SparkSerial Pro

A lightweight Serial GUI Tool for hardware testing and debugging built with Python and PyQt6. Inspired by professional tools like Docklight and CoolTerm, SparkSerial provides a modern, user-friendly interface for engineers and developers.

⚠️ Important: USB Driver Requirement

SparkSerial is a GUI application only. It does not include USB-to-Serial drivers. You must install the appropriate driver for your USB-to-Serial adapter/converter separately.

Common Drivers:

• FTDI chips (FT232, FT2232): FTDI Drivers
• CH340/CH341: CH340 Driver
• CP210x (Silicon Labs): CP210x Drivers
• PL2303 (Prolific): PL2303 Driver

After installing the driver, your serial port should appear in the Port dropdown.

Features

• Professional Configuration: Comprehensive port settings (Baudrate up to 921600, Data Bits, Parity, Stop Bits, Flow Control, Line Ending).
• Local & Remote Serial: Choose Local for ports on this machine, or Remote to connect to a serial device on another machine on your network (e.g. a USB-serial adapter on a Raspberry Pi) by entering its IP address and port. Uses the RFC 2217 standard (ser2net in telnet/RFC 2217 mode, or pyserial's rfc2217_server). RFC 2217 is unencrypted, so use it on a trusted network or through an SSH tunnel/VPN.
• Command Shortcuts: Save frequently used commands (Text or Hex) for quick access and batch testing.
• Find/Replace: Bulk find and replace text across all saved commands.
• Command History: Use ↑/↓ arrow keys to navigate through previously sent commands.
• Advanced Terminal: Real-time logging with timestamps, Hex view, and autoscroll.
• Persistence: Automatically saves your command library.
• Base Converter: Built-in tool to convert between Decimal, Hex, Binary, and ASCII instantly.
• Modern UI: Industry-standard dark-mode aesthetic optimized for hardware debugging.
• Cross-Platform: Designed for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Installation

From PyPI

pip install sparkserial

Local Development

Ensure you have uv installed:

./setup.sh
./run.sh

Usage

After installing via pip, you can launch the tool directly:

sparkserial

Windows Users

If you get a "command not found" error, it likely means your Python Scripts directory is not in your PATH. You can run the tool using:

python -m sparkserial

Or for a robust installation that handles PATH automatically, use pipx:

pipx install sparkserial

System Requirements

• Python: 3.11 or higher
• Operating System: macOS, Windows, or Linux
• USB Driver: Required for your specific USB-to-Serial adapter (see above)

Technologies Used

• UI Framework: PyQt6
• Serial Communication: PySerial
• Backend Architecture: Worker-thread pattern for non-blocking I/O
• Styling: Custom dark-mode theme with industry-standard aesthetics

Version

Current version: 0.6.0

Author

Saravanakumar
Email: sarvalece71@gmail.com

License

MIT License - See LICENSE for details.