Installation¶

Python Version¶

Python 3.11 or 3.12 is recommended
Python 3.13 and above currently can't install pywebview (no available pythonnet wheel); the program falls back to opening the default browser automatically and still works fine, just without a native window

Setting up a dedicated virtual environment is recommended:

python3.11 -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate        # Windows

Install Dependencies¶

pip install -r requirements.txt

(equivalent to pip install flask pyserial)

To use native window mode (optional, see "No-window mode" below), additionally install:

pip install pywebview

On Windows, pywebview requires Visual Studio Build Tools to compile.

Download Plotly.js (offline charting library, one-time)¶

The time-series charts use Plotly.js, embedded offline to avoid a network dependency. Place plotly.min.js in the same folder as main.py:

curl -o plotly.min.js https://cdn.plot.ly/plotly-2.27.0.min.js

Without this file, the chart area shows "plotly.min.js not loaded"; everything else still works.

Running¶

# Standard mode (opens a native window if pywebview is installed; otherwise opens a browser automatically)
python main.py

# Demo mode: no COM Port needed, view simulated data directly
python main.py --demo

# No-window mode: Flask only, connect manually via browser at http://127.0.0.1:5000/
python main.py --no-window

# The two flags can be combined
python main.py --no-window --demo

Flag	Description
`--demo`	starts directly in Demo mode, no hardware connection needed
`--no-window`	only starts the Flask server, no window opens, connect manually via browser

Packaging as a Standalone Executable (advanced, optional)¶

To package the whole program into a single .exe that needs no Python environment installed:

pip install pyinstaller pywebview
pyinstaller --onefile --noconsole ^
  --hidden-import flask ^
  --hidden-import pywebview ^
  --hidden-import pywebview.platforms.winforms ^
  --hidden-import serial ^
  main.py

The output lands in dist/main.exe, double-click to run it; no separate Python or package installation needed.

plotly.min.js is not bundled into the .exe; it needs to be placed manually in the same folder as the .exe.

Common Installation Issues¶

Problem	Solution
`pywebview` fails to install	switch to Python 3.11 or 3.12; there's currently no available pythonnet wheel for 3.13+
The chart area shows "plotly.min.js not loaded"	follow the steps above to download `plotly.min.js` into the same folder as `main.py`
COM Port fails to open, device not found	make sure no other program (e.g. STM32CubeIDE's terminal) is holding the port open