WinCC OA DP Inspector

⚠️ EARLY PROTOTYPE — Expect Bugs

This extension is in its very first prototype stage. Core features work, but the codebase is young, APIs may change, and you will likely encounter rough edges. Do not use in production environments. Feedback and bug reports are very welcome!

Latest Update (v0.2.0): Auto-Setup wizard with PMON integration — the server manager is installed and started at runtime without a project restart. See CHANGELOG for details.

Tip: If the extension doesn't work as expected, try Ctrl+Shift+P → Reload Window to refresh.

🎬 See It In Action

📥 Installation

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open a WinCC OA project via the WinCC OA Project Admin extension
3. Run Ctrl+Shift+P → WinCC OA: Open DP Inspector — the setup wizard starts automatically

✨ Features

📡 Live DP Monitoring

• Real-time subscriptions: Subscribe to any datapoint element and watch values update instantly
• Wildcard search: Search across all datapoints using WinCC OA patterns (e.g. System1:Pump*)
• Multiple subscriptions: Monitor multiple datapoints simultaneously in a single panel

📈 Charts

• Time-series visualization: Numeric DP values are rendered as live charts
• Multiple series: Compare several datapoints in one chart view

🧙 Auto-Setup Wizard

• One-Click Installation: Automatically clones, builds, and registers the required Node.js server
• PMON Integration: Server manager is added at runtime via PMON — no project restart required
• Rebuild / Update: Pull latest server changes and rebuild with a single command
• Status Check: View installation status and manager entry at any time

⚙️ Configuration

Essential Settings

💡 Tip: Use winccoa.dpInspector.server.branch to pin to a specific server version.

🐛 Known Issues

Current Limitations

1. Branch Setting Default:

   • Default branch is main
   • Change via winccoa.dpInspector.server.branch if you need a specific version

2. File Re-Activation After Rebuild:

   • If the server is rebuilt while the DP Inspector panel is open, the WebSocket connection may drop and not auto-reconnect
   • Workaround: Close and reopen the DP Inspector panel after a rebuild

3. Wildcard Performance:

   • Very broad patterns (e.g. *) on large projects may return thousands of results and slow down the UI
   • Recommendation: Use system-prefixed patterns like System1:Pump* for better performance

Reporting Bugs

Found an issue? Please report it with:

• WinCC OA version
• Extension version (0.2.0)
• Steps to reproduce
• Output from the extension output channel (WinCC OA DP Inspector)

Report Issue on GitHub

📝 Commands

Access via Ctrl+Shift+P:

🏗️ Architecture

WinCC OA Runtime
  └── Node.js Manager  (javascript/dpInspectorServer/dist/index.js)
        └── WebSocket Server :4712
              ↕  JSON protocol
VS Code Extension
  └── DP Inspector Webview (React + Vite)

The server runs as a WinCC OA JavaScript Manager with full access to the runtime API (dpConnect, dpNames, dpElementType). The extension connects via WebSocket and renders live values in a Webview panel.

🛠️ Requirements

• VS Code: 1.109.2 or higher
• WinCC OA: 3.19+ (running project with JavaScript Manager support)
• Node.js: 14+ (for the dp-inspector-server runtime)
• WinCC OA Project Admin Extension: Required for automatic project detection and PMON integration

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

📜 Disclaimer

WinCC OA and Siemens are trademarks of Siemens AG. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Siemens AG. This is a community-driven open source project.