RAPID Live — ABB Robotics for VS Code

The first VS Code extension that connects directly to a live ABB controller.

Live-tested on RobotWare 7.21 (OmniCore) and RobotWare 6.16 (IRC5). Works against real hardware and RobotStudio virtual controllers, with both RWS 1.0 (HTTP Digest, IRC5) and RWS 2.0 (HTTPS Basic + XHTML, OmniCore) auto-detected from the controller's auth challenge.

What it does

• RAPID language server — hover docs from the official 705-entry reference manual, autocomplete, signature help, snippets, CodeLens above every PROC / FUNC / TRAP, Go-to-Definition, Find References, document outline, inlay hints showing live values.
• Push / Pull / Diff — .mod file workflow that fits in any git repo. Pull all controller modules into your workspace; edit; push back. Diff your local file against what's currently loaded.
• Live Cell dashboard — joints, TCP, op-mode, exec state, speed at a glance.
• Tasks panel — every RAPID task with its modules and routines. One-click run, set PP, unload. Create new tasks (writes SYS/CAB_TASKS in CFG).
• Variables Watch — pin variables, see live values poll every 1 s.
• Multi-robot — one window, many controllers, switch active in a click.
• Plus: file system browser, I/O signal control, event log with details, CFG read+write, backup / restore, service-routine call, IK + FK, and ~90 commands covering the full RWS surface.

Quick start

1. Install from the marketplace.
2. Click the RAPID Live icon in the activity bar → + Add Robot.
3. The wizard auto-scans 127.0.0.1 and 192.168.125.1. RobotStudio VCs use random ports — those are detected automatically.
4. Default credentials: Admin / robotics (recommended; works on most controllers). Falls back to Default User automatically on IRC5 if Admin doesn't exist.
5. Right-click your robot → Connect.

That's it — the panels populate in under 2 seconds.

How it differs from other ABB extensions

The other ABB extensions on the marketplace are static editor enhancements — syntax highlighting, snippets, language servers. None of them connect to a controller.

We don't compete with RobotStudio's 3D simulation or cell design — that's a different category. We do the dev loop: connect, monitor, edit, deploy, repeat.

Live editing in the editor itself

Open any .mod / .sys / .prg file while connected and the editor lights up:

• Faded gray live values next to every VAR / PERS / CONST declaration, polled every 1.5 s.
• Green ▶ in the gutter at the line where the controller's program pointer is currently executing.
• CodeLens above every routine: ▶ Run this routine and ▶ Set PP here.
• Hover any identifier → reference-manual docs (705 entries) for built-ins, live controller value for user variables.
• Ctrl+click a routine name → jump to its declaration anywhere in your workspace.

Git workflow for RAPID

The point of RAPID Live: edit at your desk, version-control in git, deploy to the robot. None of that flow exists in RobotStudio.

┌─ Pull All Modules from Controller ─┐         ┌─ Push Current File ─┐
│                                     │         │                     │
│   Workspace folder ←  controller   │  edit   │  workspace ── push ──→ controller
│   (now in git)                     │ ────────│                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘         └─────────────────────┘

• Pull All Modules — bulk download every loaded program module into your workspace as .mod files.
• Push Current File — load the active .mod into the running task. Right-click in the editor, the title bar, or the file explorer.
• Diff with Controller — VS Code's native diff editor between your local file and what's currently loaded. Read-only on the controller side, no risk of clobbering.

Built on the open-source abb-rws-client package

The protocol layer is published separately as abb-rws-client — the only TypeScript client for ABB Robot Web Services that supports both protocol versions (RWS 1.0 + 2.0).

Building robot tooling outside this extension — a CLI, a web HMI, a ROS bridge, an MES connector? Skip the protocol-quirk research:

npm i abb-rws-client

import { createClient } from 'abb-rws-client';

// Auto-detects RWS 1.0 (IRC5) vs 2.0 (OmniCore) from the auth challenge
const client = await createClient({ host: '192.168.125.1' });
console.log(await client.getControllerState(), await client.getOperationMode());

The package ships with the full RobotManager lifecycle, MultiRobotManager orchestration, WebSocket subscriptions with polling fallback, IRWSAdapter typed interface, and ~30 documented protocol quirks the ABB developer center doesn't cover.

What you can't do (and why)

ABB designed certain things to be impossible from a remote interface. We probed all of these against live virtual controllers; they're protocol-level walls, not extension limitations:

• Bypass the FlexPendant op-mode-change confirmation popup — safety-by-design.
• Bypass the RMMP grant prompt — safety-by-design.
• Modify UAS user grants from RWS — /users/grant-status is read-only; UAS configuration is FlexPendant-only.
• Override the FlexPendant key switch on real hardware — physical safety interlock.
• Jog from AUTO mode — forbidden by ISO 10218.

Coming in 0.10+:

• Step debugging UI (Step Into / Over / Out + breakpoint sync).
• WebSocket-based real-time state on RWS 2.0 (currently 1 s polling).
• Hot-edit / ModPos in a running program.

Pair with the official ABB extension

ABB's own RAPID & Ecosystem Tools provides additional language-level features. Both extensions co-exist cleanly — install both for the best experience.

Cross-platform

Built on Node.js APIs only. Tested on Windows; the same code runs on macOS and Linux. RobotStudio is Windows-only, but real ABB hardware (and OmniCore Docker VCs) work fine from any platform.

Safety notes

This extension can change controller state — turn motors on, start RAPID, write I/O signals. Read the ABB safety documentation for your robot before using these features outside a sandbox.

Contributing & feedback

• Issues / PRs: https://github.com/ichbinmeraj/abb-rws-vscode
• Release history: CHANGELOG.md

License

MIT — Meraj Safari, 2026