND, pin 6	power ground
MISO	GPIO 9 (MISO), pin 21	SPI Master Input Slave Output
MOSI	GPIO 10 (MOSI), pin 19	SPI Master Output Slave Input
SCK	GPIO 11 (SCLK), pin 23	SPI clock
NSS	GPIO 25, pin 22	SPI chip select
RESET	GPIO 17, pin 11	LoRa module reset
DIO0	GPIO 4 (GPCLK0), pin 7	LoRa status line

Compilation

Before compiling make sure the proper version in Makefile was selected. This can be configured through PYTHONVER variable.

Additionally wiringpi library is used. Install it before compilation with

sudo apt install wiringpi

For the library and example application

make all

For library only

make lib

Examples

Before running the examples make sure that SPI interface is enabled in Raspberry Pi. For this use command

sudo raspi-config

Navigate through the menu, enable SPI and restart RPi.

Importing library

Previously the library was called loralib, now the name has changed to liblora. To maintain the backward compatibility you can import as:

import liblora as loralib

Receiver:

Configuration fo a simple receiver at 868MHz freqency.

import liblora
liblora.init(1, 868000000, 7)
data=liblora.recv()
data
>>> (b'hello', 5, -25, -94, 9, 0)

Receiver in a loop

Configuration of a receiver in a loop.

import liblora
import time

liblora.init(1, 868000000, 7)

for i in range(0,10000000):
  msg=liblora.recv()
  print("%06d, frame=" % i, end='')
  print(msg)
  time.sleep(1)    

Configuration of a receiver in a loop with high frequency check and verification of message size and CRC.

import liblora
import time

liblora.init(1, 868000000, 7)

for i in range(0,10000000):
  msg=liblora.recv()
  if msg[5] == 0 and msg[1] > 0:
    print(msg)
  time.sleep(0.001)    

Transmitter:

Transmitter sending a string "hello".

import liblora
liblora.init(0, 868000000, 7)
liblora.send(b'hello')

Docker

To use the Docker container, build it with:

docker build -t lora .

Then run the container with:

docker run -d --device /dev/gpiomem0 --device /dev/spidev0.0 --name lora -t lora

If device flags are not provided you may face similar errors like:

Python 3.13.11 (main, Jan 13 2026, 06:04:09) [GCC 14.2.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import liblora
>>> liblora.init(1, 868000000, 7)
wiringPiSetup: Unable to open /sys/bus/pci/devices/0002:01:00.0/resource1 or /dev/gpiomem0: No such file or directory.
  Aborting your program because if it can not access the GPIO
  hardware then it most certianly won't work
  Try running with sudo?

Python 3.13.11 (main, Jan 13 2026, 06:04:09) [GCC 14.2.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import liblora
>>> liblora.init(1, 868000000, 7)
Unable to open SPI device /dev/spidev0.0: No such file or directory

WiringPi library

The lora driver strongly relies on the WiringPi library. Make sure the library is installed and available. Currently, you need to install it from sources or use precompiled deb package as shown in the Dockerfile. For details refere to WiringPi GitHub repository