Already says, in section 1, right at the top:
Mesh11sd is a tool for OpenWrt users looking to create and manage wireless mesh networks using the 802.11s standard. (1)
It helps automate the process, which can be complex, especially for those new to networking or for the more experienced wanting to rapidly deploy larger networks.
Please read this entire document before installing the mesh11sd package!
Note: This documentation applies to version 5.0.0 or higher.
Thanks for pointing it out another time. I knew that such a statement was there!
Yes, sorry, I used your reply to emphasise that it was already there, mostly for the benefit of others who only selectively read little bits of forum posts and documentations.....
Low hanging fruit.... 
What are the UCI commands for setting these? Where is that documentation for all those nuances? I've only had issues with auto config and the first boot stuff with mesh11sd. I've had no issues making it work manually, but obviously I don't know these fine details. Could that be another project? A tutorial on manually configuring a stable and bulletproof mesh network covering the details luci can't handle?
Again that's the point. Standard OpenWrt can not set all these and if I understood correctly some settings can only be set after the interface is up.
As I do not use 80211s forwarding but batman adv I hope/think I don't need to set these. But someone who tries to build a pure 80211s seams to have a need to set these parameters and that's where mesh11sd comes into play.
I'm determined to make this work. I've decided to buy a GL-iNet MT300N-V2 travel router for $29 on Amazon. That's the one the developer used in the documentation. I've printed out the full documentation and I'm going to thoroughly read it a few times so I'm completely certain I have missed nothing and am doing everything right. I can't handle it when I can not resolve a problem so I am compelled to learn how this works and make it work. It's my only way out of the endless loop I find myself in right now.
Please make notes if you are so dedicated to it. It will be a good Chance to judge the current state of the docs.
If you are building a test mesh backhaul for experimenting with, you need at least two of them to get started because a single node mesh is not really a mesh... I guess you could also add some non-rasberry-pi devices as well....
The 802.11s HWMP parameters do not need setting with Batman because it creates a point to point ipv6 daisy chain with its own routing protocol.
Some of the parameters can be beneficial but that is not within the scope of this thread.
Iām buying an OpenWrt One too. That one fascinates me and looks like something fun to experiment with. Iām thinking the mesh system will work on this combination and I can be rid of my troublesome obsolete OnHubs.
I have a whole new problem now. I love the OpenWrt wrapper on the GL.iNet GL-MT300N V2 travel router. This is a really cool device. Why hasn't anyone else come up with a front end wrapper for OpenWrt like the one the GL.iNet people came up with? They call it, "GL.iNet web Admin Panel." It's amazing how much can be configured in detail and the multiple uses the tiny little router has. The utility of this thing is just over the top. Very little memory so packages are very limited but what's already there is amazing.
Wish I knew how to completely back up the default interface before wiping it all with a fresh Openwrt build to tinker with mesh and mesh11sd. Has that been done? Doable? It's a really nice front end for OpenWrt and there's even a little switch to turn the VPN on and off and it works! I've accidentally discovered exactly what I wanted.
Anyway notes to myself for mesh11sd setup for GL.iNet GL-MT300N V2
Installed packages for Firmware Selector:
base-files ca-bundle dnsmasq dropbear firewall4 fstools kmod-gpio-button-hotplug kmod-leds-gpio kmod-mt7603 kmod-nft-offload libc libgcc libustream-mbedtls logd mtd netifd nftables odhcp6c odhcpd-ipv6only opkg ppp ppp-mod-pppoe swconfig uci uclient-fetch urandom-seed urngd kmod-usb2 kmod-usb-ohci luci -wpad-basic-mbedtls wpad-mbedtls px5g-mbedtls ip-full kmod-nft-bridge vxlan mesh11sd
Script to run on first boot (uci-defaults)
uci set mesh11sd.setup.auto_config='0'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.country='JP'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.ssid_suffix_enable='1'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.vtun_enable='1'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.auto_mesh_id='karla-mesh'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.auto_mesh_key='MyOptionalMeshKeySeed'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.mesh_gate_base_ssid='Karla'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.mesh_gate_encryption='3'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.mesh_gate_key='secret_wifi_password'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.vtun_gate_encryption='3'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.vtun_base_ssid 'GuestNetworkSSIDHere'
uci set mesh11sd.setup.vtun_gate_key='GuestWifiPasswordHere'
uci commit mesh11sd
uci commit network
rootpassword="secret_admin_password"
/bin/passwd root << EOF
$rootpassword
$rootpassword
EOF
Note: Among the options for the country code, Japan (JP) typically provides the most permissive channel availability for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Operating outside permitted channels can cause interference and may be illegal in your location.
