Setup Help API

How each tool works

What it does, and how to use it

Most tools need nothing installed. Serial on Firefox or Safari is the exception: a small local helper.

EZ-ESP32 Replace ESP32 firmware from this tab. Needs a USB UART

Writes through the ESP ROM bootloader from this tab. Chrome uses Web Serial. Firefox and Safari use the local helper. The file stays on this computer. Hold BOOT, tap EN if the ROM does not answer. Not a substitute for esptool on every board.

  1. Put the board in download mode if needed: hold BOOT, tap EN, release BOOT.
  2. Open EZ-ESP32. Pick Web Serial or a helper port.
  3. Choose a .bin. Use 0x0 for a merged image, 0x10000 for app only.
  4. Press Flash. Open Serial after it resets to talk to the new firmware.
Open EZ-ESP32 USB setup
Serial Talk to a USB UART from the browser. Needs a port or Demo UART

ESP32, Arduino, GPS, Cisco consoles, 3D printers, or a fake Demo UART that works on every browser including phones.

  1. Open Serial from Tools.
  2. Under How to reach the wire pick Demo UART, Web Serial, Local helper, or Host ports.
  3. Set a profile or baud, then press Connect.
  4. Type in the glass. Use Pulse DTR if the board is quiet. Guess baud tries common rates and keeps the one with the most printable text. It needs a live port.

Chrome or Edge. No download. The browser asks for the port once.

Firefox or Safari. Download the helper, run it, then open its own address. An HTTPS page cannot talk to localhost.

Any browser, no cable. Pick Demo UART and type AT or HELP.

Open Serial USB setup and helper Download server.py Python 3 if you need it
View Paste a log and get the colors back. No download

Paste or drop a CI log, installer dump, or TUI capture. The glass paints colors, cursor motion, and progress bars the way the author saw them. Nothing is sent to the server.

  1. Open View.
  2. Paste text or drop a .log or .txt file.
  3. Press Paint for the finished frame, or Replay to watch it type.
  4. Use Find, Strip ANSI, or Copy share hash if you want a fragment link that stays in the URL.

No helper. Works in Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Edge.

Open View
Lab Compose CSI and watch the glass. No download

Educational CSI and a simulated termios board, not a kernel. The cookbook covers reset, color leak, clear, hide cursor, alt screen, bell, and a progress bar. The termios board shows echo, line mode, and Ctrl C.

  1. Open Lab.
  2. Click a cookbook chip, or type ESC[31m in the box and press Send.
  3. Open the termios lens and type in the demo field to feel line mode versus raw.

No helper. Built for people who write CLIs.

Open Lab
Explain Name what a dump is saying. No download

Local rules read the current capture and name rustc, gcc, Python, npm, Kubernetes, SSH, kernel oops, and more. No API key. No upload.

  1. Capture bytes in Serial, or paste a dump in View first.
  2. Open Explain and press Explain this buffer, or paste into the box.
  3. Click a finding to copy the next command it suggests.

No helper. Deterministic patterns, not a language model.

Open Explain
RTT Typed conversation, GA and SK. No download

Typed conversation in the TTY sense. GA hands the turn. SK ends. XXX marks a mistake. Practice both sides here, or paste a WebRTC offer to talk to someone else. This is not a 711 relay.

  1. Open RTT.
  2. Stay on Practice to type both You and Far, or switch to Peer and create an offer.
  3. Use the GA, SK, and XXX buttons. Download the transcript when you are done.

No helper. Peer mode uses a copy paste handshake. tty000 never sees the text.

Open RTT
Diff Compare two dumps and extra CSI. No download

Paste an older dump and a newer dump. Changed lines and extra CSI show in the lens.

  1. Open Diff.
  2. Paste before and after.
  3. Press Compare.
Open Diff
Cast Replay an asciinema recording. No download

Replay an asciinema v2 recording in the glass.

  1. Open Cast.
  2. Choose a .cast file.
  3. Press Replay.
Open Cast
Term What a TERM name actually promises. No download

What names like xterm 256color actually promise: colors, alternate screen, mouse, OSC title.

