Issue with RP Pico / Mac OS Tahoe?

[rwboyer]

Completely new to tinygo (but not go) just tried to test my dev environment to make sure everything is working properly (which seems to be) but ran into an issue I assume is related to Mac OS 26.

• Wrote a small test program (onboard LED with PWM and serial output w/ println) for the Pico which I've used before and used the default tinygo flash -target=pico -monitor which failed . (the build and flash work fine without the -monitor)
• Investigation revealed that the serial port doesn't seem to be showing up as a new device on the Mac.
• Connected the Pico to a linux machine I have and the serial port fired up instantly with no issue when using tinygo flash -target=pico -monitor....

Doesn't really seem to be a problem with tinygo itself.

Wondering if anyone else has seen this issue on Mac OS 26 with the Pico serial port and might have an idea how to fix it. Or if I missed it what the name of it should be?

[donatj]

You ever find a solution? I seem to be hitting up against the same problem myself tonight.

[donatj]

I've got my Pico operating as a USB HID keyboard… It is very curiously working entirely fine on linux but not at all on macOS. Neither the HID USB keyboard nor the serial terminal show up.

[Gustavomurta]

USB/Serial issues on any operating system can be debugged using Wireshark. I have experience with Wireshark on Windows and Linux. Since I don't own a Mac, I have never used it on that platform.

https://www.wireshark.org/

Installing Wireshark under macOS:
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/ChBuildInstallOSXInstall.html

Wireshark - How to capture USB traffic on macOS:
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/wsug_html_chunked/ChCapInterfaceSection.html#ChCapCaptureInterfacesMainMacos
https://wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB

[donatj]

Can you use Wireshark when the device doesn't show up as a /dev device at all

That's where I'm at. Works fine on my MacBook Pro. Connects as a USB keyboard and serial device.

On my Mac Studio It doesn't show up as a device at all.

I would think it was something with my Mac Studio but micropython seems to work fine on both

[Gustavomurta]

I think it will be possible to see some communication on the USB port using Wireshark—even if the device isn't recognized! When a device is connected to the USB port, there is communication involved in recognizing it.
If this initial communication does not occur, the device will not be properly recognized. This could be a starting point for investigating your problem.
If you manage to capture anything, share the logs.

[rwboyer]

I have no solutions, given I have multiple dev machines I just moved on and gave up on macOS/MX hardware.

Based on other random experiences and other simple USB "devices" I've had on M1-M4/base to ultra and all versions of MacOS on those computers my complete guess it has something to do with security and the manufacturer ID on the USB storage and HID used. Probably some approval process that needs to be observed OR the wrong parameters on the USB storage device that is being completely rejected given even a minor issue provokes a "allow connection" to storage devices as mundane as an SD card.

Also I have experienced a very big difference between USB-C vs Thunderbolt ports with various legacy devices. Sometimes those legacy USB devices WILL NOT work on USB-C only port but work fine when connected to Thunderbolt capable ports. Other devices are the other way around....

Not much help but I love TinyGo but don't use it for any critical projects in real life so have not gone down the road of limitless debug time.

RB