pgntui 0.6.2

Cross-platform TUI for NMEA 2000 with canboat decoding and pluggable drivers

pgntui

Cross-platform TUI for NMEA 2000 with canboat decoding.

Read live N2K frames through pluggable drivers, decode them with the canboat PGN database, and route values into JSON-defined dashboards. Record sessions to .pgnlog and replay them later — no boat required.

Install

The easiest path is pipx:

pipx install pgntui

Don't have pipx? Install it with pip, then make sure it is on PATH:

python -m pip install --user pipx
python -m pipx ensurepath

Open a new terminal afterwards so the PATH change takes effect. On Debian/Ubuntu you can use sudo apt install pipx instead, and on macOS brew install pipx.

If your system Python is older than 3.11, point pipx at a newer interpreter:

pipx install --python python3.12 pgntui

Or run in a project venv:

python3 -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate
pip install pgntui

Standalone single-file binaries for macOS (arm64, x86_64), Linux (x86_64) and Windows (x86_64) are attached to each GitHub release.

Quickstart

Scaffold the example workspace and launch:

pgntui --example      # writes the example workspace at the OS default location
pgntui                # opens the TUI; no driver yet, debug tab will be empty

Replay a recording:

pgntui replay path/to/session.pgnlog

Run with a real driver — pgntui picks the driver named in config.toml:

pgntui                # uses driver.name from <workspace>/config.toml

Workspace layout

pgntui reads everything from a workspace directory. By default the location follows platformdirs.user_config_dir("pgntui"):

OS	Default workspace
Linux	~/.config/pgntui
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/pgntui
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\pgntui\pgntui

(On Windows platformdirs nests <appauthor>\<appname>, so the path segment pgntui appears twice — e.g. C:\Users\you\AppData\Local\pgntui\pgntui.)

Override with --workspace <path> on the command line.

Layout:

<workspace>/
  config.toml            # driver + theme + paths
  signals/*.json         # signal definitions (PGN -> field -> widget)
  containers/*.json      # dashboard layouts (tab -> grid of signals)
  recordings/            # .pgnlog files written by the R hotkey
  logs/                  # CSV exports

Run pgntui --example to drop a working sample inside this directory.

JSON library

library/ in the repo ships ready-made signal + container sets for one tab per NMEA Simulator page — GPS, Environmental, Boat, Batteries, Engine (main / status / transmission), Tanks, Binary, DC and Charge, AC, Windlass, Thruster. Copy the pages you want into your workspace:

cp library/gps/signals/*.json      <workspace>/signals/
cp library/gps/containers/*.json   <workspace>/containers/

See library/README.md for the page list and unit conventions.

Drivers

Built-in driver entry points (pgntui.drivers):

• actisense-ngt1 — Actisense NGT-1 USB serial gateway (pyserial)
• file-replay — replay an Actisense .pgnlog capture

Pick one in config.toml:

[driver]
name = "actisense-ngt1"
port = "/dev/tty.usbserial-XXXX"   # macOS / Linux
# port = "COM4"                    # Windows
baud = 115200

Third-party drivers can register additional entry points under the pgntui.drivers group.

Actisense NGT-1

The NGT-1 is a USB↔NMEA 2000 gateway. The easiest path is the in-app Connection menu — run pgntui, press C (or click Connection in the title bar), pick the port and speed, and press Test to confirm it's receiving. Save writes the choice to config.toml; Connect goes live without a restart.

Prefer the command line? Find the port and test it there:

pgntui --list-ports          # list serial ports
pgntui probe --port COM4     # 2-second connection test + verdict

Then set driver.name = "actisense-ngt1" and driver.port in config.toml (COM4 on Windows, /dev/ttyUSB0 on Linux, /dev/tty.usbserial-XXXX on macOS) and run pgntui — incoming PGNs scroll on the Debug tab and feed the dashboards. The driver speaks the Actisense BST serial protocol (DLE STX…DLE ETX framing, 0x93 receive / 0x94 send). Writes (analog_out/digital_out) additionally need --enable-write and app.write_enabled = true.

Signal types

Signal JSON files declare how each PGN field renders:

• analog_in — gauge / numeric readout (RPM, speed, depth, temperature)
• digital_in — boolean lamp (alarm, anchor light, bilge pump state)
• analog_out — write-back analog control (sends an outbound frame)
• digital_out — write-back toggle (sends an outbound frame)

analog_out and digital_out need --enable-write on the CLI and app.write_enabled = true in config.toml; otherwise they render as read-only.

Themes

Six builtins ship in the wheel:

• dark (default)
• light
• amber-crt
• green-phosphor
• mono-ascii
• rainbow-disco

Custom themes are JSON files referenced from config.toml:

[app]
theme = "dark"

Replay

Replay an Actisense-format .pgnlog:

pgntui replay capture.pgnlog

The replay driver respects the original frame spacing. Press the R hotkey inside the TUI to start/stop recording the live stream to a new .pgnlog file under <workspace>/recordings/.

Hotkeys

Tab / Shift+Tab     next / previous container tab
D                   jump to Debug tab
R                   start / stop recording
C                   open the Connection menu (NGT-1 port / speed / test)
A                   show the About dialog
Q / Ctrl+Q          quit immediately
?                   show help line in status bar

Layout sketch

+---------------------------------------------------+
|  pgntui                                           |
+---------------------------------------------------+
| [Main] [Engine] [Nav] [Debug]                     |
+---------------------------------------------------+
|  RPM     1450    Speed   6.8 kn   Depth 12.3 m    |
|  +----+         +----+           +----+           |
|  |####|         |##  |           |#   |           |
|  +----+         +----+           +----+           |
|                                                   |
|  Bilge OFF     Anchor Light ON                    |
+---------------------------------------------------+
| [Tab] Next  [D] Debug  [R] Rec  [Q] Quit          |
| status: idle                                      |
+---------------------------------------------------+

Status

Early days — expect rough edges. Solid enough to use for real on a boat whose NMEA 2000 network you already trust, or on a test-bench setup.

• Works: TUI shell, canboat decoder, signal routing, file replay, Actisense NGT-1 driver (read), recording.
• Partial: NGT-1 write-back is wired but field-tested only against a tiny PGN subset.
• Not yet: TwoCAN / Yacht Devices native drivers, more layout primitives, per-signal alarm thresholds in the UI.

Bug reports and patches welcome — file an issue at https://github.com/phobicdotno/pgntui/issues.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Links

• Source: https://github.com/phobicdotno/pgntui
• Issues: https://github.com/phobicdotno/pgntui/issues
• Releases: https://github.com/phobicdotno/pgntui/releases