Chai

Chai (short for Console Hardware Interface) is a terminal user interface (TUI) for monitoring and changing hardware device register content. Chai provides an interface for register-based devices and aims to be a more accessible alternative to the Qt-based QtHardMon by eliminating the need for X-forwarding.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Contributing
• License
• Contact

Features

• Monitor and modify hardware device register content
• Terminal User Interface (TUI) accessible via SSH
• Supports mouse and keyboard interactions
• View device status, register contents, and properties
• Read and write register values
• Auto-updating at 1Hz and 100Hz to mimic original QtHardMon
• Graphical display of value history (intended feature)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Textual library
• ChimeraTK-DeviceAccess-PythonBindings

Instructions

1. Ensure you have Python 3.8 or higher installed. You can check your Python version with:

   python3 --version

2. Install the required textual library:

   pip install textual

3. Chai will be available as an official Debian package soon. Once available, you can install it using:

   sudo apt-get install chai

Usage

To start using Chai, simply run the chai.py script in your console:

python3 chai.py

Once the TUI is open, you can:

• Load a .dmap file containing information about aliases of mapped devices and their registers.
• View device statuses and the contents and properties of each register.
• Read and write values to registers.
• Enable auto-updating to refresh data at 1Hz or 100Hz.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! If you wish to contribute, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Create a new branch with a descriptive name.
3. Make your changes and commit them with clear and concise messages.
4. Push your changes to your fork.
5. Create a pull request detailing your changes.

Please ensure your contributions adhere to our Code of Conduct.

License

Chai is licensed under the LGPL-3.0 License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Contact

This project is maintained by the MSK Software Group at DESY, Germany. If you have any questions or feedback, please open an issue on GitHub or submit a pull request.

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We hope you find Chai useful and look forward to your contributions!