⚠️ PROJECT GRADUATION NOTICEThis repository served as a successful "napkin proof-of-concept" to experiment with Web Bluetooth abstractions, dual-backend architectures, and early-stage instrumentation history buffers.
Active development has fully transitioned to the Forge Open Bench (FOB) ecosystem.
To bypass browser-enforced data throttling and deliver a professional-grade desktop workbench—complete with lower-latency streaming pipelines, integrated IDE workspaces, and unified support for Pokit Pro, Hantek, and Saleae hardware—we have moved beyond the browser environment.
👉 Check out the active project and new desktop GUI here: github.com/marcus-louie/forge-open-bench
A browser-based multimeter, oscilloscope and data logger for the Pokit Pro, talking directly to the device over Web Bluetooth.
No cloud services. No account required. No backend. All communication occurs directly between your browser and the Pokit Pro over Bluetooth LE.
- Web Bluetooth — no installation beyond a Chromium browser
- Python BLE Bridge — native Bluetooth performance for extended oscilloscope use (see Project Status)
The Pokit Pro does not support true continuous streaming in any mode (this is a firmware limitation, not a Web Bluetooth issue). The official Pokit app achieves "continuous" by rapidly re-triggering single-shot captures with native Bluetooth APIs.
Web Bluetooth adds additional constraints:
- Notification Gaps: 135-150ms batching delays in Chromium's Web Bluetooth implementation
- No Connection Control: Cannot set MTU or connection intervals (native apps can)
- Firmware Bug: Beyond ~2800 samples, the device returns stale/repeated data (confirmed in Pokit Pro 1.6.0 changelog: "Fix: DSO sending invalid number of samples in case of BLE timeout")
Current Workarounds:
- Requests for >3000 samples are automatically reduced to 2800
- UI updates are throttled to
requestAnimationFramecadence - Continuous mode re-triggers single-shot captures with adjustable window times (2/5/10/20ms)
Dual Backend Architecture (in progress): This codebase supports two backends:
| Backend | Transport | DSO Performance | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Bluetooth (default) | Browser-native | Limited by 150ms gaps | Quick measurements, portability |
| Python Bridge | WebSocket via server/ |
Native BLE speed | Lab bench, continuous monitoring |
The Python BLE bridge (server/pokit-server.py) uses bleak for native Bluetooth access, bypassing Web Bluetooth's notification batching. It exposes the same Pokit protocol over WebSocket.
Multimeter mode is not affected by these limitations. Live readings work perfectly with Web Bluetooth because they use infrequent notifications (configurable interval, default ~100ms) rather than high-frequency streaming.
Logger mode has not been tested at high sample rates. It may work fine for slow intervals (>1s) but could show similar issues at high frequency.
Early alpha (v0.2.0) — Settings persistence & theme system added.
Core functionality implemented and verified:
- BLE connection, pairing, and auto-reconnect
- Multimeter live readings with HOLD/REL/MinMaxAvg
- Oscilloscope capture with waveform metrics (with limitations above)
- Data logger with CSV export
- IndexedDB measurement history
Still under active development and protocol validation.
- Multimeter — live DC/AC voltage, current, resistance, continuity, diode, temperature and capacitance with mode/range/interval controls, HOLD/REL/MinMaxAvg, and continuity beep.
- Oscilloscope (DSO) — triggered or free-running capture with a uPlot waveform, one-shot/continuous modes with adjustable window times, rolling buffer display, and computed metrics (Vpp, RMS, mean, frequency, period, duty cycle).
- Data Logger — interval logging over time with CSV export and auto-save.
- Device — firmware info, limits, live status & battery, flash LED, torch, rename.
- Settings & Themes — persistent settings with dark/light/auto theme support, accent colors, and DSO defaults.
- IndexedDB History — saved measurements with searchable history drawer.
- Toast Feedback — non-blocking status notifications.
- Auto-reconnect — automatically restores connection on page reload or transient BLE drop.
- Dual Backend — switch between Web Bluetooth and Python Bridge without changing your workflow.
v0.2.0 — Archived / Graduated to Forge Open Bench
This repository served its purpose as a proof of concept for a dual-backend, browser-based Pokit Pro interface. The core protocol work, dual-backend architecture, and Web Bluetooth viability tests have been ported forward into the full Forge Open Bench ecosystem.
This repo remains a static archive for historical reference. The code is functional and was verified against my own Pokit Pro, but no further development is planned here.
What worked here:
- Multimeter, Oscilloscope, Data Logger — fully functional
- Dual backend (Web Bluetooth + Python BLE Bridge) — proven architecture
- Protocol implementation — reverse-engineered and validated Pokit Pro BLE protocol
Where we hit limits:
- Web Bluetooth MTU and notification batching caps DSO sample throughput
- Browser sandboxing prevents native USB instrument access
- No unified bench view across multiple instrument families
These limits are exactly why the project graduated to FOB.
