Virtual-Serial-COM-Port-for-WINE-on-macOS

Guide to configuring a Virtual COM Port using socat (linked with CP2104) on macOS and utilizing it within WINE for development and testing purposes. Compatible with Apple Silicon.

This example is based on CP2104 from Silicon Labs running on macOS 15.1 (Apple Silicon M4 Max).

Instructions

1. Install the Silicon Labs driver: Download it from Silicon Labs USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers
   Alternatively, use the file located in attachments/SiLabsUSBDriverDisk.dmg.

2. Execute the following command to list available devices:

   ls /dev/cu.*

   Example output:

   /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART /dev/cu.debug-console /dev/cu.usbserial-025XXX1F
   

3. Copy the path to the device labeled SLAB_USBtoUART.

4. Create a virtual COM port using the path from Step 3 by executing the following socat command:

    socat -d -d \
    PTY,link=/tmp/virtualport,raw,echo=0,ispeed=19200,ospeed=19200,cs8,clocal,ignbrk,cread \
    FILE:/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART,raw,echo=0,ispeed=19200,ospeed=19200,cs8,clocal,ignbrk,cread

   Note: The baudrate in this example is set to 19200. You can adjust it as per your requirements.

5. Do not close the terminal. Open another terminal window.

6. Ensure you have the latest version of wine or wine@devel installed.

   Instructions for installing Wine are not provided here.

7. Create a physical link for the virtual port to Wine by executing:

   ln -s /tmp/virtualport ~/.wine/dosdevices/com5

   Note: The port is named com5 to be used within WINE.

8. Launch the Wine Registry Editor by executing:

   wine regedit

9. In the Registry Editor, navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Wine/Ports
   

10. Create a new String Value in this section:

    • Name: com5
    • Value: /tmp/virtualport

11. Exit the Registry Editor, launch your Wine application, select COM5, and start using it!

Extra Command for Cross Communication

To enable cross-communication, where you can send data to virtualport_client and have it received by virtualport, use the following socat command:

socat -d -d PTY,link=/tmp/virtualport,raw,echo=0,ispeed=19200,ospeed=19200,cs8,clocal,ignbrk,cread PTY,link=/tmp/virtualport_client,raw,echo=0,ispeed=19200,ospeed=19200,cs8,clocal,ignbrk,cread

Keywords

#VirtualCOMPort #WINE #macOS #AppleSilicon #M1 #M2 #M3 #M4 #CP2104 #TTL #COM #socat #SerialCommunication #USBtoUART #WineDevelopment #macOSDevelopment #VirtualPortSetup #SiliconLabs #SerialPort #UART #RS232 #WineCOMPort #USBDriver