# Serial Console in your browser

> Serial Console is a free, local-only serial terminal that runs in your browser. Plug in a USB-serial or console cable and configure a switch, router, or microcontroller with no install. Structured command blocks, a cross-vendor command library, hex view, and session recording — all running on your device, nothing uploaded.

Live tool: https://lofttools.com/tools/network-tools/serial-console

Category: Network & Sysadmin


## What it does

- Works in the browser — no PuTTY, minicom, or driver install
- Desktop (Web Serial) and Android (WebUSB) with built-in CH340/CP210x/FTDI/PL2303 drivers
- Structured command blocks: copy, re-send, bookmark, share any command + its output
- Cross-vendor command library with fuzzy search (Cisco, Juniper, Arista, MikroTik, and more)
- Hex/ASCII view, live filter, session recording and export
- Local-only — open DevTools and watch nothing leave your machine

## How it works

1. **Connect** — Plug in your USB-serial or console cable and click Connect. Pick the port (desktop) or device (Android) from the browser prompt.
2. **Set the baud rate** — Choose a baud preset (115200 is common) or let auto-baud detect it. Set data bits, parity, and stop bits if needed.
3. **Type or tap commands** — Use the terminal directly, or search the command library and tap a command to send it. On a phone, use the macro buttons and quick-keys.
4. **Record and export** — Record the session and export it as a log or JSON file. Bookmark important command blocks for later.

## FAQ

### Does this work on iPhone or iPad?

No. iOS browsers use WebKit, which does not support Web Serial, WebUSB, or Web Bluetooth, so no browser on iOS can reach serial hardware. Use an Android phone with Chrome, or a desktop Chromium browser. For iOS you need a native app and an MFi or Bluetooth console adapter.

### Which browsers are supported?

Desktop Chrome, Edge, and Opera (Web Serial). On Android, Chrome via WebUSB with our built-in CH340, CP210x, FTDI, and PL2303 chipset drivers. Firefox and Safari do not support the required APIs.

### Does my data leave my device?

No. The serial bytes go straight from the cable to the browser tab over the native Web Serial or WebUSB API. There is no server and no relay. Open DevTools and watch the Network tab stay empty.

### What cables work?

Any USB-serial or USB-to-RJ45 console cable using a CH340/CH341, CP210x (Silicon Labs), FTDI, or PL2303 chipset. On desktop, any cable the OS exposes as a serial port works.

## Tips

- **Auto-baud** — Not sure of the baud rate? Click auto-detect and it tries the common rates until the output is readable.
- **Command library (`Cmd + K`)** — Press Cmd/Ctrl+K and type part of a command to search across every vendor, then Enter to send.
- **Bookmark a block** — Star any command block to jump back to it, or share the command plus its output as text.
- **On a phone** — Skip the tiny keyboard — tap macros and the quick-keys row (Tab, ?, arrows, Ctrl-C) to drive the device.

## Serial Console vs a desktop terminal

|  | Serial Console | PuTTY / minicom |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Install required | No | Yes |
| Structured command blocks | Yes | No |
| Cross-vendor command library | Yes | No |
| Runs on a phone (Android) | Yes | No |
| Hex + ASCII view | Yes | Partial |
| Data leaves device | Never | n/a |

_iOS browsers cannot access serial hardware (WebKit limitation); use Android or desktop Chromium._

## Privacy — what we do not do

This tool runs entirely in the browser via WebAssembly. Your file never reaches a Loft Tools server. Specifically:

- **No upload.** The file bytes load into the browser tab's memory and process on your own CPU. Open DevTools → Network and observe zero outbound requests carrying file data while Serial Console in your browser runs.
- **No AI training on your file.** Loft does not train models. We could not train on a file we cannot see.
- **No content scanning.** No virus, copyright, or content-moderation pass against your file. The bytes are not accessible to us.
- **No server-side log of file contents, filenames, or EXIF metadata.** Cloudflare edge captures URL and truncated IP for abuse defense (standard CDN behaviour). Cloudflare Web Analytics records anonymous page hits, no cookies, no PII. Nothing about your file content reaches any log.
- **No retention.** Close the tab and the file leaves browser memory. No backups exist on our side because no copy ever existed on our side.
- **No account.** No email, no signup, no auth, no telemetry tied to you.
- **Offline-capable after first visit** (PWA). Once you've loaded a tool, it caches; later sessions work without internet. For high-sensitivity files, run the tool once online to warm the cache, then disconnect before processing.

Compare with upload-based services: each transmits your file to a processing server. Even over HTTPS, each has logs, retention windows, and subpoena exposure. Loft has none of these because the server architecture does not include your file.

## More

- All tools: https://lofttools.com/tools
- Category: https://lofttools.com/tools/network-tools
- LLM index: https://lofttools.com/llms.txt