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W3C Web Serial API UART 8N1 COBS / SLIP Framing

Web Serial API & UART Communication Studio

Simulate browser hardware serial port streaming, UART timing matching, packet frame defragmentation, hardware RTS/CTS flow control, and BYOB readers.

Port Status
DISCONNECTED
USB Vendor: Silicon Labs CP2102 (0x10C4)
Throughput (TX / RX)
0 B / 0 B
Effective Rate: 0.0 KB/s
Framing Integrity
100% Synced
CRC32 Errors: 0
UART Physical Signals:
TXD (Transmit)
RXD (Receive)
RTS (Request to Send)
CTS (Clear to Send)
DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

Live Serial Terminal Monitor

[SYSTEM] Web Serial API Terminal Ready. Click 'Open Virtual Serial Port' to initialize UART link.
// web_serial_worker.ts
// High-throughput Web Serial Worker with zero-allocation BYOB reader

export class HardwareSerialManager {
  private port: SerialPort | null = null;
  private reader: ReadableStreamBYOBReader | null = null;
  private writer: WritableStreamDefaultWriter<Uint8Array> | null = null;

  async open(baudRate: number = 115200): Promise<void> {
    // Request hardware port filter matching common USB bridges (e.g. CP2102, CH340)
    this.port = await navigator.serial.requestPort({
      filters: [{ usbVendorId: 0x10c4 }, { usbVendorId: 0x1a86 }]
    });

    await this.port.open({
      baudRate,
      dataBits: 8,
      stopBits: 1,
      parity: 'none',
      bufferSize: 16384,
      flowControl: 'none'
    });

    this.startBYOBReadLoop();
  }

  private async startBYOBReadLoop(): Promise<void> {
    if (!this.port?.readable) return;

    // Allocate persistent 4 KB buffer for DMA transfer
    const buffer = new ArrayBuffer(4096);
    this.reader = this.port.readable.getReader({ mode: 'byob' });

    try {
      while (true) {
        const { value, done } = await this.reader.read(new Uint8Array(buffer, 0, buffer.byteLength));
        if (done) break;
        if (value) {
          // Process zero-copy received chunk
          this.handleIncomingChunk(value);
        }
      }
    } finally {
      this.reader.releaseLock();
    }
  }

  async send(data: Uint8Array): Promise<void> {
    if (!this.port?.writable) return;
    this.writer = this.port.writable.getWriter();
    await this.writer.write(data);
    this.writer.releaseLock();
  }

  private handleIncomingChunk(chunk: Uint8Array): void {
    self.postMessage({ type: 'SERIAL_RX', bytes: chunk }, [chunk.buffer]);
  }
}

Frequently Asked Technical Questions

What is the W3C Web Serial API and how does it bridge the browser to physical hardware?+
The Web Serial API provides web applications direct bidirectional communication with physical serial ports, USB-to-UART bridges (FTDI, CP2102, CH340), microcontrollers (Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico), and scientific instruments. By invoking navigator.serial.requestPort(), the browser requests explicit user permission before opening a ReadableStream and WritableStream directly to the hardware device, eliminating the need for native desktop driver wrappers or local WebSocket proxies.
How does UART framing (Baud, Parity, Stop bits) and flow control work in Web Serial?+
UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) transmits data serially without an explicit clock signal. Both endpoints must agree on transmission timing (baud rate, e.g. 115200 bps) and framing parameters (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, or 8N1). To prevent buffer overruns when high-speed microcontrollers transmit data faster than the host can consume it, hardware flow control uses RTS (Request to Send) and CTS (Clear to Send) physical control lines, or software flow control uses in-band ASCII control characters (XON: 0x11, XOFF: 0x13).
Why are packet framing protocols like COBS or SLIP required over raw serial streams?+
Raw UART streams are unstructured byte streams with no inherent packet boundaries. If a web application sends structured packets or sensor telemetry, bytes may arrive fragmented across arbitrary chunks. Framing protocols solve this: SLIP (RFC 1055) uses 0xC0 as an end-of-packet delimiter and escapes payload bytes. COBS (Consistent Overhead Byte Stuffing) guarantees zero delimiter bytes within the payload by encoding packet offsets, achieving minimal single-byte overhead and rapid resynchronization after packet loss.
How do BYOB (Bring-Your-Own-Buffer) readers optimize Web Serial performance in Web Workers?+
High-throughput serial streams (such as 921,600 baud streaming 100 KB/sec of high-frequency IMU telemetry) generate millions of short-lived Uint8Array allocations in JavaScript, causing severe garbage collection pauses. By using readable.getReader({ mode: "byob" }) and passing pre-allocated ArrayBuffers (reader.read(new Uint8Array(buffer, offset, length))), the browser populates hardware DMA transfers directly into memory without heap churn.
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