# Web UART Terminal

A sleek, premium, self-contained web application that enables serial port communication directly from your browser using the **Web Serial API**. It supports standard UART configuration controls (Baud rate, data bits, stop bits, parity), ASCII/Hex display, Hex data sending, log exporting, and a responsive dark/light themed user interface.

![Web UART Terminal Mockup](file:///home/roy/zData/WTPCode/pec930/pec930_pfc_llc/ui/uart_terminal/index.html)

## Prerequisites & Compatibility

1. **Browser Support**: The Web Serial API is supported in modern Chromium-based browsers, including:
   - Google Chrome (version 89+)
   - Microsoft Edge (version 89+)
   - Opera (version 75+)
   - *(Note: Firefox, Safari, and iOS browsers are not supported at this time.)*
2. **Secure Context**: The browser only permits Web Serial API calls in a secure context (`https://`) or from `localhost` (which Vite handles automatically).

## Quick Start

To launch the development server locally:

1. **Install dependencies**:
   ```bash
   npm install
   ```

2. **Start the local server**:
   ```bash
   cd ui/uart_terminal
   # If not create the virtual environment
   python3 -m venv .venv
   # Activate it
   source .venv/bin/activate
   # start server
   npm run dev
   ```

3. **Open the browser**:
   Navigate to the URL printed in the terminal (usually `http://localhost:3000`).

## Features & Usage

- **Connect / Disconnect**: Click the circular green play icon in the top left to request a COM/USB serial port and open connection. The button changes to a red stop icon when connected.
- **Save Logs**: Click the blue download button next to the connection status to export the accumulated console output log as a `.txt` file.
- **Scroll Modes**: Switch between "Auto-scroll" and "No scroll" to control terminal navigation.
- **Display Formats**:
  - `Auto`: Prints incoming data as decoded UTF-8 text string (default).
  - `Hex`: Displays incoming bytes as space-separated hexadecimal numbers (e.g., `55 AA 01 02`).
- **Data Transmission**:
  - Enter text in the send input at the bottom and click the Send button or press `Enter` to transmit.
  - Switch the send format select dropdown between `ASCII` and `Hex` to format data packages.
  - **Hex Parsing Rules**: When in Hex mode, you can input hex characters with or without spaces (e.g., `55 AA FF` or `55aaff`). The string must contain an even number of characters and valid hexadecimal characters only.

### Keyboard Shortcuts

- **Send Data**: Press `Enter` (or `Ctrl+Enter`) inside the input bar to send.
- **Insert Tabs**: Press `Ctrl+Tab` in the input bar to insert a literal tab character (`\t`) instead of losing input focus.