Attention

IronPLC implements many parts of the IEC 61131-3 standard and is working toward full Structured Text support. Key features still missing include structures and user defined function blocks.

Installation

IronPLC supports the following platforms:

  • Windows (x64)

  • macOS

Prerequisites

The first step is to install a supported development environment:

Other development environments that support VS Code extensions (via the Open VSX Registry) also work. The instructions below use Visual Studio Code, but the steps are the same in all supported environments.

Install Steps

Follow the steps below to install IronPLC.

Install IronPLC CLI

  1. Download the latest IronPLC installer from IronPLC GitHub releases:

  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete installation of the CLI.

Install IronPLC Extension

Run your development environment, then:

  1. Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in Activity Bar on the side of the window or using the View: Extensions command (Ctrl+Shift+X).

  2. In the Extensions view, enter IronPLC in the search box.

  3. In the Extensions view for the IronPLC item, choose Install.

Install IronPLC CLI

  1. Go to Homebrew then follow the instructions to install Homebrew.

  2. In a Terminal, enter brew tap ironplc/tap, then enter brew install ironplc.

Install IronPLC Extension

Run your development environment, then:

  1. Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in Activity Bar on the side of the window or using the View: Extensions command (⌘+Shift+X).

  2. In the Extensions view, enter IronPLC in the search box.

  3. In the Extensions view for the IronPLC item, choose Install.

The weekly builds do include a homebrew tap for Linux but the tap is not tested other than to validate that it compiles.

Next Steps

You are ready to start programming. In the next chapter, you will learn how PLC programs work before writing your first one.

Continue to How a PLC Program Works.