If I upload any sketch that sends serial data, I immediately see the TX/RX LEDs flash once the sketch is uploaded. If I then start the serial monitor, the sketch appears to restart. A bare minimum sketch that shows this behaviour: void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); Serial.println("Setup"); } void loop() { Serial.println("Loop"); delay(1000); } Tested with several boards and Mac and Windows versions of the IDE. Example output - it goes back to "Setup" when I open the serial monitor: ![Restart][1] Why is this? [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/mokWb.png