# tio - a simple serial device I/O tool [![CircleCI](https://circleci.com/gh/tio/tio/tree/master.svg?style=shield)](https://circleci.com/gh/tio/tio/tree/master) [![tio](https://snapcraft.io/tio/badge.svg)](https://snapcraft.io/tio) [![Packaging status](https://repology.org/badge/tiny-repos/tio.svg)](https://repology.org/project/tio/versions) ## 1. Introduction tio is a simple serial device tool which features a straightforward command-line and configuration file interface to easily connect to serial TTY devices for basic I/O operations.

### 1.1 Motivation To make a simpler serial device tool for talking with serial TTY devices with less focus on classic terminal/modem features and more focus on the needs of embedded developers and hackers. tio was originally created to replace [screen](https://www.gnu.org/software/screen) for connecting to serial devices when used in combination with [tmux](https://tmux.github.io). ## 2. Features * Easily connect to serial TTY devices * Automatic connect and reconnect * Sensible defaults * Support for non-standard baud rates * List available serial devices by ID * Show RX/TX statistics * Toggle serial lines * Pulse serial lines with configurable pulse duration * Local echo support * Map characters (nl, cr-nl, bs, lowercase to uppercase, etc.) * Line timestamps * Support for delayed output per character * Support for delayed output per line * Hexadecimal mode * Log to file * Autogeneration of log filename * Configuration file support * Activate sub-configurations by name or pattern * Redirect I/O to file or IPv4/v6 network socket for scripting or TTY sharing * Pipe input and/or output * Bash completion * Color support * Remapping of prefix key * Man page documentation * Plays nicely with [tmux](https://tmux.github.io) ## 3. Usage For more usage details please see the man page documentation [here](man/tio.1.txt). ### 3.1 Command-line The command-line interface is straightforward as reflected in the output from 'tio --help': ``` Usage: tio [] Connect to tty device directly or via sub-configuration. Options: -b, --baudrate Baud rate (default: 115200) -d, --databits 5|6|7|8 Data bits (default: 8) -f, --flow hard|soft|none Flow control (default: none) -s, --stopbits 1|2 Stop bits (default: 1) -p, --parity odd|even|none|mark|space Parity (default: none) -o, --output-delay Output character delay (default: 0) -O, --output-line-delay Output line delay (default: 0) --line-pulse-duration Set line pulse duration -n, --no-autoconnect Disable automatic connect -e, --local-echo Enable local echo -t, --timestamp Enable line timestamp --timestamp-format Set timestamp format (default: 24hour) -L, --list-devices List available serial devices -l, --log Enable log to file --log-file Set log filename --log-strip Strip control characters and escape sequences -m, --map Map characters -c, --color 0..255|bold|none|list Colorize tio text (default: bold) -S, --socket Redirect I/O to file or network socket -x, --hexadecimal Enable hexadecimal mode -v, --version Display version -h, --help Display help Options and sub-configurations may be set via configuration file. See the man page for more details. ``` By default tio automatically connects to the provided TTY device if present. If the device is not present, it will wait for it to appear and then connect. If the connection is lost (eg. device is unplugged), it will wait for the device to reappear and then reconnect. However, if the `--no-autoconnect` option is provided, tio will exit if the device is not present or an established connection is lost. tio features full bash autocompletion. Typical use is without options: ``` $ tio /dev/ttyUSB0 ``` Which corresponds to the commonly used default options: ``` $ tio -b 115200 -d 8 -f none -s 1 -p none /dev/ttyUSB0 ``` It is recommended to connect serial tty devices by ID: ``` $ tio /dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_TTL232R-3V3_FTGQVXBL-if00-port0 ``` Using serial devices by ID ensures that tio automatically reconnects to the correct serial device if it is disconnected and then reconnected. ### 3.2 Key commands Various in session key commands are supported. When tio is started, press ctrl-t ? to list the available key commands. ``` [20:19:12.040] Key commands: [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t ? List available key commands [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t b Send break [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t c Show configuration [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t e Toggle local echo mode [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t g Toggle serial port line [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t h Toggle hexadecimal mode [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t l Clear screen [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t L Show line states [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t p Pulse serial port line [20:19:12.040] ctrl-t q Quit [20:19:12.041] ctrl-t s Show statistics [20:19:12.041] ctrl-t T Toggle line timestamp mode [20:19:12.041] ctrl-t U Toggle conversion to uppercase [20:19:12.041] ctrl-t v Show version ``` If needed, the prefix key (ctrl-t) can be remapped via configuration file. ### 3.3 Configuration file Options can be set via the configuration file first found in any of the following locations in the order listed: - $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tio/tiorc - $HOME/.config/tio/tiorc - $HOME/.tiorc The configuration file supports sub-configurations using named sections which can be activated via the command-line by name or pattern. A sub-configuration specifies which tty to connect to and other options. Example configuration file: ``` # Defaults baudrate = 9600 databits = 8 parity = none stopbits = 1 color = 10 [rpi3] tty = /dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_TTL232R-3V3_FTGQVXBL-if00-port0 baudrate = 115200 no-autoconnect = enable log = enable log-file = rpi3.log line-pulse-duration = DTR=200,RTS=150 color = 12 [usb devices] pattern = usb([0-9]*) tty = /dev/ttyUSB%s color = 13 ``` To use a specific sub-configuration by name simply start tio like so: ``` $ tio rpi3 ``` Or by pattern match: ``` $ tio usb12 ``` Another configuration file example is available [here](example/tiorc). ## 4. Installation ### 4.1 Installation using package manager (Linux) Packages for various GNU/Linux distributions are available. Please consult your package manager tool to find and install tio. If you would like to see tio included in your favorite distribution, please reach out to their package maintainers team. ### 4.2 Installation using snap (Linux) Install latest stable version: ``` $ snap install tio ``` ### 4.3 Installation using brew (MacOS, Linux) If you have [brew](http://brew.sh) installed: ``` $ brew install tio ``` ### 4.4 Installation using MacPorts (MacOS) If you have [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org) installed: ``` $ sudo port install tio ``` ### 4.4 Installation using MSYS2 (Windows) If you have [MSYS2](https://www.msys2.org) installed: ``` $ pacman -S tio ``` ### 4.5 Installation from source The latest source releases can be found [here](https://github.com/tio/tio/releases). Install steps: ``` $ meson build $ meson compile -C build $ meson install -C build ``` See meson\_options.txt for tio specific build options. Note: It is recommended to only try to install from source if you are familiar with how to build stuff using meson. ## 5. Contributing tio is open source. If you want to help out with the project please feel free to join in. All contributions (bug reports, code, doc, ideas, etc.) are welcome. Please use the github issue tracker and pull request features. Also, if you find this free open source software useful please feel free to consider making a donation of your choice: [![Donate](images/paypal.png)](https://www.paypal.me/lundmar) ## 6. Support Submit bug reports via GitHub: https://github.com/tio/tio/issues ## 7. Website Visit [tio.github.io](https://tio.github.io) ## 8. License tio is GPLv2+. See LICENSE file for more details. ## 9. Authors Created by Martin Lund \ See the AUTHORS file for full list of contributors.