diff --git a/demo/emulator-run.ts b/demo/emulator-run.ts
index e18cc9f..b368ed4 100644
--- a/demo/emulator-run.ts
+++ b/demo/emulator-run.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ loadHex(hex, mcu.flash, 0x10000000);
 const gdbServer = new GDBTCPServer(mcu, 3333);
 console.log(`RP2040 GDB Server ready! Listening on port ${gdbServer.port}`);
 
-mcu.uart[0].onByte = (value) => {
+mcu.uart[0].on('byteSent', (value) => {
   process.stdout.write(new Uint8Array([value]));
-};
+});
 
 mcu.core.PC = 0x10000000;
 mcu.execute();
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 5765ab1..3f5a6d8 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
       "name": "rp2040js",
       "version": "0.17.15",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "eventemitter3": "^5.0.1"
+      },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@types/jest": "^27.4.1",
         "@types/minimist": "^1.2.2",
@@ -2668,6 +2671,11 @@
         "node": ">=0.10.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/eventemitter3": {
+      "version": "5.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eventemitter3/-/eventemitter3-5.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-GWkBvjiSZK87ELrYOSESUYeVIc9mvLLf/nXalMOS5dYrgZq9o5OVkbZAVM06CVxYsCwH9BDZFPlQTlPA1j4ahA=="
+    },
     "node_modules/execa": {
       "version": "5.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/execa/-/execa-5.1.1.tgz",
@@ -8058,6 +8066,11 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-kVscqXk4OCp68SZ0dkgEKVi6/8ij300KBWTJq32P/dYeWTSwK41WyTxalN1eRmA5Z9UU/LX9D7FWSmV9SAYx6g==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "eventemitter3": {
+      "version": "5.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eventemitter3/-/eventemitter3-5.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-GWkBvjiSZK87ELrYOSESUYeVIc9mvLLf/nXalMOS5dYrgZq9o5OVkbZAVM06CVxYsCwH9BDZFPlQTlPA1j4ahA=="
+    },
     "execa": {
       "version": "5.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/execa/-/execa-5.1.1.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 0554328..979b39e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -65,5 +65,8 @@
     "**/*.js": [
       "prettier --write"
     ]
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "eventemitter3": "^5.0.1"
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/peripherals/peripheral.ts b/src/peripherals/peripheral.ts
index fac3eb9..bf69707 100644
--- a/src/peripherals/peripheral.ts
+++ b/src/peripherals/peripheral.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import EventEmitter from 'eventemitter3';
 import { RP2040 } from '../rp2040';
 
 const ATOMIC_NORMAL = 0;
@@ -25,10 +26,15 @@ export interface Peripheral {
   writeUint32Atomic(offset: number, value: number, atomicType: number): void;
 }
 
-export class BasePeripheral implements Peripheral {
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/ban-types -- EventEmitter3 defines the allowed types as `object`, so copy that here
+export class BasePeripheral<E extends object = Record<string, unknown>>
+  extends EventEmitter<E>
+  implements Peripheral {
   protected rawWriteValue = 0;
 
-  constructor(protected rp2040: RP2040, readonly name: string) {}
+  constructor(protected rp2040: RP2040, readonly name: string) {
+    super();
+  }
 
   readUint32(offset: number) {
     this.warn(`Unimplemented peripheral read from ${offset.toString(16)}`);
diff --git a/src/peripherals/uart.ts b/src/peripherals/uart.ts
index 11a4866..a692e58 100644
--- a/src/peripherals/uart.ts
+++ b/src/peripherals/uart.ts
@@ -27,13 +27,25 @@ const UARTEN = 1 << 0;
 // Interrupt bits
 const UARTRXINTR = 1 << 4;
 
-export class RPUART extends BasePeripheral implements Peripheral {
+type UartEvents = {
+  /** the MCU has written a byte to the UART */
+  byteSent: (value: number) => void;
+  /** readFhe MCU's read FIFO is full, and any further bytes fed to the UART will be dropped */
+  readFifoFull: () => void;
+  /** the MCU's read FIFO is empty */
+  readFifoEmpty: () => void;
+  /** the MCU has read a byte from the UART */
+  byteConsumed: () => void;
+};
+
+export class RPUART extends BasePeripheral<UartEvents> implements Peripheral {
   private ctrlRegister = RXE | TXE;
   private lineCtrlRegister = 0;
   private rxFIFO = new FIFO(32);
   private interruptMask = 0;
   private interruptStatus = 0;
 
+  /** @deprecated prefer `on("byteSent", callback)` */
   public onByte?: (value: number) => void;
 
   constructor(rp2040: RP2040, name: string, readonly irq: number) {
@@ -95,6 +107,13 @@ export class RPUART extends BasePeripheral implements Peripheral {
           this.interruptStatus |= UARTRXINTR;
           this.checkInterrupts();
         }
+        if (this.rxFIFO.empty) {
+          this.emit('readFifoEmpty');
+        }
+        if (this.rxFIFO.full) {
+          this.emit('readFifoFull');
+        }
+        this.emit('byteConsumed');
         return value;
       }
       case UARTFR:
@@ -115,9 +134,12 @@ export class RPUART extends BasePeripheral implements Peripheral {
 
   writeUint32(offset: number, value: number) {
     switch (offset) {
-      case UARTDR:
-        this.onByte?.(value & 0xff);
+      case UARTDR: {
+        const byte = value & 0xff;
+        this.onByte?.(byte);
+        this.emit('byteSent', byte);
         break;
+      }
 
       case UARTLCR_H:
         this.lineCtrlRegister = value;