ABB Robot (RWS) — VS Code Extension
Monitor and control ABB IRC5 robots directly from VS Code via the Robot Web Services (RWS) HTTP API.
Features
- Live controller status — motor state, operation mode, RAPID execution state
- Joint positions — all 6 axes updated every second
- TCP position — Cartesian X/Y/Z and quaternion orientation
- RAPID control — Start, Stop, and PP to Main from the sidebar
- Program management — load
.mod files from disk, download modules from the controller
- Session persistence — reconnects instantly by reusing the saved RWS session cookie
Quick Start
- Open the ABB Robot panel in the Activity Bar (robot arm icon)
- Click the gear icon (Configure Connection) and enter your controller IP, username, and password
- Click Connect — the status bar shows live motor and RAPID state
Connection Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
abbRobot.host |
192.168.125.1 |
Controller IP address or hostname |
abbRobot.username |
Default User |
RWS username |
abbRobot.password |
robotics |
RWS password |
abbRobot.refreshInterval |
1000 |
Polling interval in milliseconds |
Loading a RAPID Program
- Connect to the controller
- In the Program panel, click the upload icon (Load Program from File…)
- Select a
.mod file — the extension unloads the current program, uploads, and sets PP to Main automatically
Requirements
- ABB IRC5 controller with RWS 1.0 enabled
- Controller reachable over the network (Ethernet)
- RWS user with sufficient privileges (Default User works for most operations)
Known Limitations
- PP to Main requires a
PROC main() in the loaded module — otherwise a warning is shown but the load still succeeds
- Motor-on must be done from the FlexPendant; RWS does not support remote motor enable on IRC5
- Maximum 70 concurrent RWS sessions per controller — the extension reuses sessions to avoid exhausting this limit
License
MIT © Meraj Safari
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