# tio/tio

A serial device I/O tool

Repository: https://github.com/tio/tio
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/tio
Homepage: https://tio.github.io
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: tty, terminal, linux, uart, open-source, cli, serial-port, macos, serial, embedded, command-line, rs-232, rs-485, lua, automation, xmodem, ymodem, developers, hackers, script
Last push: 2026-01-22T11:41:02+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 54/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 63, release rhythm 16, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4358, "days_push": 223, "days_rel": 507, "gap_med": 134, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3139, forks 211 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:45.783223+00:00)

## What it is
tio is a command-line serial device I/O tool for connecting to serial TTY devices with a simple interface and configuration file support. It is aimed at embedded developers and hackers as a modern alternative to screen for serial console access.

## Use cases
- connect to a serial console of an embedded board
- view output from a UART device over USB serial
- upload firmware files over X-modem or Y-modem
- list available serial ports on Linux
- log serial device output to a file with timestamps
- talk to RS-485 devices from the command line
- replace screen for serial terminal sessions in tmux

## When to choose
- you need a simple, scriptable serial terminal with sensible defaults
- you work with embedded devices and want auto-reconnect and serial port detection
- you need hex mode, line mode, timestamps, or serial line toggling
- you want non-standard baud rates or RS-485 support

## When to avoid
- you need a GUI serial terminal
- you need classic modem/dial-up features
- you need a full terminal emulator rather than a serial I/O tool

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, workflow-automation
- domain: embedded-systems, developer-tools, hardware
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: serial-port, tty, uart, rs-232, rs-485, xmodem, embedded-development, terminal, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- tio/tio (main) score 54

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:45.783223+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:26:03.390467+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/tio/tio (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:45.783223+00:00, sha 13800320f995)
  - homepage: https://tio.github.io (fetched 2026-08-29T09:40:44.295596+00:00, sha e03323e842de)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.