Free desktop software
Every CAN tool you reach for, in one free app.
Built by people who spend their days inside vehicles. Monitor live traffic, decode messages, chart signals, run diagnostics, and manage an Orion BMS from one connection.
macOS · Windows · Linux. No account, license, or hardware purchase required.
Eleven tabs share your connected networks: Monitor, Decode, Transmit, Charts, Logging, Protocols, Diagnostics, Network, DBC Editor, Orion BMS, and Dashboard.
Connect compatible AI assistants through MCP (Model Context Protocol) to help reverse engineer unfamiliar CAN protocols. Inspect changing bits and message timing, compare traffic around events, and draft DBC definitions for review. Agents can also manage recordings and run controlled transmit tests, with per-network limits and an activity log. Agent access is experimental.
Turn DBC signals into analog gauges, numeric readouts, bars, status lights, and fault indicators. Move and resize each gauge, set warning thresholds, and keep your layout between sessions. Switch to full screen for a dedicated display, or watch the gauges follow a recording.
Route traffic between connected networks. Forward, drop, or rewrite messages with rules that match a CAN ID, a whole DBC, or all traffic. Change individual bytes or named DBC signal values as frames cross the bridge.
Share a connected bus with another CANbus Manager instance on your network. Find it automatically or enter its address, then connect with a pairing code. Remote access starts read-only, with a separate control for remote transmission. Use a trusted network; pairing does not encrypt traffic.
Each network retains its latest 100,000 live frames. Mark important moments and save retained traffic as a recording after spotting a problem, even if recording was not running. Saved marks let you jump back to those events during replay.
Connect up to four CAN buses simultaneously — a vehicle bus and a charger bus, or the whole car — with every view filterable per network and frames color-tagged by which bus they came from.
Compose raw CAN frames or enter values through a loaded DBC without packing the bytes by hand. Send once, build a list of frequently used messages, or run multiple periodic transmissions with independent intervals and start/stop controls.
Chart DBC signals live with pause and zoom, then review recordings with a time scrubber and speed controls. Resume stopped recordings and recover recordings after a crash. Export filtered CSV, Vector ASC/BLF, PEAK TRC, SocketCAN candump, and Kvaser logs, including decoded-signal CSV.
Inspect CANopen with EDS/DCF files, J1939 fault messages and address claims, ISOBUS, NMEA 2000, and CHAdeMO. Transport decoding and multi-frame reassembly are built in. Load your own DBCs and H-Protocol definitions for device-specific signal layouts.
Read vehicle data and fault codes with UDS, OBD-II, and KWP2000 over ISO-TP. Use typed CANopen SDO reads and writes, NMT commands, and CiA 402 drive controls. Basic XCP session controls provide connect, status, identification, and disconnect actions.
A live topology map drawn from traffic: every node the bus reveals — CANopen node IDs, J1939 source addresses, DBC transmitters — with per-node message and signal detail one click away.
Monitor Orion BMS2 pack voltage, current, state of charge, temperatures, relay states, current limits, and individual cell voltages. Discover its broadcast IDs and edit local profile files, including arrays, curves, and tables. The profile editor saves files; it does not write profiles to the BMS.
Load multiple DBCs, decode signals in engineering units, and edit messages, signals, and cycle times in the built-in editor. DBC export preserves content the editor does not expose. Keep a shared starting library and move embedded databases between computers with portable .cbs project files.
Turn on help mode to explore explained controls across all eleven tabs. Read guidance in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, or Chinese. Help is translated while button and menu labels stay in English.
| Adapter | Platforms | Driver and status |
|---|---|---|
| Serial (SLCAN) | macOS, Windows, Linux | Built-in support for CANdapter and compatible serial adapters. |
| PEAK PCAN-USB | macOS, Windows, Linux | MacCAN PCBUSB on macOS; PCAN-Basic on Windows and Linux. |
| Kvaser | macOS, Windows, Linux | Bundled native support on macOS; CANlib on Windows and Linux. |
| Vector (XL) | Windows | Experimental. Vector XL Driver Library. |
| Ixxat (VCI) | Windows | Experimental. Ixxat VCI driver. |
| SocketCAN | Linux | Experimental. A configured kernel CAN interface, such as can0 or vcan0. |
| Network (remote adapter) | macOS, Windows, Linux | Another CANbus Manager instance sharing a connected network. |
Experimental adapters appear with a testing-status marker in the app. If a required driver is missing, CANbus Manager provides installation guidance.
Need help with installation, integration, or a complete vehicle? We build cars, and we can help build yours.
Free for macOS, Windows, and Linux. CAN adapters are sold separately. The built-in updater keeps your installed app current.
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