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Getting started with BootIntel CLI

BootIntel combines an interactive serial terminal with boot-log identification. Start with bootintel term for a focused UART console, or use bootintel analyze to see local findings while the device boots.

Install a release

Download the archive for your operating system from GitHub Releases, download the matching SHA256SUMS, and verify the archive before extracting it. Place bootintel (or bootintel.exe) on your PATH.

Linux and macOS users may use the installer after reviewing it:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BootIntel/cli/main/packaging/scripts/install.sh | sh
bootintel version

Windows users can use the release archive directly or run the documented PowerShell installer in the main README.

First capture

  1. Connect the UART adapter and run bootintel ports.

  2. Identify the serial settings for the target. 115200 8N1 with no flow control is common, but the target documentation is authoritative.

  3. Start a capture:

    bootintel analyze /dev/ttyUSB0 --baud 115200 --log-file boot.log

  4. Power-cycle or reset the target if appropriate for your environment. BootIntel does not do this itself.

  5. Press Ctrl-A q to quit. The raw bytes remain in boot.log; use bootintel scan boot.log to revisit them.

On Windows, write the port as COM3; on macOS it is commonly /dev/cu.usbserial-* or /dev/cu.usbmodem*.

Hardware-free terminal check

On Linux or macOS, socat can create two connected pseudo-terminals:

socat -d -d pty,raw,echo=0 pty,raw,echo=0
# In another terminal, substitute the two printed /dev/pts/N paths.
bootintel analyze /dev/pts/N2 --log-file boot.log
printf 'U-Boot 2020.10\nHit any key to stop autoboot:  3\n' > /dev/pts/N1

This confirms terminal input, raw logging, and live local detection without attaching a device.

Troubleshooting

Symptom What to check
No port in bootintel ports Reconnect the adapter, try another USB cable or port, and check the operating system device list. Charge-only cables do not expose serial data.
Permission denied on Linux Add the current user to the distribution's serial-access group (often dialout), then sign out and back in. Do not run the terminal as root by default.
Garbled text Confirm baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and flow control. A wrong baud rate is the usual cause.
No boot output Check TX/RX are crossed, ground is shared, and the adapter uses the target's correct voltage level. Avoid attaching 5 V logic to a 3.3 V UART.
Device is busy Close another terminal application, then retry. On Unix, BootIntel attempts an exclusive lock to prevent two readers sharing the port.
--tui is unavailable Install a release built with the TUI feature, or build from source with cargo build --release --features tui.

Keep captures local

bootintel term, bootintel analyze, and bootintel scan use the local detector set by default. Only --api and --api --preview submit a log to BootIntel's API. Review a capture before sharing it: boot logs can include network configuration, host names, serial numbers, or credentials printed by device firmware.