What is node-serialport?

serialport/node-serialport — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

★ 5,990TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((node-serialport))
    What it does
      Open serial ports
      Read device data
      Send commands
    Devices
      Arduino boards
      GPS receivers
      Industrial sensors
    Environments
      Node.js
      Electron desktop
      Linux macOS Windows
    Packages
      serialport main
      Parsers
      Bindings layer

mindmap root((node-serialport)) What it does Open serial ports Read device data Send commands Devices Arduino boards GPS receivers Industrial sensors Environments Node.js Electron desktop Linux macOS Windows Packages serialport main Parsers Bindings layer

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Read sensor data from an Arduino over USB from a Node.js script

USE CASE 2

Build an Electron desktop app that communicates with a connected GPS device

USE CASE 3

Send commands to industrial hardware from a JavaScript backend

USE CASE 4

Stream real-time serial port data to a web dashboard

What is it built with?

TypeScriptNode.jsJavaScriptC++

How does it compare?

	serialport/node-serialport	realm/realm-js	ufomiao/zcf
Stars	5,990	5,994	5,983
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript	TypeScript
Setup difficulty	moderate	moderate	easy
Complexity	3/5	3/5	2/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a physical device connected via serial port, native C++ bindings compile on install and may need build tools on some platforms.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the MIT license notice.

So what is it?

Serial ports are the communication channel used by many hardware devices, including Arduino microcontrollers, GPS receivers, industrial sensors, and older peripherals. Node Serialport is a Node.js library that lets JavaScript programs send and receive data through these ports on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The project is organized as a collection of related packages in one repository. Most users start with the serialport package, which bundles everything needed for common use cases. Lower-level packages are also available for developers who need more control over parsing, binding, or stream behavior. Full API documentation and getting-started guides are hosted at serialport.io rather than in the README. Node Serialport is commonly used in robotics, IoT projects, and any application that needs to communicate with physical hardware from a JavaScript environment. It works in Node.js and also runs inside Electron, making it useful for desktop apps that interface with connected devices. The project follows a community governance model. Anyone can contribute by opening issues or pull requests. Contributors who participate regularly may be given write access as committers. A small group of maintainers handles technical disputes and oversees the project direction. All packages in the repository are MIT licensed, and the community follows the Nodebots Code of Conduct. The README is brief and defers most technical content to the external documentation site at serialport.io. Installation is done through npm.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Write a Node.js script using node-serialport to open COM3 at 9600 baud and log each line of incoming data from an Arduino

Prompt 2

Build an Electron app that lists all available serial ports and lets the user select one to monitor in a live log view

Prompt 3

How do I parse NMEA sentences from a GPS receiver using node-serialport's parser classes?

Prompt 4

Create a Node.js CLI tool using serialport that sends a command string to a device and waits for a response with a timeout

Prompt 5

Explain how node-serialport handles different baud rates and parity settings when connecting to industrial sensors

Frequently asked questions