⚠️ Web Bluetooth is Chromium-only. Use Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Chromium. Firefox and Safari are not supported.
| Requirement | Version / Notes |
|---|---|
| Browser | Chrome ≥ 89, Edge ≥ 89, Brave, Chromium |
| Context | Secure (http://localhost or HTTPS) |
| Host OS | Linux, macOS, Windows, Raspberry Pi OS |
| Hardware | Pokit Pro multimeter (BLE 5.0) |
| Node.js | ≥ 18 (for build) |
- No iOS / iPadOS / Safari support — Web Bluetooth is not available on Apple platforms.
- Browser permission prompts required — Chromium will ask for Bluetooth access on first connect.
- Host OS Bluetooth stack — Linux requires BlueZ; Windows and macOS generally work out of the box.
- DSO sample count capped at 4096 — the Pokit Pro firmware silently clamps
numberOfSamplesto 4096 regardless of what is requested. Values above this (8192, 16384) are accepted by the GATT write but the device returns 4096 samples, producing repeated identical waveforms. The sample-count selector is therefore limited to 256–4096.
Web Bluetooth on Linux uses BlueZ and may require enabling the experimental flag:
chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features
Ensure the bluetooth service is running:
sudo systemctl enable --now bluetoothOn Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm), use Chromium (not Firefox ESR). If the device chooser is empty, check that the Pokit is powered on and within range, then refresh the browser.
For kiosk or headless use on a Pi, launch Chromium with:
chromium-browser --enable-features=WebBluetoothNewPermissionsBackendgit clone https://github.com/vailuc/pokit-pro-web-gui.git
cd pokit-pro-web-gui
npm install
npm run devOpen the printed http://localhost:5173, click Connect, and choose your Pokit device from the Chromium device chooser.
For continuous oscilloscope monitoring without Web Bluetooth's ~150ms notification gaps, use the Python BLE bridge:
# One-command launcher (starts both bridge + frontend)
cd server
./launch-dev.shThis starts:
- BLE Bridge on
ws://localhost:8765(Python backend with native Bluetooth) - Vite Frontend on
http://localhost:5173
Then in the browser, click Settings → toggle Use Python Bridge before connecting.
| Script | Purpose |
|---|---|
npm run dev |
Start Vite dev server |
npm run build |
Type-check and build for production |
npm run preview |
Preview the production build |
npm test |
Run unit tests (Vitest) |
server/launch-dev.sh |
Start Python bridge + Vite together (dev stack) |
src/
pokit/ Framework-agnostic Web Bluetooth protocol layer
uuids.ts Service/characteristic UUIDs
types.ts Enums, structs, Pokit Pro range tables
codec.ts Little-endian ByteReader/ByteWriter
connection.ts PokitConnection: requestDevice + GATT
abstractService.ts Base class (read/write/notify)
statusService.ts / multimeterService.ts / dsoService.ts / loggerService.ts
device.ts PokitDevice facade
store/ Zustand state
deviceStore.ts Connection, reconnect, status, LED/torch
historyStore.ts IndexedDB saved measurements
toastStore.ts Toast notifications
components/ UI primitives, ConnectBar, Readout, Waveform (uPlot), Toast, HistoryDrawer
views/ MultimeterView, OscilloscopeView, LoggerView, DeviceInfoView
App.tsx Tabbed shell
The pokit/ layer has no React dependency and is covered by unit tests in:
src/pokit/codec.test.tssrc/lib/waveformMetrics.test.tssrc/lib/format.test.ts
| Service | UUID | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Pokit Status (Pro) | 57d3a771-…aec5 |
device info, status, name, LED, torch |
| Multimeter | e7481d2f-…dadc |
settings (write) + reading (notify) |
| DSO | 1569801e-…9de6 |
settings + metadata + sample stream |
| Data Logger | a5ff3566-…4121 |
settings + metadata + sample stream |
All multi-byte values are little-endian; floats are 32-bit. See src/pokit/ for full byte layouts.
Active development continues in Forge Open Bench.
FOB builds on the architecture proven here and adds:
- Pure local-only, zero-telemetry hardware capture
- Native USB bridging without browser-enforced data throttling
- Unified 16-channel digital logic views alongside DSO and multimeter modules
- Hantek DSO and Saleae Logic Analyzer support
- Desktop-native performance with a web-tech GUI
See you over there. 🛠️
- pcolby/dokit — Qt/C++ Pokit library that served as an architectural reference for protocol understanding. This project does not contain Dokit source code; it is an independent TypeScript implementation.
- Pokit Innovations — For the Pokit Pro hardware.
- uPlot — Lightweight plotting library used for the oscilloscope.
This does not transfer copyright — you retain ownership of your work.
Dual-licensed under GPL-3.0 (open source) and a commercial license. See LICENSING.md for details. Full GPL-3.0 text is in LICENSE.