StickyTerm

Serial terminal with sticky COM port assignments for USB serial devices.

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Ever plug in a USB serial device and find it's jumped to a different COM port? StickyTerm keeps your USB serial devices on consistent COM ports by binding device identities (VID/PID/Serial) to preferred port numbers, applying them automatically via registry writes. It also has a built-in serial terminal so you can talk to your devices without leaving the app.

Screenshots

Serial Terminal

Full-featured terminal with ANSI color support, hex mode, DTR/RTS control, and CTS/DSR/CD status indicators.

Device Discovery & Port Tracking

Discover all COM port devices, view detailed identity info, and one-click track a device to keep it on its current port.

REST API & Settings

Optional HTTP API for AI coding assistants and external tools to query port information. System tray, startup, and theme settings.

Features

Built-in Serial Terminal

• Configurable baud rate, data bits, stop bits, parity, and flow control
• ANSI color code rendering
• Command history (up/down arrow keys)
• Hex mode for sending/receiving raw bytes
• DTR/RTS control line toggles with CTS/DSR/CD status LEDs

Device Discovery

• Auto-discovers all COM port devices: USB CDC, USB-UART bridges, Bluetooth SPP, etc.
• Shows VID, PID, USB serial number, instance path, friendly name, and driver
• Detects chip families: FTDI, CP210x, CH340/CH341, Prolific, RP2040, STM32 CDC, Arduino
• Stability indicator: green (has serial number) vs orange (unstable/no serial)
• Custom device aliases for friendly naming

Sticky Port Assignments

• One-click Track This Port to lock a device to its current COM port
• Create rules to bind devices to specific COM port numbers
• Match types: VID+PID+Serial, VID+PID, Instance ID, Friendly Name
• Priority-based rule matching when multiple rules apply
• Watch mode: rules apply automatically when devices are plugged in

REST API

• Optional HTTP API on configurable port (default 27182)
• GET /api/ports - connected ports with aliases
• GET /api/devices - all known devices
• GET /api/rules - configured rules
• GET /api/status - server health
• Useful for AI coding assistants (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) to discover serial devices

More

• System tray with minimize-to-tray
• Auto-start with Windows via Task Scheduler
• Dark and light themes
• Import/export rules for backup or sharing
• Daily log files with configurable retention

Download

Grab the latest release from the Releases page.

The zip contains a self-contained executable - no .NET runtime installation required.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Administrator privileges (required for COM port registry modifications)

Building from Source

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/ril3y/StickyTerm.git
cd StickyTerm

# Build
dotnet build StickyTerm.sln

# Run (requires admin)
dotnet run --project StickyTerm/StickyTerm.csproj

# Run tests
dotnet test StickyTerm.Tests/StickyTerm.Tests.csproj

# Publish self-contained executable
dotnet publish StickyTerm/StickyTerm.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained -o publish

Usage

1. Launch - StickyTerm scans for devices automatically on startup
2. Terminal - Select a port, configure baud rate, click Connect
3. Track - In Port Manager, select a device and click Track This Port
4. Watch - Rules are applied automatically whenever a tracked device is plugged in
5. API - Enable the HTTP API in Settings for external tool integration

Project Structure

StickyTerm/              Main WPF application
  Models/                Data models (ComDevice, PortRule, AppSettings, etc.)
  Services/              Business logic (WMI discovery, registry, rule engine)
  ViewModels/            MVVM view models
  Views/                 XAML views and dialogs
  Converters/            WPF value converters
  Themes/                Dark and light theme resources
  Api/                   REST API response models
  Helpers/               Utility classes
StickyTerm.Tests/        xUnit test project
Installer/               Inno Setup installer script
StickyTerm.Package/      MSIX packaging project

How It Works

StickyTerm modifies the Windows registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\<DeviceID>\Device Parameters\PortName to reassign COM port numbers. When a tracked device is plugged in, the watch service detects the device arrival via WMI, matches it against your rules, and writes the preferred port number. A device restart (disable/enable cycle) is performed automatically so the new port takes effect without replugging.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

License

MIT - Copyright (c) 2025 Riley Porter