Launching Web Serial in Firefox 151

The web is built by communities, but not all communities use the web the same way. 

That philosophy shaped part of this week’s Firefox 151 release, which introduced support for the Web Serial API on desktop. Most folks won’t use this API, but for our community of builders and tinkerers, it unlocks the ability to use Firefox to communicate directly with compatible hardware devices like microcontrollers, development boards, and other serial-connected devices.

For developers, makers, educators, hardware enthusiasts, and embedded-device communities, browser-based hardware workflows have increasingly become part of the modern web experience. With Firefox’s browser engine, Gecko, now supporting Web Serial, users can now connect, code, configure, and control compatible hardware directly from the browser in many workflows, often without additional software or complicated setup. 

If you want to dive deeper into the technical details behind Web Serial support in Firefox 151, you can read our full engineering post here.

Adafruit collaboration

As part of this week’s launch, Adafruit, one of the internet’s most beloved open-source hardware communities, is collaborating with us to test and validate what browser-based hardware development can look like in Firefox with Web Serial support.

If you’ve ever spent time with CircuitPython, browser-based board programming, custom controllers, sensors, classroom kits, STEM homework assignments, or a desk covered in blinking microcontrollers—you probably already know Adafruit.

With Web Serial support in Firefox 151, Adafruit’s browser-based hardware workflows now work directly in Firefox as well, with no additional software or complicated setup required for many projects. We invite you to give it a try. 

Different communities care about different browser experiences. Some people want simplicity, familiarity and productivity. Others want flexibility, customization, and tools that support the way they work, build, experiment, and create. We want the web to be open, flexible, and shaped by the diversity of people building on it. 

If you’re wiring up your first board, experimenting with hardware projects, or dusting off an old electronics kit, give Adafruit and Web Serial in Firefox a try. 

Build something amazing. Make something useful. Tell us what works. Tell us what breaks. Most of all, make it your own.

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