Picocom

Picocom: Minimal Dumb-Terminal Emulation Program for Linux

A lightweight solution for serial device communication, Picocom allows users to emulate dumb terminals and interact with microcontrollers on Linux systems.

What is Picocom?

Picocom is a lightweight terminal emulation program designed to allow a user to communicate with serial devices, such as microcontrollers or modems, from a Linux computer. It has a simple interface and very few dependencies, making it a popular choice for basic serial communication tasks.

Some key features of picocom include:

• Minimal interface for sending/receiving data over a serial port
• Support for common serial port settings like baudrate, parity, etc.
• Text-based user interface accessible via terminal
• Small memory footprint - useful for embedded Linux systems
• Open source and available for most Linux distributions

Picocom is often used by developers and hobbyists working with microcontroller projects that require a serial interface to a Linux system. It can connect to serial devices like Arduino boards to send/receive data and monitor the activity. The simple, no-frills interface focuses on the serial communication functionality rather than terminal emulation features.

While more full-featured terminal programs like minicom and screen offer abilities like scripting and session management, picocom keeps things straightforward for basic serial-to-console I/O tasks. Its small size makes it well-suited for use in embedded Linux and custom distributions.

Picocom Features

Official Links