Quick start

Get up and running with SiFi Bridge in 5 minutes.

Starting the REPL

Launch the SiFi Bridge interactive shell:

sifibridge
{"new": {"active":"device","created": "device","message":"Device device created and selected"}}

You're now in the REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) where you can type commands interactively.

JSON output

SiFi Bridge outputs responses in JSON format. For easier reading, use the --pretty flag:

sifibridge --pretty
{
  "new": {
    "active": "device",
    "created": "device",
    "message": "Device device created and selected"
  }
}

The examples below show simplified output for clarity.

Scan for devices

Discover available SiFi devices via Bluetooth:

> list ble
{
  "list": {
    "devices": [
      {
        "name": "BioPoint_v1_3",
        "id": "C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10"
      },
    ]
  }
}

You can also list devices from other sources with list serial or list devices.

Connect to a device

Connect to your device using its name or MAC address:

> connect BioPoint_v1_3

You can also connect by MAC address:

> connect C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10
{
  "connect": {
    "id": "default-1",
    "device": "BioPointV1_3",
    "connected": true,
    "mac": "C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10"
  }
}

Check device status

View detailed information about the connected device:

> show
{
  "show": {
    "id": "default-1",
    "mac": "C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10",
    "connected": true,
    "device": {
      --- snip ---
    }
  }
}

The show command outputs the complete device configuration in JSON format.

Start collecting data

Begin acquiring data from your device:

> command start-acquisition
{
  "command": {
    "id": "default-1",
    "device": "BioPointV1_3",
    "connected": true,
    "command": "start_acquisition"
  }
}
{
  "device": "BioPointV1_3",
  "id": "default-1",
  "mac": "C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10",
  "packet_type": "start_time",
  "data": {
    "year": [
      2025.0
    ],
    "day": [
      16.0
    ],
    "hour": [
      14.0
    ],
    "minute": [
      50.0
    ],
    "second": [
      36.0
    ],
    "month": [
      11.0
    ]
  },
  "data_timestamps": {
    --- snip ---
  },
  "data_lost_count": {
    --- snip ---
  },
  "status": "lost_data",
  "timestamp": 1763322636.219
}

SiFi Bridge returns the start acquisition response acknowledge. Notice that the device returns a Start time packet whenever a new acquisition is started.

Stop data collection

Stop the data acquisition:

> command stop-acquisition
{
  "command": {
    "id": "default-1",
    "device": "BioPointV1_3",
    "connected": true,
    "command": "stop_acquisition"
  }
}

Export data to CSV

To save data to CSV files, use the --csv-out flag when starting sifibridge:

sifibridge --csv-out ./data/

A file will be created for each device, sensor and recording, named <manager>_<YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS>_<sensor>.csv — for example default-1_2026-09-22-16-02-26_ecg.csv. Each file contains timestamped sensor data ready for analysis.

The output directory must already exist

--csv-out does not create the directory. Pointing it at a path that does not exist makes SiFi Bridge panic and exit rather than report an error:

panicked at src\publishers\csv.rs:72:39:
called `Result::unwrap()` on an `Err` value: Os { code: 3, kind: NotFound, ... }

Create the directory first (mkdir -p ./data). This also breaks sifi_bridge_py's publishers="csv://./data/", since the crash takes the subprocess down and the next call fails on a closed pipe.

Recordings stored in the device's on-board memory are downloaded with the command interface, or over a serial port with serial, which is significantly faster:

# Over BLE
> command download-memory

# Over a serial port
> serial /dev/ttyACM0

The downloaded packets are emitted on the data stream, so combine this with --csv-out to write them to disk. Completion is signalled by a memory packet:

> command download-memory
--- data packets snip ---
{
  "device": "BioPointV1_3",
  "id": "default-1",
  "mac": "C2:EC:EF:30:0D:10",
  "packet_type": "memory",
  "status": "memory_download_completed",
  "timestamp": 1763324822.599
}

And now the output folder contains:

$ tree ./data/
data
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_ecg.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_eda.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_emg.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_imu.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_ppg.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-19_ecg.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-19_eda.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-19_emg.csv
├── device_2025-11-16-15-26-19_imu.csv
└── device_2025-11-16-15-26-19_ppg.csv

All the files' header starts with time, followed by the biochannels:

$ head -n 2 data/device_2025-11-16-15-26-06_imu.csv
time,ax,ay,az,qw,qx,qy,qz
1763324766,2.40,-1.49,0.90,0.80,-0.31,-0.51,-0.01

Disconnect from device

Close the connection:

> disconnect
{
  "disconnect": {
    "id": "default-1",
    "device": "BioPointV1_3",
    "connected": false
  }
}

Exit SiFi Bridge

Leave the REPL:

> quit

You can also use Ctrl+C or Ctrl+D to exit.

Get help

Type help in the REPL for a list of all available commands, or help <command> for details about a specific command:

> help
Available commands:
  list              List devices from BLE, serial, or saved devices
  connect           Connect to a device
  disconnect        Disconnect from device
  ...

> help connect
Connect to a device via BLE.

The connection handle can be:
- Empty to auto-connect to a device
- BLE device name (e.g. 'BioPoint')
- (Windows/Linux) BLE MAC address (e.g. '00:11:22:33:44:55')
- (MacOS) BLE UUID (e.g. '00001122-3344-5566-7788-99AABBCCDDEE')

Usage: connect [HANDLE]

Arguments:
  [HANDLE]
          Connection handle

Options:
  -h, --help
          Print help (see a summary with '-h')