Installation¶

pip install watlowlib

Requires Python 3.13 or newer. Core dependencies are anyio (async runtime), anyserial (cross-platform serial I/O), and anymodbus (Modbus RTU codec).

Optional extras¶

pip install 'watlowlib[parquet]'    # ParquetSink (pyarrow)
pip install 'watlowlib[postgres]'   # PostgresSink (asyncpg)
pip install 'watlowlib[trio]'       # run the async core on the trio backend
pip install 'watlowlib[docs]'       # build the docs locally

CSV, JSONL, SQLite, and InMemory sinks need no extras — they use only the standard library. See Logging and acquisition for the sink surface and Sinks API for the reference.

Platform support¶

Linux, macOS, BSD, and Windows are supported via anyserial (readiness-driven I/O on POSIX, IOCP on Windows). Serial-port enumeration uses anyserial.list_serial_ports() natively.

On Linux, the user running watlow-* commands must have read/write access to the serial device — usually achieved by adding the user to the dialout group (sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER) and re-logging.

Wiring quick reference¶

EZ-ZONE PM and similar controllers expose EIA-485 half-duplex on a two-wire bus. Default settings:

A USB-to-RS-485 adapter is the usual host-side connection. Daisy-chain up to 16 EZ-ZONE PM controllers on one Standard Bus segment (4000 ft maximum cable length); terminate one end with a 120 Ω resistor. See Standard Bus protocol reference and Modbus RTU mapping.