What's the difference between this and screen/minicom?

screen and minicom are command-line tools with no GUI. MacTools Serial Terminal provides a live hex traffic view with millisecond timestamps, hex or ASCII send, point-and-click port configuration and a built-in virtual serial port, all in a native macOS interface.

Part of: Field tools

Serial communication on Mac.
Hex view. No kexts.

RS232, RS485 and USB serial with a live hex traffic view, millisecond timestamps, and hex or ASCII send. Works with FTDI, CH340, CP2102 and Prolific adapters, with no kernel extensions on Apple Silicon.

Download for Mac (free) Buy Pro · $4.99 See what it does

Free

Pro $4.99

Hex + ASCII

Send Formats

Any port

macOS serial devices

macOS

Apple Silicon and Intel

Serial Terminal screenshot: hex bytes sent and received over a serial port, with the connection settings on the left. — Hex bytes sent and received over a serial port, with the connection settings on the left.

Serial Terminal screenshot: switching between hex and ASCII input, with an AT command and its reply. — Switching between hex and ASCII input, with an AT command and its reply.

Serial Terminal screenshot: the communication log with direction, timestamp and payload for every frame. — The communication log with direction, timestamp and payload for every frame.

Demo video

Watch the demo

Open a serial port, send hex or ASCII, read every reply with timestamps, try it without hardware and keep macros. A native Mac app.

Chapters

The Problem

Your USB-serial adapter broke again after the macOS update.

Vendor USB-serial drivers have been a moving target since Apple Silicon, and macOS updates keep changing what loads. The free fallback is screen /dev/tty.usb*, with no hex view and no log.

Driver Churn

USB-serial vendor drivers for FTDI, Prolific, CH340 and CP2102 chips have moved from kernel extensions to Apple's newer driver model, and an old or mismatched driver can stop loading after a macOS update.

Few Native GUI Options

The established paid Mac serial app (Serial by Decisive Tactics) is built around terminal emulation. Most other options are command-line programs or cross-platform ports.

CLI-Only for Free

screen, minicom and picocom are all command-line: no hex view and no logging by default, for a job that should be point-and-click.

Electron Bloat

Cross-platform serial tools built on Electron bundle a full browser runtime just to display a byte stream.

Features

Hex traffic and test ports in one native app.

Hex Traffic View

Every received and sent frame lands in a live table as hex bytes, tagged RX or TX, so binary protocols are readable at a glance.

Millisecond Timestamps

Each frame carries a millisecond timestamp, which makes inter-frame gaps and slow responders visible.

Hex or ASCII Send

Type a command as text, or paste raw hex like 01 03 00 00 00 0A C5 CD and send the exact bytes.

No Kernel Extensions

The app installs no kext and needs no Security settings changes. It opens the serial ports macOS already exposes, natively on Apple Silicon.

Virtual Serial Port

With Pro, create a PTY-based virtual port and point another program at it to test serial code without an adapter. It ships in the direct download only.

Connection Health

A live indicator shows whether data is arriving and how long the line has been idle, so a dead link is obvious.

Screenshots

See it in action

A saved profile and a one-click macro, with the frames they sent.

Serial Terminal screenshot: frame simulation replaying a Modbus RTU master conversation without any hardware. — Frame simulation replaying a Modbus RTU master conversation without any hardware.

Compare

How it compares to existing serial tools

Price

Free, Pro $4.99 one-time

Paid

Free

GUI

Native macOS

Terminal only

Hex View

Yes

Timestamps

Yes: millisecond

Yes

Manual setup

Virtual Test Port

Yes: PTY (Pro, direct download)

Not listed

Apple Silicon

Native: no kexts

Native

Yes

Part of: Field tools · Debug one device from your laptop: protocol apps, terminal database browsers, utilities.

How MacTools Serial Terminal differs from…

MacTools Modbus Poll
Serial Terminal shows the raw bytes. If the device speaks Modbus RTU, Modbus Poll decodes the registers for you.
MacTools suite
Working with more than one protocol? MacTools has one native app per protocol, each sold on its own: 4 paid apps from $14.99 one-time, and free downloads with an optional one-time Pro licence.

Next step

Not sure? See which one you need →

FAQ

Common questions

Does this work with USB-to-serial adapters on Apple Silicon?+

Yes. The app runs natively on Apple Silicon, installs no kernel extension of its own, and opens the serial ports macOS exposes. It works with FTDI FT232, CH340/CH341, Silicon Labs CP2102, and Prolific PL2303 adapters.

Do I need to install drivers separately?+

Not from us. The app ships no driver and installs no kernel extension. If macOS already recognizes your adapter, plug it in and it appears in the port list. If it does not show up as a /dev/cu.* device, install the chip vendor's current macOS driver first.

What baud rates are supported?+

Presets from 9600 to 921600, plus any custom baud rate. Parity: none, even, odd. Data bits: 5, 6, 7, 8. Stop bits: 1, 2.

Can I test without hardware?+

Yes, with Pro. The app can create a virtual serial port (a PTY pair): point another program at its /dev path and exchange bytes with the app, no adapter needed. Virtual ports are a Pro feature of the direct download and are not part of any sandboxed build.

Is this a subscription?+

No. The app is a free download. Pro is an optional one-time licence key for $4.99, bought through the Voltrus Console. There is no subscription.

Get it free

Plug in the adapter. Read the bytes.

Serial Terminal is a free download for Mac. The DMG is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens normally. An optional Pro licence key, $4.99 one-time, unlocks the Pro features below. The source is on GitHub under GPL-3.0.

Download for Mac (free) Buy Pro · $4.99 Source on GitHub Contact support

Optional Pro, $4.99 one-time licence key

Several ports open side by side
Capture all traffic to a CSV file
Copy-all and CSV export of the communication log, unlimited scrollback
Send macros and repeat-send at a fixed interval
Unlimited saved port profiles
Virtual serial port (PTY) for testing without hardware

Pro is a one-time purchase on the Voltrus Console. Your key arrives by email and in your console account. No subscription.

From one device to the whole line

Monitoring this device 24/7?

Serial Terminal is built for commissioning and debugging. For round-the-clock monitoring use Voltrus OEE (hosted, live availability and downtime per machine) or Voltrus SCADA (dashboards, alarms and history on your own hardware).

Voltrus OEE → Voltrus SCADA →

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