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Example Network Terminal

Nick Tracy edited this page Jul 18, 2026 · 3 revisions

Example: Network terminal

Goal: Serve a simple ANSITerm screen over the network so a PC can connect with telnet (or any raw TCP client).

This is not encrypted SSH. Traffic is plain TCP on port 23, like classic telnet.

Supported stacks

  • ESP32 / ESP8266 Wi‑Fi
  • Arduino boards with WiFiNINA
  • Arduino Mega with Ethernet shield

Edit the sketch to set your Wi‑Fi SSID and password (or use Ethernet / DHCP).

Setup (Wi‑Fi)

  1. Open NetworkTerminalExample.
  2. Set ssid and password near the top of the file.
  3. Upload to your board.
  4. Open the Arduino Serial Monitor briefly at 9600 baud to read the board’s IP address, then close it.
  5. On your PC: telnet <ip-address> 23 (or use PuTTY in Raw / Telnet mode to that host and port).

If Wi‑Fi fails to join within about 20 seconds, the sketch prints a timeout message on Serial and stops trying — fix the credentials and upload again.

What you should see (in telnet)

  • “Network Information” with IP, subnet, gateway, and DNS
  • A note that this is a TCP / telnet-style session
  • Session ends when you disconnect the client

Tips

  • Phone hotspot vs home Wi‑Fi: use a network the board can join (2.4 GHz for many ESP8266 boards).
  • Corporate / guest networks often block device-to-device telnet.
  • For a richer network UI, use ESP Wi‑Fi Control on ESP32/ESP8266.

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