A serial terminal is software that allows communication with devices through a serial port, often used for debugging embedded systems and interacting with hardware like microcontrollers. It essentially acts as a bridge, displaying data sent to and received from the connected device and enabling users to send commands or data to the device.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 12 useful GUI serial terminal tools for Linux. Our findings are captured in the ratings chart below in the classic LinuxLinks-style. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Let’s explore the 12 serial terminals. Click the links in the table below to learn all about each client.
| Graphical Serial Terminal Tools | |
|---|---|
| Tabby | Polished tabs host shell and UART workspaces under one roof |
| Electerm | Remote consoles meet transfer tools alongside COM line access |
| GTKTerm | Simple, graphical serial port terminal emulator |
| moserial | Clean, friendly GTK-based serial terminal for the GNOME desktop |
| WhippyTerm | Has a number of unique features such as bookmarks and built in hex dumps |
| PuTTY | SSH and telnet client |
| SerialGUI-Rs | Rusty monitor captures frames, toggles baud, highlights chatter |
| NinjaTerm | Embedded debugging feels swift with macros, hex views, reconnection |
| 8N1Term | Direct 8N1 sessions pair lean controls, cables, prompts, logs |
| Omnicom | Visual port handling suits modems, sensors, test rigs |
| HTerm | Uses wxWidgets, fmt, and spdlog |
| CuteCom | Graphical serial terminal |
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screen?
What about it?
Dumb response, it is a free Linux serial terminal program that supports multiple serial terminals and is able to display several of them at the same time.
OK, screen is a terminal multiplexer. It’s already included in our Terminal Multiplexers roundup. It’s a very different type of program.
Gary, the only one who is dumb is you.
Just wanted to suggest a newcomer to the list of serial programs for Linux. WhippyTerm. Tab based GUI, support for binary protocols, full feature terminal (supports ANSI colors, movement, line history, and all the things you would expect from a terminal program), under active development.
Thanks Paul, it looks a good candidate for inclusion.
Here’s an Open Source new style Serial Terminal called 8N1Term.
The ASCII keyboard makes life simple:
Thanks Chris, I’ll take a look at it.