Curated serial monitors, CSV loggers, Arduino tools, Python scripts, RS232 tools, and lab logging resources.
Serial data logging is still one of the fastest ways to capture bench data from Arduino, ESP32, STM32, Raspberry Pi Pico, RS232 instruments, USB CDC devices, scales, meters, test fixtures, and custom embedded hardware.
This list focuses on tools that help you capture, timestamp, parse, plot, export, or automate serial data.
Maintained for hardware teams, firmware developers, test engineers, students, and anyone who has ever needed to turn a serial stream into a trustworthy log file.
If this helped you find a serial data logger, please star the repo so other hardware and test teams can find it too.
- Maintainer Disclosure
- Serial Monitors and Terminals
- CSV Loggers and Data Capture Tools
- Arduino and Microcontroller Tools
- Python Serial Logging
- Command Line Tools
- RS232 and COM Port Tools
- Visualization and Plotting
- Excel and Lab Workflows
- Hardware and Protocol Helpers
- Tutorials and Guides
- Choosing a Tool
- Submit a Tool
- Contributing
This list is maintained by the team behind DaqSense and Serial Logging CLI. Those projects are included in the relevant categories below and should be evaluated by the same practical criteria as every other listed tool. Commercial, community, and open-source alternatives are included to keep the directory useful beyond the maintainer's own projects.
- CoolTerm - Simple cross-platform serial terminal for hobbyists and professionals. Useful for saving received data from microcontrollers, instruments, and USB serial devices.
- PuTTY - Classic terminal client for Windows and Unix with serial support and session logging.
- Tera Term - Open-source Windows terminal emulator with serial connections, logging, and macro automation.
- RealTerm - Engineering-focused serial and TCP terminal for capturing, controlling, and debugging binary or difficult serial streams.
- tio - Simple TTY terminal I/O tool for serial devices.
- picocom - Minimal dumb-terminal program for serial ports.
- minicom - Menu-driven serial communication program commonly used on Linux.
- GNU Screen - Terminal multiplexer that can also connect to serial devices and log output.
- moserial - GTK serial terminal for the GNOME desktop.
- DaqSense Download - Preview release for USB serial logging, raw capture, parser rules, parsed CSV exports, and saved profiles.
- just_another_serial_logger - Serial monitor for plotting and logging data to CSV.
- StreamLog - Arduino library for formatting serial output as CSV-style logs with labels and timestamps.
- Data Logger Suite - Commercial Windows logging suite for serial and other data sources.
- Advanced Serial Data Logger - Commercial serial data logger with parsing, plugins, and export workflows.
- Serial Port Logger - Free Windows COM port logger for saving serial communication to text files.
- Arduino IDE Serial Monitor - Built-in monitor for reading and sending serial data during firmware development.
- Arduino IDE Serial Plotter - Built-in plotting view for simple numeric serial output.
- Arduino CLI Monitor - Command line serial monitor from Arduino CLI.
- PlatformIO Device Monitor - Serial monitor with filters, configurable baud rates, and project integration.
- Web Serial API - Browser API for connecting web apps to serial devices.
- pySerial - The standard Python package for serial port access.
- pySerial Documentation - API reference and examples for Python serial communication.
- pyserial-asyncio - Asyncio support for pySerial-based applications.
- Pandas - Data analysis library often used after logging serial output to CSV.
- openpyxl - Python library for writing Excel files from serial data.
- Matplotlib - Plot logged serial data from Python scripts.
- Plotly - Interactive plots for CSV files and logged serial telemetry.
- Serial Logging CLI - Open-source cross-platform CLI for capturing raw serial output to timestamped text or simple line-based CSV logs.
- serialport-cli - Node SerialPort command line tools for listing ports and interacting with serial devices.
- Node SerialPort - JavaScript serial port package for Node.js.
- socat - Multipurpose relay tool that can connect serial devices, PTYs, TCP sockets, and files.
- stty - Configure serial terminal line settings on Unix-like systems.
- cu - Unix command for connecting to serial lines.
