# xtell-serial

> **About XTELL** ([www.xtell.cn](https://www.xtell.cn/))
>
> Shenzhen XTELL Future Technology delivers true full-stack development: software, circuit design, mold development and mass production, all from one team. Our work spans embedded software and hardware, cloud platforms and backends, AI algorithms, IoT solutions and mobile internet technology. We provide the full lifecycle from concept design to mass-production delivery, and the close collaboration between hardware and software helps clients bring products to market quickly and succeed commercially.

**A serial terminal with a GUI that your AI assistant can drive through MCP.**
You watch the log scroll in a normal desktop window; Claude, Cursor or any MCP client reads the same log and sends commands to the same port.

> Status: **early preview (v0.1)**. Windows only for now. The full MCP setup guide and tool reference is in [docs/MCP_SETUP.md](docs/MCP_SETUP.md) (also available in [Chinese](docs/MCP_SETUP.zh-CN.md)).

[中文说明](README.zh-CN.md)

![xtell-serial main window: a timestamped log with the filter keyword ERR highlighted](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xtell-cn/xtell-serial/main/docs/images/serial-main-window.en.png)

*The log in the upper pane, the filter (here ERR) highlighting matches and listing them below. The log is demo data.*

## What it is

- A full serial terminal: baud rates up to 10 Mbaud, UTF-8 / GBK / GB2312 / ASCII, HEX view and send, timestamps, line numbers.
- Live filtering by substring or regular expression, with highlighting and a separate filtered view.
- Repeat-send, send history, save-to-file with append mode, a 100,000-line buffer with a usage bar.
- English and Chinese user interface: use the language item in the menu bar, next to File (ENG / 中文), to switch; the choice is remembered (the first run follows the Windows display language).
- Several windows at once, each with its own name, for bench setups with more than one board. The first window acts as a local hub; if it closes, another one takes over.
- An MCP server (`xtell-serial-mcp`) that exposes 14 tools to AI clients: list ports, connect, send, auto-send, read received / sent / filtered data (with optional time ranges), set a filter, save to file, clear buffers, check buffer status.

The GUI and the MCP server talk over a local TCP hub on `127.0.0.1:50016` (override with `XTELL_SERIAL_HUB_PORT`). Nothing listens on a public interface.

## More screenshots

![A burst of 18,500 lines: the window stays responsive and says how many lines were not drawn](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xtell-cn/xtell-serial/main/docs/images/serial-burst.en.png)

![Two named windows side by side, one per device](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xtell-cn/xtell-serial/main/docs/images/serial-two-windows.en.png)

## Run from source

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
python xtell_serial.py
```

## Build executables (Windows)

```bash
pip install pyinstaller
build_exe.bat
```

This produces `dist\xtell-serial.exe` (the GUI) and `dist\xtell-serial-mcp.exe` (the MCP server).

## Connect an AI client

Register **`xtell-serial-mcp.exe`** (not the GUI) as an MCP server. For Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add xtell-serial C:\path\to\xtell-serial-mcp.exe
```

For Claude Desktop, Cursor and others, add this to the client's MCP configuration (see [mcp_config.example.json](mcp_config.example.json)):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xtell-serial": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\xtell-serial-mcp.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}
```

The full tool reference is in [docs/MCP_SETUP.md](docs/MCP_SETUP.md).

Then ask your assistant something like: *"Connect to COM3 at 115200, send `AT+GMR`, and tell me what version the module reports."*

## Safety notes

- The assistant can send arbitrary bytes to whatever device is on the port. Do not connect it to hardware where an unexpected command could cause harm.
- The local hub accepts connections from `127.0.0.1` only.

## License

Apache License 2.0, see [LICENSE](LICENSE).

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Built by [XTELL](https://www.xtell.cn/), an embedded hardware and software design house in Shenzhen.