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Choose a payload format
The Payload format in step 2 of the Add Gateway wizard tells the Firmcraft IoT Dashboard how your gateway encodes its messages. It's offered for MQTT protocols only; HTTP gateways always send JSON.
| Format | Choose it when | What changes in the wizard |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-detect (recommended) | You're not sure. | Nothing. The IoT Dashboard reads the sample you paste in step 4 and switches to the right format itself. |
| JSON | Your gateway publishes plain JSON messages. | Nothing. You enter the Topic Path yourself. |
| Sparkplug B | Your gateway is a Sparkplug B edge node, common with industrial gateways and SCADA systems. | You enter a Group ID and Edge Node ID instead of a topic. |
| LoRaWAN (ChirpStack / The Things Stack) | Your readings come from a LoRaWAN network server's MQTT integration. | You choose the Network server and enter the Application ID instead of a topic. |
How Auto-detect decides
- A sample shaped like a ChirpStack or The Things Stack uplink is LoRaWAN. The wizard switches the format to LoRaWAN for you, so what you map is what the IoT Dashboard stores.
- A message on a topic starting with
spBv1.0/is Sparkplug B. For Sparkplug it's simpler to choose Sparkplug B yourself, because the wizard then builds the topic for you. - Anything else is JSON.