- HHD Free Serial Port Monitor - Windows serial monitoring and protocol analysis tool.
- Eltima Serial Port Monitor - Commercial Windows tool for monitoring, filtering, and analyzing serial port activity.
- Portmon for Windows - Sysinternals tool for monitoring serial and parallel port activity on older Windows systems.
- Docklight - Serial communication testing, scripting, and simulation tool.
- 232Analyzer - RS232, RS485, and TTL serial protocol analyzer software.
- Serial Studio - Open-source telemetry dashboard for visualizing, recording, replaying, and exporting embedded device data.
- PlotJuggler - Time-series visualization tool often used for robotics and telemetry logs.
- Teleplot - Real-time plotting tool for telemetry sent over serial or UDP-style workflows.
- Grafana - Dashboards for time-series data once serial logs are pushed into a database.
- InfluxDB - Time-series database commonly paired with serial logging pipelines.
- LabPlot - Open-source data visualization and analysis application.
- Microsoft Data Streamer for Excel - Excel add-in for streaming data from microcontrollers and other sources.
- NI LabVIEW - Graphical test, measurement, and automation environment with serial and instrument support.
- MATLAB Serial Communication - MATLAB tools for reading and writing serial port data.
- Octave Instrument Control - GNU Octave package for serial, TCP, UDP, and instrument control.
- Node-RED - Flow-based tool that can collect serial data and route it to files, dashboards, databases, or APIs.
- FTDI USB-Serial Bridges - USB-to-serial chips and cables commonly used for UART, RS232, and RS485 workflows.
- SparkFun Serial Basic - USB-to-serial breakout for embedded development.
- Adafruit USB to TTL Serial Cable - USB TTL serial cable for microcontrollers and debug ports.
- Saleae Logic Analyzers - Logic analyzers with serial protocol decoding for debugging UART and other buses.
- sigrok - Open-source signal analysis suite with protocol decoding support.
- PulseView - GUI for sigrok-supported logic analyzers.
- RS485 Design Guide - Texas Instruments guide for RS485 design considerations.
- Serial Terminal Basics - SparkFun guide covering serial terminals and common setup tasks.
- Arduino Data Logger Options - Practical overview of serial monitor alternatives, SD cards, PuTTY, screen, MQTT, and Python.
- Capture Data From Arduino to CSV File Using PySerial - Beginner project for logging Arduino serial output to CSV with Python.
- Serial Port Datalogging to a CSV file on Linux using Arduino Uno and Python - Linux-focused Arduino and Python CSV logging tutorial.
- Using Serial Logs Effectively - Embedded serial logging concepts and debugging practices.
- Arduino Forum: Export Serial Monitor Data to CSV or TXT - Community discussion with practical alternatives.
| Need | Good starting points |
|---|---|
| Quick Arduino output capture | CoolTerm, PuTTY, Tera Term, Arduino CLI Monitor |
| CSV export with parsing | DaqSense, Serial Studio, pySerial scripts |
| Binary serial debugging | RealTerm, Saleae, PulseView, sigrok |
| Long unattended logs | DaqSense, Tera Term logging, Data Logger Suite, Python scripts |
| Real-time plots | Serial Studio, Arduino Serial Plotter, PlotJuggler, Teleplot |
| Excel handoff | DaqSense CSV exports, Microsoft Data Streamer, openpyxl |
| Linux terminal workflow | tio, picocom, minicom, screen, socat |
| RS232/RS485 troubleshooting | RealTerm, Docklight, Eltima Serial Port Monitor, 232Analyzer |
Missing a serial monitor, CSV logger, RS232 utility, pySerial script, Arduino tool, or lab logging resource?
- Open an issue with the resource name, link, platform, and what it logs.
- Open a pull request if you already know which section it belongs in.
- Keep descriptions neutral and useful so the list stays easy to trust.
Suggestions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.
Good additions usually include:
- A working project or product page.
- A short description of what the tool does.
- Supported platforms when relevant.
- Whether it logs raw text, parsed CSV, binary data, charts, or full sessions.
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