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Thomas Gohle ce1d6e52ab Beta 0.1 – First Linux CLI/backend release

2026-04-12 18:06:47 +02:00

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0005-DenryokuBancho / 電力番長 (Denryoku Banchō)

電力番長 (Denryoku Banchō) is a Linux-native CLI fork of the MightyWatt electronic load project by Jakub Polonský (kaktus85). It is focused on headless operation, automation pipelines, CSV logging, and JSON-driven test sequences, built to run lean on SBC hardware.

This repository is intentionally backend-first. The goal is to provide a practical Linux control and automation path for MightyWatt hardware before building a GTK frontend on top of it.

Attribution and upstream

This project builds on the original MightyWatt work by Jakub Polonský (kaktus85) back in 2014 to 2017. I own on MightyWatt since 2016.

Jakub designed the MightyWatt hardware and created the original Arduino firmware and Windows control program. Many thanks to him for publishing such a useful open hardware / software project.

Original upstream project:

Please also see:

NOTICE.md
LICENSE

Current release status

Beta 0.1 - Scope:

This beta provides a usable Linux-native backend and CLI for real MightyWatt hardware, with emphasis on:

serial communication from Linux
headless bench operation
watchdog-safe sustained load control
CSV logging
raw CSV export for spreadsheet workflows
JSON-driven automated test sequences
loop-based sequence execution for repeated test patterns

Already validated on real my real hardware

device identification and capability query
measurement readout
manual CLI control
watchdog-safe hold operation
CSV logging
sequence execution on real hardware
raw CSV export mode

Implemented but still beta-level

repeat
repeat_until
repeat_while
inherited break_if
mandatory abort_sequence
nested sequence blocks
controller/backend layering for later GUI reuse

The backend is useful now, but the sequence engine should still be treated as bench-validated step by step, not as a finished production automation framework.

Deliberately not the focus of this release

GTK4 frontend
persistent settings store
profile editor GUI
plotting GUI

Repository layout

include/
  mightywatt.h
  mightywatt_app.h
  mightywatt_controller.h
  mightywatt_log.h
  mightywatt_sequence.h

src/
  mightywatt.c             low-level protocol + serial transport
  mightywatt_app.c         synchronous backend layer
  mightywatt_controller.c  long-running controller/polling layer
  mightywatt_log.c         CSV logger
  mightywatt_sequence.c    JSON sequence engine
  mwcli.c                  CLI frontend

examples/
  *.json                   sequence examples
  mw_controller_example.c  controller example

Layering

mightywatt.c = raw device communication
mightywatt_app.c = safe synchronous operations
mightywatt_controller.c = GUI-ready async/controller layer
mightywatt_sequence.c = reusable sequence engine on top of the backend
mwcli.c = thin user-facing CLI

This keeps a future GTK frontend from reimplementing protocol or automation logic.

Build

Requirements:

Linux
GCC or Clang
POSIX serial/thread support
no external runtime dependencies for the current CLI/backend build

Build:

make

This builds:

mwcli
mw_controller_example

Typical CLI usage

Read capabilities:

./mwcli -d /dev/ttyACM0 caps

Read one measurement:

./mwcli -d /dev/ttyACM0 report

Hold a constant current safely against the watchdog:

./mwcli -d /dev/ttyACM0 hold current 0.250 --interval-ms 500

Run a sequence and log CSV:

./mwcli -d /dev/ttyACM0 --csv run.csv run-sequence examples/quick_cc_test.json

Run a sequence with raw CSV output for spreadsheet import:

./mwcli -d /dev/ttyACM0 --csv run_raw.csv --csv-raw run-sequence examples/repeat_until_cutoff.json

Sequence engine overview

Current sequence engine features:

linear step execution
hold
hold_until
ramps
repeat
repeat_until
repeat_while
per-step and per-block break_if
mandatory abort_sequence
CSV logging during polling/report events

The format is JSON only in the current implementation.

See:

HELP.md
sequence_examples.md
examples/*.json

Safety model

There are three layers of protection:

Sequence safety limits
- max voltage
- max current
- max power
break_if conditions
- especially useful for thermal guard behaviour
- also usable for voltage/current/power-based aborts
Mandatory abort_sequence
- runs at the normal end of a sequence
- also runs after runtime abort paths whenever possible
- should usually contain at least:

"abort_sequence": [
  { "action": "safe" }
]

Practical note:

if the serial/device link is already gone, the backend will still attempt the abort sequence, but that can of course fail physically

Documentation files

HELP.md — CLI help and full JSON format reference
sequence_examples.md — practical example overview
examples/*.json — ready-to-edit starting profiles
NOTICE.md — attribution and upstream note

Known limitations

no YAML parser yet
no validate-sequence or dry-run command yet
no explicit boolean condition combiner (AND / OR) yet
no profile include/import system
no persistence layer for CLI settings
no active GUI in this beta release
loop timing is not hard real-time; it depends on polling interval and serial turnaround

Also important:

sample_period_ms is the visible/logging interval, not the low-level keepalive interval
loop-heavy profiles should still be validated carefully on the bench before trusting them unattended

License

This repository is released under the GNU GPL v3.

The original upstream MightyWatt repository contains its own license files for its original contents. Review the upstream repository for the exact license structure of the original project components.

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