Web Serial: The Only Reason I’ll Admit JavaScript Isn’t All Bad
July 29, 2025
However, I must give credit to where credit is due: I really like what Web-serial has turned out to be. I had strong opinions about standboxing javascript to stay in the browser and not reaching out to interact with the system that the browser runs on. However, after seeing how web serial enables users to easily upload firmware to USB devices, I become pretty excited. Web-serial is an extension, mostly supported on Chrome, that came from standards body to help build up support for talking to serial devices.
Source: Web Serial: The Only Reason I’ll Admit JavaScript Isn’t All Bad
The Web has many powerful devices level APIs. Most folks will know about the Geolocation API, but there’s Web Bluetooth, Web NFC, and others including Web Serial. These are standards, but Apple and Mozilla remain opposed to supporting them and so remain Chrome only or now (and because Webkit is the only browser engine available on iOS devices, these aren’t available in any way on iPhones). Here’s a bit more about it from Steven Hicks (we also have a great talk on Web Bluetooth on Conffab).
