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

Format Spec Quick Reference¶

Spec	Meaning
`U1`	1-byte unsigned
`U1-2`	2-byte unsigned, big-endian
`U2-1`	2-byte unsigned, little-endian
`U1-4`	4-byte unsigned
`I1-2`	2-byte signed integer
`F1-4`	4-byte IEEE 754 float
`F1-8`	8-byte double
`S1-10`	10-byte ASCII string
`H1-4`	4 bytes as combined hex

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.

Pattern	Range
`$(n0)`	0–9
`$(n00)`	00–99
`$(n000)`	000–999

/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.