explaingit

peng-zhihui/serialchart

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2021-05-24

636MakefileAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TLDR

SerialChart is a cross-platform desktop app that plots real-time data from serial-connected hardware like Arduinos as live moving graphs, like an oscilloscope for your serial data.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Live serial plotting
      Real time graphs
      Oscilloscope style
    Tech stack
      Qt framework
      Cross platform
      Prebuilt releases
    Use cases
      Sensor debugging
      Motor tuning
      Embedded projects
    Getting started
      Download release
      No compiling needed
      PDF setup guide

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Watch a live graph of sensor readings (like temperature or humidity) streamed over serial from an Arduino

USE CASE 2

Plot a robot's actual motor speed against its target speed to debug motor control code

USE CASE 3

Visualize real-time data from any microcontroller or embedded device without writing your own plotting code

USE CASE 4

Debug hardware projects faster by seeing live data instead of reading raw numbers in a console

What is it built with?

C++QtMakefile

How does it compare?

peng-zhihui/serialchartdipodidae/resumeruanyf/notes
Stars6362522
LanguageMakefileMakefileMakefile
Last pushed2021-05-242026-06-07
MaintenanceDormantMaintained
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/52/51/5
Audiencedevelopergeneralgeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Prebuilt binaries are available in the Release folder, no compilation required to get started.

License terms are not described in the explanation, check the repository directly before use.

In plain English

SerialChart is a tool that lets you visualize real-time data from hardware devices on your computer screen. If you're working with microcontrollers, sensors, or any device that sends data over a serial connection (like an Arduino or Raspberry Pi), this app displays that incoming data as live, moving graphs, like an oscilloscope you'd find in an electronics lab, but for your serial data stream. The software is built using Qt, a framework for creating desktop applications that work smoothly across Windows, Mac, and Linux. You don't need to compile anything yourself, there are ready-to-use versions in the project's Release folder that you can download and run immediately. The project also includes a PDF guide explaining how to configure the tool to work with your specific setup. This would be useful for anyone debugging hardware or experimenting with embedded systems. For example, if you're building a sensor that reads temperature and humidity, you could pipe that data to SerialChart and watch the temperature graph spike up and down in real time as you move the sensor around. Or if you're tuning a robot's motor control, you could plot the actual motor speed against the target speed to see how well your code is working. It's the kind of tool that saves hours of frustration by letting you see what your device is actually doing, rather than just guessing based on raw numbers printed to a console. The readme mentions this is a port of an earlier open-source project, built on top of existing work to make a more polished version. It's straightforward to get started, extract the downloaded file and run it.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to download and run the prebuilt SerialChart release to plot data coming from my Arduino's serial port.
Prompt 2
Walk me through configuring SerialChart to correctly parse the data format my microcontroller sends over serial.
Prompt 3
Explain how to use SerialChart to compare a robot's actual motor speed to its target speed in real time.
Prompt 4
Help me set up SerialChart on macOS or Linux to visualize temperature and humidity sensor readings.
Prompt 5
How do I use SerialChart to spot a spike or anomaly in real-time sensor data during a hardware test?

Frequently asked questions

What is serialchart?

SerialChart is a cross-platform desktop app that plots real-time data from serial-connected hardware like Arduinos as live moving graphs, like an oscilloscope for your serial data.

What language is serialchart written in?

Mainly Makefile. The stack also includes C++, Qt, Makefile.

Is serialchart actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2021-05-24).

What license does serialchart use?

License terms are not described in the explanation, check the repository directly before use.

How hard is serialchart to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is serialchart for?

Mainly developer.

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