Data capture¶

Capture serial output to files without interrupting normal display or logging.

Text capture (timed)¶

/cap.text <file> timeout=<dur> {mode=new|append} {echo=on|off} {cmd=... (must be last)}
/cap.stop

File is always the first argument. All keywords can appear in any order except cmd= which must be last (it consumes everything after it). Mode defaults to new. Duration: e.g. 2s, 500ms. Data is written as ANSI-stripped text, one line at a time.

/cap.text log.txt timeout=3s cmd=AT+INFO
/cap.text session.txt timeout=10s mode=append

Binary capture (raw bytes)¶

/cap.bin <file> bytes=<N> {mode=new|append} {timeout=<dur>} {cmd=... (must be last)}
/cap.stop

Captures raw binary bytes straight to a file.

/cap.bin raw.bin bytes=256 cmd=read_all

Structured capture (format spec to CSV)¶

/cap.struct <file> fmt=<spec> records=<N> {mode=new|append} {sep=comma|tab|space} {echo=on|off} {timeout=<dur>} {cmd=... (must be last)}
/cap.hex   <file> fmt=<spec> records=<N> {mode=new|append} {sep=comma|tab|space} {echo=on|off} {timeout=<dur>} {cmd=... (must be last)}
/cap.stop

Use fmt= with the format spec language to define the record structure. /cap.struct reads raw bytes; /cap.hex reads hex-encoded text lines. Byte ranges are 1-based. Omit names for unnamed columns.

• records=N: number of records (record size derived from format spec)
• bytes=N: alternative; total bytes (must be a multiple of record size)
• sep=comma|tab|space: column separator (default comma, produces CSV)
• echo=on|off: print formatted values to terminal (default off)
• mode=new|append: file mode (default new)
• Header row written when columns have names (e.g. Temp:U1-2)

Format spec examples¶

# Single unsigned 16-bit column (big-endian)
/cap.struct data.csv fmt=Val:U1-2 records=50 cmd=AT+BINDUMP u16 50

# Mixed-type record: string + integers + float (little-endian)
/cap.struct mixed.csv fmt=Label:S1-10 Counter:U11 Val16:U13-12 Val32:U17-14 Temp:F21-18 records=20 cmd=AT+BINDUMP 20

# Hex dump of raw bytes
/cap.struct packets.csv fmt=Header:H1-4 Payload:H5-20 records=100 cmd=stream

# Tab-separated with echo
/cap.struct log.tsv fmt=A:U1-2 B:F3-6 records=100 sep=tab echo=on cmd=read

# Raw binary (no format spec)
/cap.bin raw.bin bytes=256 cmd=read_all

Timed polling: /cap.poll¶

/cap.poll {count=N} {delay=<dur>} {file=<name>} {labels=<names>} {regex=<pattern>} {fmt=csv|json} {timeout=<dur>} {--overwrite} {--notime} cmd=<commands>

Runs commands on a schedule and collects their responses. Unlike the other /cap.* variants (which passively capture device output), /cap.poll actively issues commands and records each response as a row.

Without file=, results go only to the terminal. With file=, results also stream to a CSV or JSONL file.

Simplest form -- 60 samples at 1s intervals, terminal only:

/cap.poll cmd=AT+BAT

Multi-column, saved to file:

/cap.poll count=30 file=readings cmd=AT+BAT\nAT+TEMP

Extract a number from a prose response with a regex:

/cap.poll count=10 regex=[-\d.]+ cmd=AT+TEMP

Defaults: count=60, delay=1s, fmt=csv, timeout=1s. Use delay=0 to go as fast as possible. Without regex=, the first sample must be a numeric value or the command aborts.

Format spec quick reference¶

See Protocol Testing for the full format spec language.

Auto-numbered filenames¶

Use $(n000) in filenames for auto-incrementing sequence numbers. The number of zeros sets the digit width (max 3). A counter file in cap/ tracks the last-used number across sessions, with rollover.

/cap.text log_$(n000).txt timeout=3s cmd=AT+INFO
# → log_000.txt, log_001.txt, log_002.txt, ...

Bare filenames are saved to the per-config cap/ directory. A progress bar and Stop button overlay the toolbar during capture. The Cap button opens the cap/ folder.