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Use minicom on Linux Mint 21

Prereqs

  • a PC (BIOS/UEFI) running Linux Mint 21
  • internet connection
  • a serial cable / console cable

Install minicom

Refresh the cache and install the package.

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sudo apt update; sudo apt install minicom -y

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guru@hp:~$ sudo apt update; sudo apt install minicom -y
[sudo] password for guru:     
Hit:1 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security InRelease
Hit:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy InRelease
Ign:3 https://mintlinux.mirror.wearetriple.com/packages vera InRelease                  
Hit:4 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates InRelease                          
Hit:5 https://mintlinux.mirror.wearetriple.com/packages vera Release
Hit:6 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-backports InRelease
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
1 package can be upgraded. Run 'apt list --upgradable' to see it.
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
linux-headers-5.15.0-69 linux-headers-5.15.0-69-generic linux-image-5.15.0-69-generic linux-modules-5.15.0-69-generic linux-modules-extra-5.15.0-69-generic
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.
The following additional packages will be installed:
lrzsz
The following NEW packages will be installed:
lrzsz minicom
0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 1 not upgraded.
Need to get 328 kB of archives.
After this operation, 1.603 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 lrzsz amd64 0.12.21-10 [74,8 kB]
Get:2 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 minicom amd64 2.8-2 [253 kB]
Fetched 328 kB in 0s (1.146 kB/s)
Selecting previously unselected package lrzsz.
(Reading database ... 645621 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../lrzsz_0.12.21-10_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking lrzsz (0.12.21-10) ...
Selecting previously unselected package minicom.
Preparing to unpack .../minicom_2.8-2_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking minicom (2.8-2) ...
Setting up minicom (2.8-2) ...
Setting up lrzsz (0.12.21-10) ...
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.26+mint2+vera) ...
Processing triggers for gnome-menus (3.36.0-1ubuntu3) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.10.2-1) ...
Processing triggers for mailcap (3.70+nmu1ubuntu1) ...
guru@hp:~$

Identify serial port

Connect your device to the Linux Mint PC using a serial cable. In the terminal, run the following command to list the available serial ports. Note down the name of the serial port (e.g. "/dev/ttyUSB0") corresponding to your device.

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dmesg | grep tty

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guru@hp:~$ dmesg | grep tty
[    0.206150] printk: console [tty0] enabled
[18977.539042] usb 1-4: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0
guru@hp:~$

Configure minicom

In the terminal, run the following command to start the Minicom configuration:

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    sudo minicom -s

In the Minicom configuration menu, use the arrow keys to navigate and configure the settings as follows:

  • Select "Serial port setup"
  • Set the serial device to the one you noted down earlier (e.g. "/dev/ttyUSB0")
  • Set the baud rate according to your device's specifications (e.g. "9600")
  • Leave other settings at their default values, unless you have specific requirements
  • Press "Save setup as dfl" to save the configuration.
  • Press "Exit from Minicom".

These settings will be saved in file /etc/minicom/minirc.dfl for all future runs.

Use minicom

Instead of doing the setup first, you can give the correct parameters on the commandline instead. Minicom will open and display the terminal window.

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sudo minicom -b 9600 -D /dev/ttyUSB0

Press Enter to access the switch/router prompt. To exit Minicom, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl A followed by the letter X

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Welcome to minicom 2.8

OPTIONS: I18n 
Port /dev/ttyUSB0, 14:06:27

Press CTRL-A Z for help on special keys


<press ENTER>

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