Serial for Mac

Link a Mac to almost any serial-equipped device

Serial is a macOS terminal emulator designed to make connecting your Mac to devices with serial ports straightforward. It works with equipment such as routers, PBXs, switches, and embedded controllers, and includes user-space support for many common devices so you don’t have to search for or install kernel drivers. In most cases you won’t need to change macOS security settings to establish a connection.

Why administrators find it helpful

• It emulates the break sequence required by many switches and routers, and can create break signals for drivers that don’t provide native support.
• Large configuration uploads are handled gracefully by built-in text pacing, which prevents the target device’s input buffer from becoming overwhelmed.
• By bundling user-space drivers for a range of hardware, it reduces the maintenance effort of locating, installing, and updating individual drivers.

Key capabilities

• File transfers using multiple legacy protocols (for example: YMODEM, ZMODEM, Kermit, and XMODEM).
• A full terminal emulation environment with options for automatic or manual session logging, timestamps, and profile management.
• Text pacing and other transmission controls to ensure reliable pastes and scripted interactions.

Supported interfaces and chipsets

• Devices with built-in USB console interfaces (such as many Cisco-style consoles).
• Standard USB CDC (Communication Device Class) peripherals.
• HID-style USB serial bridges including SiLabs CP2110 and FTDI FT260.
• USB-to-serial bridge chips from vendors such as FTDI, Prolific, TI, SiLabs, and CH34x.
• Bluetooth serial connections using the Serial Port Profile (SPP).

Summary

Serial provides a compact, driver-friendly way to manage serial communications from a Mac. It combines terminal emulation, file-transfer support, logging, and broad device compatibility to simplify work with networking gear and embedded hardware.