Nodalis IDE – IEC 61131-3 & MTI Development Tools

Nodalis IDE provides a complete development experience for MTI’s Dragonfly platform and IEC-61131-3-based automation projects.
It includes full support for Structured Text, IEC 61131-10 XML Exchange Projects, and MTI Skipper Sheets, with custom editors and productivity tools designed specifically for industrial control development.

✨ Features

📝 Structured Text Language Support (.st)

• Syntax highlighting
• Language configuration (comments, brackets, auto-indent)
• Future-proof foundation for additional ST tooling (linting, completion, transpilation)

📘 IEC XML Exchange Project Editor (.iec)

• Custom webview-based editor
• Visual representation of IEC 61131-10 project structures
• Support for Ladder Logic visualization and editing
• Print/Export command for IEC content (nodalis.printEditorContent)

📗 MTI Skipper Sheet Editor (.skip)

• Dedicated custom editor for MTI’s SKIP configuration files
• Clean UI for editing sheet-based logic
• Integrated with file creation commands

📂 File Creation Tools

Use the Command Palette or Explorer context menu to create new files:

• Nodalis: Create File (ST) → creates a .st file
• Nodalis: Create File (SKIP) → creates a .skip file
• Nodalis: Create File (IEC) → creates a .iec project file

These are available when right-clicking any folder in the Explorer.

🚀 Getting Started

Install

The extension can be installed from the VS Code Marketplace or by sideloading the VSIX.

(https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=MontgomeryTech.nodaliside)

Open Files

Nodalis IDE automatically opens the correct editor based on file extension:

Create a New Project File

Using the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / ⌘⇧P):

• Nodalis: Create File (ST)
• Nodalis: Create File (SKIP)
• Nodalis: Create File (IEC)

Or right-click any folder in the Explorer to use the context menu shortcuts.

🧭 Extension Commands

⚙️ Extension Settings

At present, Nodalis IDE does not expose user-configurable settings.

Future versions may include:

• Syntax customization
• Parser/validator configuration
• Code generation options
• Theme overrides

📚 File Types Explained

Structured Text (.st)

A high-level language defined in IEC 61131-3 used for PLC programs.
Nodalis provides syntax support and a foundation for deeper tooling.

IEC 61131-10 XML Projects (.iec)

Machine-readable representations of PLC automation projects.
The custom editor parses and visualizes the structure for easy navigation and editing.

MTI Skipper Sheets (.skip)

MTI’s internal logic-sheet notation for designing control flows and interlocks.
Nodalis IDE provides a custom editor tailored to this workflow.

📸 Screenshots

Structured Text Syntax Highlighting

IEC Project Editor

Skipper Sheet Editor

🛠️ Development & Architecture

Nodalis IDE is built entirely in TypeScript and leverages:

• VS Code Custom Editor API for .skip and .iec
• VS Code Language Configuration for .st
• TextMate grammar for ST syntax highlighting
• A modular extension architecture (extension.ts as activation point)
• A future path toward transpilers/compilers and improved editing UX

🧪 Known Issues

• Remaining work to do for compiling and programming various PLCs.

📦 Release Notes

1.0.0

Initial release of Nodalis IDE with:

• ST language support
• IEC custom editor
• SKIP custom editor
• File creation commands
• Basic print/export support

📝 License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

🙌 Contributing

Contributions from the MTI and open-source community are welcome.