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Reference > Language > Functions > Communication > Serial > Available

Serial.available()

Description

Get the number of bytes (characters) available for reading from the serial port. This is data that’s already arrived and stored in the serial receive buffer (which holds 64 bytes).

Serial.available() inherits from the Stream utility class.

Syntax

Serial.available()

Parameters

Serial: serial port object. See the list of available serial ports for each board on the Serial main page.

Returns

The number of bytes available to read .

Example Code

The following code returns a character received through the serial port.

int incomingByte = 0; // for incoming serial data

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600); // opens serial port, sets data rate to 9600 bps
}

void loop() {
  // reply only when you receive data:
  if (Serial.available() > 0) {
    // read the incoming byte:
    incomingByte = Serial.read();

    // say what you got:
    Serial.print("I received: ");
    Serial.println(incomingByte, DEC);
  }
}

Arduino Mega example: This code sends data received in one serial port of the Arduino Mega to another. This can be used, for example, to connect a serial device to the computer through the Arduino board.

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial1.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
  // read from port 0, send to port 1:
  if (Serial.available()) {
    int inByte = Serial.read();
    Serial1.print(inByte, DEC);
  }
  // read from port 1, send to port 0:
  if (Serial1.available()) {
    int inByte = Serial1.read();
    Serial.print(inByte, DEC);
  }
}

See also