It’s a consistent annoyance on Microsoft Windows that every electronics hobbyist experiences. Plug in a new board, get the device connected sound, and wonder what serial port is now available. Pull up Device Manager and go to Ports. Who knows which one? Pull out the cable. Check which one disappears. Plug it back in. Now we’ve got a port number.
WinSerialPorts
We’ve got a simple solution. Run WinSerialPorts.exe and get a list of serial ports that updates automatically. Minimize it to the system tray and use the tooltip to see the available serial ports. WinSerialPorts also scans the ports to determine which ones are in use and which are available for a connection.
Get notified of new serial ports when plugging in USB cables.
It’s free. It’s open source. It’s available under the MIT license. Source code available is published on github.com. Grab the latest release of WinSerialPorts.exe from github.com.
It’s handy for pros and hobbyists alike – anybody with an array of Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, or other SBCs.
Official Particulars
WinSerialPorts.exe is a portable .NET Core application built in WinForms. While it doesn’t require installation, the correct .NET run-time needs to be installed. Currently, the application requires .NET Core 8.0 LTS.
