A VS Code extension that provides AI-powered serial device communication through GitHub Copilot integration. Features a Python-based daemon for real-time serial monitoring, SQLite data storage, and comprehensive MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools for AI agent control.
🚀 Features
- AI-Powered Control: GitHub Copilot can directly control serial devices
- Bidirectional Communication: Send commands and receive data from serial devices
- Real-time Monitoring: Background daemon captures serial data continuously
- SQLite Storage: All serial data stored with timestamps for analysis
- Zero Dependencies: Bundled Python packages - no external installation required
- Auto-Detection: Automatic Raspberry Pi Pico device detection
- Port Management: Clean connection handling with no port locks
🚀 Quick Start
- Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
- Daemon starts automatically when VS Code loads
- Connect your device via Copilot: "Connect to COM9 and monitor serial data"
- Query data: "Show me the last 100 lines of serial output"
🤖 GitHub Copilot Integration (MCP)
This extension provides 9 MCP tools for GitHub Copilot to control the serial monitoring daemon:
💡 Natural Language Device Control
- "Start monitoring COM9" → Connects daemon to serial port
- "Send 'Hello World' to the device" → Transmits data to connected serial device
- "Show me recent serial data" → Queries last 60 seconds from database
- "Disconnect the port so I can use PuTTY" → Releases port for other tools
- "What's the daemon status?" → Shows running state, connected port, uptime
- "Query all ERROR messages from the database" → SQL query on captured data
| Tool |
Description |
AI Usage Example |
serial_daemon_start |
Start background daemon |
"Start the daemon without connecting" |
serial_daemon_stop |
Stop daemon gracefully |
"Stop the serial monitoring daemon" |
serial_daemon_status |
Get daemon status |
"Is the daemon running?" |
serial_daemon_connect |
Connect to serial port |
"Connect to COM9 at 115200 baud" |
serial_daemon_disconnect |
Disconnect from port |
"Release COM9 for other tools" |
serial_send_data |
Send data to device |
"Send 'Hello' to the device" |
serial_query |
SQL query on data |
"SELECT * FROM serial_data WHERE data LIKE '%ERROR%'" |
serial_recent |
Get recent data |
"Show last 60 seconds of data" |
serial_tail |
Get last N lines |
"Show last 100 lines" |
See Daemon Documentation for detailed architecture and usage.
🏗️ Architecture
VS Code Extension
↓
MCP Server (Python)
↓
Daemon Control Tools
↓ JSON Commands
Serial Daemon (Background Process)
↓ SQLite Database
Serial Port → Hardware
Key Components:
- Serial Daemon: Persistent background process (singleton)
- SQLite Database: All captured data with timestamps
- Command Interface: JSON file-based commands (connect/disconnect)
- MCP Server: Exposes daemon control to GitHub Copilot
- File Locks: Prevents multiple daemon instances
⚙️ Configuration
The daemon starts automatically with VS Code. Control it via:
- GitHub Copilot: Natural language commands
- CLI:
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py [command]
CLI Usage:
# Start daemon (no auto-connect)
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py start --no-autoconnect
# Connect to port
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py connect --port COM9 --baudrate 115200
# Check status
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py status
# Disconnect (releases port)
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py disconnect
# Stop daemon
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py stop
� Data Storage
All serial data is stored in SQLite database:
- Location:
~/.serial-monitor/serial_data.db
- Schema: timestamp, port, data, session_id
- Indexes: Optimized for time-range and port queries
- WAL Mode: Concurrent reads during writes
- Corruption Recovery: Automatic integrity checks
📋 Requirements
- VS Code 1.74.0 or higher
- Python 3.7+ with packages:
pyserial (serial communication)sqlite3 (built-in, data storage)
- Serial device (USB, Bluetooth, or network)
🔧 Usage Examples
Via GitHub Copilot (Recommended)
You: "Start the daemon and connect to COM9"
Copilot: [Uses serial_daemon_start and serial_daemon_connect]
Copilot: "Daemon started and connected to COM9 at 115200 baud. Monitoring active."
You: "Show me the last 50 lines"
Copilot: [Uses serial_tail with lines=50]
Copilot: [Displays captured data]
You: "Disconnect so I can use PuTTY"
Copilot: [Uses serial_daemon_disconnect]
Copilot: "Disconnected from COM9. Port is now available for other tools."
Via CLI
# Start daemon
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py start --no-autoconnect
# Connect to device
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py connect --port COM9 --baudrate 115200
# Query recent data
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py recent --seconds 60
# Get last 100 lines
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py tail --lines 100
# Disconnect port
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py disconnect
# Stop daemon
python daemon/mcp_daemon_tools.py stop
� Troubleshooting
- Port Access Issues: Use
serial_daemon_disconnect to release port for other tools
- Daemon Not Starting: Check
~/.serial-monitor/daemon.log for errors
- Multiple Daemons: File lock prevents this - only one daemon can run at a time
- Database Locked: Daemon uses WAL mode - concurrent reads are safe
- Python Not Found: Extension will guide you through Python installation
📚 Documentation
🤝 Contributing
Contributions welcome! Please test with the daemon architecture:
- Fork the repository
- Test daemon functionality:
python daemon/test_mcp_server.py
- Submit pull request with test results
📄 License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
🔗 Links
Made with ❤️ for the maker community. Persistent serial monitoring made simple!
- Async watch management with pattern matching
Enjoy using the Serial Monitor extension with AI agent integration!
📚 Documentation
🤝 Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
- Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
- Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
- Open a Pull Request
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
🔗 Links
Enjoy seamless serial device interaction with AI assistance! 🎉
