Install wmbusmeters with Homebrew, dnf

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• wmbusmeters
• wmbusmetersd

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created in August 2017 and has grown into a focused C++ project with a large catalog of meter drivers. Its README frames the program around a concrete transformation: receive raw M-Bus or wireless M-Bus telegrams from meters, decode the manufacturer- and model-specific content, and publish readings in formats that other software can consume.

The project has continued to evolve through driver additions and decoding changes rather than through a single protocol abstraction. Recent release notes show a 2.0.0 release in March 2026 that moved some manufacturer-specific protocol decoders from C++ into editable XMQ files with Invisible XML grammars, described by the maintainers as a major step toward making all drivers editable text files rather than compiled code.

Adoption history

wmbusmeters has visible adoption in smart-home and utility-monitoring circles because many water, heat, gas, and electricity meters expose wireless M-Bus telegrams but do not provide a convenient local API. The official Home Assistant add-on repository says it lets users acquire readings without a vendor bridge or gateway when meters support C1, T1, or S1 wireless M-Bus telegrams.

The project also maintains an online analyzer at wmbusmeters.org for inspecting telegrams with the same command-line analyzer syntax. That service and the long supported-driver list demonstrate that wmbusmeters has become a shared decoder knowledge base for a messy field of real-world meters.

How it is used

Typical use combines a supported radio dongle, serial M-Bus interface, RTL-SDR software-radio input, file, or pipe with meter definitions and optional decryption keys. Users run it as an interactive decoder while commissioning meters, or as the wmbusmetersd daemon to publish recurring readings to MQTT, REST endpoints, databases, or logs.

Why package nerds care

The package is significant because it packages practical reverse-engineering and protocol normalization for a long tail of utility meters. For self-hosting users, it is often the component that turns a cheap receiver and a meter key into local, scriptable energy and water telemetry.

Timeline

• 2017: wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters public repository created on GitHub.
• 2023: GitHub release history records the 1.13.x release line.
• 2024: 1.17 and 1.18 releases document continued driver additions and XMQ driver changes.
• 2026: 2.0.0 release notes describe moving selected manufacturer protocol decoders toward editable XMQ grammar files.
• 2026: 3.0.0 appears as the latest GitHub release in June.

Related projects

• wmbusmeters-ha-addon is the official Home Assistant add-on repository for running wmbusmeters in a smart-home deployment.
• rtl-wmbus and RTL-SDR workflows commonly supply wireless telegrams that wmbusmeters decodes.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters
• https://api.github.com/repos/wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters/releases?per_page=100
• https://github.com/wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters
• https://github.com/wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters-ha-addon
• https://github.com/wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters/releases
• https://wmbusmeters.org/