OpenPLC Editor: Overview

The OpenPLC Editor is the browser-based development environment for IEC 61131-3 PLC programs that ships with Autonomy Edge. You write code, manage variables, configure communication protocols, and deploy to vPLCs without leaving the browser.

The editor opens whenever you click Open in editor from a project page. It loads in the same browser tab.

The OpenPLC Editor open on the EDF Demo project, showing the project tree on the left, the LD body editor for main in the centre, the library catalogue at the bottom of the side panel, and the console at the bottom

What you can do

Write PLC code in Structured Text (ST), Ladder Diagram (LD), Function Block Diagram (FBD), and Instruction List (IL).
Author Python and C/C++ function blocks for logic that doesn't fit cleanly in IEC 61131-3.
Edit variables in a table or as raw VAR ... END_VAR text. Bind them to physical addresses (%IX0.0, %QW3, %MD5, …) or expose them through communication protocols.
Define custom data types (arrays, enumerations, structures) and use them in your variable declarations.
Configure tasks (cyclic, with priority and interval) and the program instances they run.
Expose your variables over Modbus TCP, OPC-UA, or S7Comm as a server, or read remote I/O as a Modbus master.
Run programs in the browser with the built-in Simulator, or connect to a real vPLC on an orchestrator, deploy your build, and watch live variable values in the debugger.
Use the AI Engineer for chat-based help and inline code completion across ST, IL, Python, and C++.
Track changes with the built-in source control panel (commits, history, branches, inline diffs).

What's not here

A handful of features in the desktop OpenPLC Editor are not part of the web editor. The most relevant ones:

The board selector and VPP vendor screens: the web editor is bound to the runtime image that built the vPLC, so the board is fixed.
USB upload for Arduino-class targets.
Local file paths: projects in the web editor live in the platform's git store, not on your disk.

If you need any of these, install the standalone OpenPLC Editor and use it alongside Autonomy Edge.

The browser-based Simulator is fully supported in the web editor. It's the same avr8js AVR emulator the desktop editor uses, running in your browser tab. See Running with the Simulator.

How to read this section

Workspace Layout is the orientation tour: title bar, activity bar, project tree, console.
Programming Languages walks each IEC language with examples.
Variables and Data Types covers the variable table, classes, locations, and aliases.
Standard Block Library is the per-block reference.
Communication is the per-protocol reference, with worked examples.
Connecting to a vPLC is how you get from "I wrote a program" to "it's running on a device".

What's next

Start with the Workspace Layout to learn the editor's geography.