Then install updated mesh11sd package:
Download mesh11sd version 5.0.1
Confidence testing:
mesh11sd debuglevel 3; mesh11sd commit_changes commit; mesh11sd auto_config test; logread -f
Enable auto configuration:
uci set mesh11sd.setup.auto_config='1'
uci commit mesh11sd
Alternate enable method:
mesh11sd auto_config enable; reboot
Find your new IP (Linux)
ip -6 route
Find your new IP (Windows)
ipconfig
Check status:
mesh11sd status
Command to stop the service (if needed)
service mesh11sd stop
I would recommend leaving this line out, otherwise the backhaul connection will be quite slow.
I would also recommend leaving this line out. It makes it possible to choose which mesh gate (aka AP) you are connecting to. Very useful, particularly if this is initially a teat system you are creating:
You don't need to back it up. You can download the GL-Inet firmware from their web site, reflash and be back to "Factory".
GL-Inet OEM Firmware Download
I can flash the OEM firmware from OpenWrt / Luci? I guess so since it's a custom variation of OpenWrt. Good to know. Thanks.
Here goes nothing...
As far as I know, yes. But I never do.
It is much quicker and convenient to use the built in uboot-webui.
Just for my future reference should I need to restore OEM Firmware.
I agree with @KSofen , is there any other lib in OpenWRT which takes away luci and makes you configure your lan & wifi differently? I hardly know OpenWRT, but I bet not. I expected it to manage the backhaul and not mess anything else i.e. to do one thing well and play nicely with the rest of OpenWRT. It does not, so it is unusual and quite unexpected, even after a careful read of the docs.
If you had actually read the docs carefully ( as I have said before, docs are hard to write to cater for everyone), you would know that mesh11sd does not take luci away, it inhibits it to prevent you from bricking your router by fighting the dynamic configuration required.
When autoconfig is completed, there should be no need to mess with the wireless and network config because just about everything can be pre-specified in the mesh11sd configs. But if you do want to mess with these, you can, at your own risk, tell mesh11sd to turn Luci back on.
From the docs:
The package acts as a service daemon, dynamically configuring network parameters across multiple mesh nodes and is particularly useful for simplifying setup, reducing manual configuration, and improving network reliability.
It does an initial setup of the network interfaces in such a way that on disabling the daemon and rebooting, everything is returned to whatever was the static configuration written to the /etc/config/ files.
In addition, on the fly changes are made as the backhaul varies with time and usage (nodes being moved, added, going to sleep etc.)
If Luci was to be run with dynamic changes of a certain type being made time, the result could well be a soft brick. For this reason Luci is inhibited for v5 onwards, allowing it to be enabled later if you really need it, but as Luci does not support many of the mesh options, it will not see most of them, just a few of the very basic ones.
If you have no experience and no knowledge why do you even bother to express your opinion?
Ok cool fine, you have your option but it does not add anything meaningfull to this discussion...
Since you haven't used or tried to install mesh11sd yourself, why bother to ridicule people having questions when they do try to make it work? I've been doing a deep dive learning the process and it isn't as straightforward as most OpenWrt packages. You really, really have to read the documentation thoroughly, preferably twice and even then, make a few mistakes or even one typo that can throw the whole thing off. I discovered the hard way that my hardware just wasn't compatible, but I did learn about 802.11s and 802.11r along the way.
I was so determined to learn the program and succeed in configuring it right, that I bought new hardware I knew would be compatible. Just like I learned which wireless dongles actually worked way back when I first started asking questions here about setting up a Raspberry Pi 4 as a travel router and had to buy three before I found one that worked and shared my experience with the users here. I've learned to compile my own custom firmware by just trying and having problems and people just help me get through it. The forum has value and people having issues are probably the core function of this place. "Read the documentation stupid," is not the best way to go about introducing people to open source router firmware -- especially when the documentation is as lengthy and complicated as mesh11sd where the smallest error or omission or misunderstanding of the documentation can lead to losing access and having to start over from scratch, THEN discovering what your actual error was.
A clear and concise quick start guide is needed. My attempt to write one myself got ridiculed, so I'm not going to bother. I learned it all the hard way and no one is going to benefit from my mistakes and ignorance now. Thanks for "adding meaningful" comments in the discussion.
Because despite that I was right! No other library does this (otherwise you would have said).
I was offering support to another user expressing their experience, similar to my own. I won't ask what the point of your response is, because clearly their isn't any!
That's a real shame. Despite the many helpful responses, I find this a rather unwelcoming (even nasty) community. I just don't get the incivility.