Zerial: Cross-Platform RS232 (COM Port) Terminal

A modern, lightweight, and responsive cross-platform GUI serial port terminal built with .NET and Avalonia UI.

🎯 Core Application Principles

• Minimalistic design: A lightweight application without heavy analyzers, complex command builders, or cluttered interfaces.
• Simplicity without compromise: Exceptionally easy to use, yet far more capable than a raw terminal with a basic text prompt.

1. Key Features

• High Performance & Low Resource Consumption:
  • Fast launch (cold and warm start < 3s).
  • Low memory footprint (< 100 MB).
  • Close to 0% CPU consumption when communicating with correctly operating COM devices.
• Developer-Friendly & Convenient:
  • Streamlined data exchange in binary format via HEX mode.
  • Multi-port support (allows communicating with several devices simultaneously).
  • Multi-platform deployment everywhere .NET runs (Avalonia UI acts as a modern cross-platform alternative to WPF).
  • Out-of-the-box support for multiple localizations without re-compilation (configured via ./Assets/Languages).

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2. Installation

💻 Windows

Zerial can be installed via Chocolatey or using a classic standalone installer built with InnoSetup:

• Via Chocolatey: choco install wissance-zerial
• Standalone Installer: Available in the releases section.

🐧 Linux

The application is officially distributed as a Snap package.

To ensure the Snap package has the required permissions to access hardware serial ports, execute the following commands:

sudo snap set system experimental.hotplug=true
sudo systemctl restart snapd.service
sudo snap connect wissance-zerial:serial-port

Note: Your Linux user must belong to the dialout group to access serial interfaces (replace $USER with your actual username):

sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

If you need to view active Snap slots or connect a USB-to-Serial converter interface manually, run:

snap interface serial-port
sudo snap connect wissance-zerial:wissance-zerial-serial-port snapd:usbserial

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3. Usage & Configuration

The application can be launched with a specific Environment profile that defines default configurations (e.g., logging settings).

By default, the profile is set to win-native. This means the application expects an appsettings.win-native.json file to coexist with the main appsettings.json in the same directory as the executable.

The Snap version automatically forces the snap environment profile. You can manually specify a profile via the command line interface:

./Wissance.Zerial.exe --environment=win-native

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4. Support the Project

You can help us maintain and improve Zerial:

• Support us on Boosty:
• Other ways to contribute: Read our detailed guide here.

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5. Contributors