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psmx/uartdrive

12CAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5ActiveSetup · easy

TLDR

Tiny Linux C utility that opens a tty device path, configures it as a UART through the termios API, sends a test message, and prints any bytes that come back.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((uartdrive))
    Inputs
      tty device path
      Serial line bytes
    Outputs
      Test message sent
      Received bytes printed
    Use Cases
      Smoke test a UART link
      Talk to a microcontroller
      Debug a serial port
    Tech Stack
      C
      Linux
      termios
      Shell

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Smoke test a USB serial adapter at /dev/ttyUSB0 to confirm bytes flow in both directions

USE CASE 2

Send a hello message to a microcontroller and watch what it echoes back

USE CASE 3

Debug whether a Linux box can open a /dev/ttyS0 port at all before plugging in real firmware

USE CASE 4

Read the source as a minimal termios example for a custom UART project

Tech stack

CLinuxtermiosShell

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Needs a real or virtual serial device under /dev and the user must be in the dialout group or run with sudo to open the tty.

In plain English

uartdrive is a small Linux program written in C that opens and configures a UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) interface. A UART is the kind of low-speed serial link commonly found between a computer and small hardware devices like microcontrollers, sensors, GPS modules, or single-board computers. On Linux, these connections show up as character device files such as /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyS0. The README is short. Installation is straightforward: clone the repository, run the included build.sh script after marking it executable, and a single binary called uartdrive is produced inside the project folder. Once built, the program takes one argument, the path to a tty device file. Running it with a valid path tells the program to find and open that tty, then configure it as a UART connection. The configuration is done through the termios API, which is the standard Linux interface for controlling terminal and serial port settings such as baud rate, parity, stop bits, and flow control. Once the link is set up, the program sends a test message over the line. It also listens for incoming bytes on the same connection and prints any received data to standard output in a formatted way. So in practice, it acts as a minimal handshake-and-monitor tool: open the port, say hello, and show whatever comes back. The README does not mention which baud rate, framing, or flow control settings the program picks, what the test message contains, what the output format looks like, or which Linux kernels and distributions have been tested. There is no licence section. The author closes by inviting readers to point out inconsistencies in the code and to send patches, which is the only contribution guidance offered.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Build uartdrive with build.sh on a Debian box and run it against /dev/ttyUSB0 with a USB to serial adapter.
Prompt 2
Read the uartdrive source and tell me which baud rate, parity, and stop bits it configures via termios.
Prompt 3
Help me extend uartdrive so the test message and baud rate are command line arguments instead of hardcoded values.
Prompt 4
Show me how to add hex dump style output to uartdrive so received bytes print in a readable format.
Prompt 5
Port uartdrive to also work on macOS by adjusting the tty device path and any Linux only termios flags.
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Generated 2026-05-22 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.