WinCC OA Debugger

Debug WinCC OA CTRL scripts directly from Visual Studio Code

Features • Configuration • Known Issues

⚠️ Early Access Notice This extension is in active development. While core features are stable, you may encounter:

• Edge cases not yet fully covered
• Library breakpoint handling still being refined

🐛 Found a bug? Please report it on our GitHub Issues! Your feedback helps us make this extension better for everyone. 🙏

Quick Fix: If something doesn't work, try Ctrl+Shift+P → Reload Window

✨ Features

🚀 Launch & Attach

• Launch Mode: Open a CTRL script and press F5 — a temporary WCCOActrl manager is started automatically and removed after the session
• Attach Mode: Attach to any running WinCC OA manager (CTRL, UI, etc.)
• Quick Debug: Debug the currently active CTRL file with zero configuration

🔴 Breakpoints

• Set breakpoints in .ctl and .ctc files
• Library breakpoints: Breakpoints in shared library files are resolved across sub-projects
• Conditional breakpoints: Break only when a condition is met
• Breakpoints in nested libraries and multi-lib projects

🔍 Stepping & Inspection

• Step In / Step Out / Step Over: Navigate through your CTRL code
• Variable Inspection: View local, script-global, and manager-global variables
• Call Stack: Full call stack with source file and line information
• Expression Evaluation: Evaluate CTRL expressions in the Debug Console

📁 Sub-Project Support

• Automatic project detection from workspace
• Path mappings between local and remote paths
• Sub-project library resolution

⚙️ Configuration

Quick Start (Launch Mode)

No configuration required! Open a .ctl file and press F5. The extension auto-detects your WinCC OA project and starts a temporary manager.

Launch Configuration

Add to your .vscode/launch.json:

{
  "type": "winccoa",
  "request": "launch",
  "name": "Debug CTRL Script",
  "script": "${file}"
}

Attach Configuration

{
  "type": "winccoa",
  "request": "attach",
  "name": "Attach to WinCC OA Manager",
  "host": "localhost",
  "port": 4999,
  "system": "System1",
  "manager": {
    "type": "CTRL",
    "number": 1
  },
  "pathMappings": {
    "/opt/WinCC_OA/3.21/scripts": "${workspaceFolder}/scripts"
  }
}

Configuration Reference

Settings

📝 Commands

Access via Ctrl+Shift+P:

🐛 Known Issues

Current Limitations

1. Library Breakpoints:

   • Breakpoints in deeply nested library chains may not resolve on first hit
   • Workaround: Set the breakpoint and restart the debug session

2. Stop on Entry:

   • stopOnEntry may report incorrect line numbers in some scenarios
   • Under investigation

3. Quick Debug:

   • Stop reason may show "entry" instead of "breakpoint" in some edge cases

4. Path Mappings:

   • Required when WinCC OA project paths differ between local and remote systems
   • Windows UNC paths are supported but may need explicit mappings

Reporting Bugs

Found an issue? Please report it with:

• WinCC OA version
• Extension version (0.1.0)
• Steps to reproduce the issue
• Enable trace: true in launch.json and attach log output

Report Issue on GitHub

🛠️ Requirements

• VS Code: 1.110.0 or higher
• WinCC OA: 3.19+ installed on your system
• Dependency: WinCC OA Project Admin extension

📄 License

This project is proprietary software. All rights reserved — see the LICENSE file for details.

Unauthorized copying, modification, distribution, or use of this software is strictly prohibited.

🔗 Related Extensions

• WinCC OA Project Admin - Project management and PMON control
• WinCC OA Script Actions - Execute CTRL scripts
• WinCC OA Test Explorer - Run unit tests
• WinCC OA CTRL Language - Language support
• WinCC OA LogViewer - View log files

⚠️ 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 project created to enhance the development experience for WinCC OA developers.

GitHub • Issues • WinCC OA Docs