Avrbro

This library use the Serial Api available in Chrome (with experimental flag enabled) to upload compiled .hex files on Arduino boards without Avrdude, directly from a web page!

For the moment it works only with stk500v1 protocol. That means it (should) works with Uno and Nano boards, but not with Leonardo or Mega boards). An implementation of stk500v2 protocol seems to live here...

Install

# with npm
npm i avrbro --save

# or with yarn:
yarn add avrbro

Exemple

import avrbro from 'avrbro'
const { parseHex, openSerial, flash, reset } = avrbro

// Here's just an helper function to use async/await with FileReader...
const readFileAsync = (file) => {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    let reader = new FileReader()
    reader.onload = () => {
      resolve(reader.result)
    }
    reader.onerror = reject
    reader.readAsArrayBuffer(file)
  })
}

const flashMyBoard = async () => {
  // connect to device using web serial API
  const serial = await openSerial()
  if (serial) {

    // get .hex buffer
    const response = await fetch('bin/my-firmware.hex')
    const data = await response.blob()
    const fileData = await readFileAsync(data)
    const hexBuffer = parseHex(new TextDecoder("utf-8").decode(fileData))

    // reset the board
    await reset(serial)

    // upload .hex file
    const success = await flash(serial, hexBuffer, { boardName: 'nano' })
    if (success) {
      console.log('.hex file uploaded on board successfully!')
    } else {
      console.log('an error has occurred :(')
    }
  } else {
    console.log('operation canceled by user')
  }
}

flashMyBoard()

Api

isAvailable()

Allow to know if the serial API is available.

Returns: Boolean

openSerial(options)

Open serial connection with device. Once called, the browser will open a dedicated modal window to choose the device.

Params

• options object
  • baudRate Number - defaults to 57600 (which is ok for nano boards with old bootloader. You can check here to find the correct baudRate for yours...)
  • filters Array - a list of objects containing vendor and product IDs used to search for attached devices. Filters contain the following values:
  • usbVendorId String - an unsigned short integer that identifies a USB device vendor.
  • usbProductId String - an unsigned short integer that identifies a USB device.

Returns: Object or null if cancelled. The Object will match {port, reader, writer} where:

• port SerialPort
• reader ReadableStream
• writer WritableStream

closeSerial(serial)

Close serial connection with device.

Params

• serial object
  • port SerialPort
  • reader ReadableStream

  • writer WritableStream

parseHex(data)

Use Intel HEX file format to parse given data and prepare buffer for upload.

Params

• data Object - string in ASCII format or Buffer

Returns: Buffer

flash(serial, hexBuffer, options)

Flash the device connected on the given serial port with the given .hex file buffer.

Params

• data Object - string in ASCII format or Buffer Object
• hexBuffer Buffer - the .hex buffer returned by the parseHex function
• options Object
  • boardName String - Name of the target board (check src/board.js to find available names)
  • debug Boolean - Allow to display logs during flash process

Returns: Boolean

reset(serial)

Reset board with cycle DTR.

Params

• serial object
  • port SerialPort
  • reader ReadableStream
  • writer WritableStream

Contributing

Contributions in any form are welcome! If you find a bug, please file an issue.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Acknowledgements

All this stuff was made possible thanks to:

• https://github.com/bminer/intel-hex.js
• https://github.com/jacobrosenthal/js-stk500v1
• https://github.com/noopkat/avrgirl-arduino