PLCWare - TIA Portal (tia)

PLCWare — for Siemens TIA Portal V21

Try it free for 30 days. The trial is self-serve, includes the Pro scopes and needs no card: Start the 30-day trial · plcware.io has the plans and prices.

PLCWare automates Siemens TIA Portal V21 through its native Openness interface, exposed as a local HTTP/JSON API on the engineering machine. