CtrlLens

📖 Read the online documentation, available in multiple languages.

Git-native version control, visual diff/merge, and AI-assisted editing for Studio 5000® PLC projects — right inside VS Code. CtrlLens previews and version-controls .ACD / .L5X files, rendering Ladder (RLL), Function Block (FBD), Sequential Function Chart (SFC), and Structured Text.

Install

• VS Code / Cursor: install from the Visual Studio Marketplace.
• Kiro and other Open VSX-based IDEs: search for CtrlLens in the Extensions view, or install it from Open VSX.

Requires VS Code / Code OSS 1.108.0 or later. Windows x64, Linux x64, macOS Intel, and macOS Apple Silicon builds are published separately; the marketplace selects the matching package automatically.

New in 0.8

Explore project structure, search PLC logic, and review the impact of changes with links to the source. Connect Codex or Claude Code through guided setup, then review and validate Standard RLL/ST changes before approving a write.

Features

• Graphical preview — Ladder / FBD / SFC on an interactive canvas; Structured Text in VS Code's native editor with full syntax highlighting.
• Git-native VCS — commit, branch, push/pull, stash, and merge .ACD / .L5X projects with per-program change tracking.
• Visual diff & merge — side-by-side rung / block / chart diffs and conflict resolution for RLL, FBD, and SFC, plus structural and line-by-line diffs for Structured Text.
• Interactive editing — inline operand & instruction editing, rung comments, drag-and-drop, undo/redo, and a Studio 5000-style Cam profile editor.
• Cross Reference (Pro) — the Studio 5000 workflow inside CtrlLens: right-click any tag to see every place it is read or written across the whole project (RLL / FBD / SFC / ST, including AOI definitions), with a Destructive read/write flag per row; double-click to jump straight to the referencing instruction.
• AI-assisted programming — exposes routine XML and an auto-generated project-schema bundle (tag inventory, UDT/AOI types, and a full Logix instruction index with per-project usage marks) to Codex, Claude Code, Copilot, and Cursor to support project-aware PLC editing.
• AI agent tools (MCP) — 15 local tools add auditable, two-phase typed patches to the existing project map, deterministic search, language-aware semantics, conservative signal/impact analysis, exact instruction specs, verification, preview, diff, and cross-reference tools. An agent can stage a bounded Standard RLL/ST patch for free; formal apply is Pro and requires an unexpired, one-time receipt from L0 parse/round-trip, L1 static validation, semantic diff/impact/invariant review, and a passing Studio 5000 L2 Build. No L2 means no apply; Safety and protected logic are always read-only.
• AI client setup — choose Codex or Claude Code, the client session folder, and the PLC default separately; review configuration before saving. Setup checks an absolute runtime and binds evidence links to the current editor.
• Typed Patch review (0.8) — CtrlLens: Review and Validate Typed Patch… shows the exact requirement contract, old/new logic, impact boundaries, invariants, L0/L1/L2 results, and approval hashes before Apply. Writes are snapshot-bound, backed up, atomically replaced, re-validated, and rolled back on failure.
• Validation — static checks (tag resolution, operand types, SFC topology, instruction/language compatibility, Add-On Instruction definition rules) surfaced in the Problems panel. Limits that depend on your hardware — AOI nesting depth, InOut ceiling, MESSAGE tag scope — follow the project's own controller family and Logix Designer version, and are skipped rather than guessed on a controller CtrlLens doesn't recognise. Everything CtrlLens creates is held to the same rules Studio 5000 enforces on import.

Working with Studio 5000

CtrlLens adds Git version control, code review and AI-assisted offline editing to Studio 5000 projects. Hardware/network configuration, controller download/upload and online monitoring remain in Studio 5000. Typed-patch L2 validation invokes the installed Studio 5000 SDK Build on a disposable copy; it is not an independent compiler.

Free vs Pro

Start free; upgrade to Pro at ctrllens.com.

Requirements

• Git must be installed — the version-control, diff, and merge features depend on it. If you don't already have it, download and install from git-scm.com (most PLC/electrical engineers won't have Git yet; the default installer options are fine).
• No extra L5X command-line tools — explode/implode runs in-process on every platform. CtrlLens manages Git operations through your installed Git executable.
• ACD ↔ L5X conversion and typed-patch L2 Build need the Logix Designer® SDK 2.2 (specifically the 2.2.x backend — CtrlLens pins the 2.2.1109 client; Windows only, installed via the Studio 5000 SDK installer). SDK Build additionally requires a Logix Designer v37+ project; earlier revisions fail closed before conversion. The small ctrllens-acd helper that drives it is bundled with the Windows build. Without a supported Build environment, typed patches can still be staged and checked at L1 but cannot be formally applied; every other feature — preview, Git, diff, merge, editing, .L5X import/export — works without it, on all platforms.

Configuration

Core preview and L5X import need no additional tool paths. Git features use your installed Git. For an external AI client, use CtrlLens: Set Up AI Agent Tools (Client and Project Binding) to review its connection and PLC binding. The ACD↔L5X converter (ctrllens-acd, Windows only) ships inside the extension and is resolved automatically; you never point at it. The only optional setting is the SDK location, and even that is auto-detected:

Logix Designer SDK (Windows only) — version 2.2.x required (the bundled ctrllens-acd is built against the 2.2.1109 client and must match the installed SDK 2.2 backend). Example default install location:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Rockwell Software\Studio 5000\Logix Designer SDK

CtrlLens auto-detects this on launch and fills the setting for you. If it isn't found, CtrlLens shows a one-time prompt with install / set-path options — or set ctrllens.logixDesignerSdkPath manually.

📖 Online documentation — multiple languages · CtrlLens website

_{Studio 5000® and Logix Designer® are products and trademarks of Rockwell Automation. CtrlLens is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Rockwell Automation.}