  1. Open Term.
  2. Pick a terminal type.
  3. Read the capability list.
Open Term
Profiles Download UART settings and macros by device. No download required

JSON files named for the board, not the OS. Baud, 8N1, line ending, optional reset recipe, and macros. Open Serial and type the same numbers, or keep the file on disk. Catalog: /profiles/.

All profiles ESP32 JSON Open Serial
Calculators Baud, levels, transfer, checksum, I²C, divisor error. No download

Six local calculators. They run in this tab. Serial still has Guess baud on a live port: it tries common rates and keeps the one with the most printable text.

  1. Baud. Bit time, character time, bytes/s, cable rule of thumb.
  2. Levels. Will this TX voltage survive that RX pin (3.3 / 5 / RS-232 / RS-485).
  3. Transfer. How long a file takes, including 8N1 and XMODEM overhead.
  4. Checksum. NMEA, Modbus CRC-16, XOR, CRC-8, CRC-32.
  5. I²C. Rise time from Rp and bus C vs 100 kHz / 400 kHz / 1 MHz.
  6. Baud error. Integer UART divisor vs desired baud. Why 115200 looks like garbage.
Baud Levels Transfer Checksum I²C Baud error
Detect Fingerprint a boot log in this tab. No download

Matches known fingerprints in the current capture. Not a probe of the chip, not a language model. Scores line endings, protocol, and family: ESP32, Arduino, STM32, U-Boot, Linux, NMEA, AT, Cisco, Marlin, MicroPython. Then it offers diagnostic commands.

  1. Connect in Serial or Workbench, or paste a boot log in View.
  2. Open Detect and press Detect.
  3. Apply the guessed profile, then send a suggested command.

No helper. Rules stay in this tab.

Open Detect
Record Save the investigation as .tty000. No download

Records TX, RX, connect and disconnect, timestamps, port settings, and the last Detect report. Replay with a timeline. The file never leaves this computer unless you save it.

  1. Press Record on Serial, Workbench, or Record.
  2. Use the glass as usual.
  3. Stop, then Save .tty000. Open the file later and Replay.
Open Record
SIM Pretend to be the serial device. No download

A programmable virtual device. You type as the host. SIM answers as the board. Interactive rules, replay a recorded conversation, or inject drops, noise, delays, and bad checksums. Detect names a device. SIM is the device.

  1. Open SIM. Pick a starter (AT modem, ESP32 AT) or keep Blank.
  2. Add rules: when the host sends AT, reply OK. Or open a .tty000 and press Create simulator.
  3. Start SIM and type in the glass. Turn up a fault slider to break the other side on purpose.
  4. Save a .sim.json profile. It never leaves this tab unless you download it.

No helper. No USB. Record first if you want a device cloned from a real session.

Open SIM Open Record
Simulators Fake ESP32, Nano, STM32, or Pico on the glass. No download

These are serial impersonators, not chip emulators. Each one boots, answers the usual commands, and stays in this tab. Detect and Explain can read the glass. Open SIM if you want to edit rules or inject faults.

  1. ESP32: AT, AT+GMR, AT+CWLAP, AT+CWJAP="ssid","pass", I2C. Type help.
  2. Arduino Nano: help, status, analog 0, pin 13 on, i2c, reset.
  3. STM32: help, version, uid, gpio 13 1, clocks, i2c, reboot.
  4. Pi Pico: help(), os.uname(), machine.freq(), i2c.scan(), led on, print("hi").
ESP32 Arduino Nano STM32 Pi Pico Open SIM
Workbench Detect, record, explain, and commands together. No download

The wire, the glass, Detect, Explain, Record, and suggested tests in one pane.

  1. Open Workbench and connect. Demo UART works with no cable.
  2. Press Detect. Send I2C on the demo to see a live I2C ACK timeout.
  3. Record the session, then save a .tty000 file.
Open Workbench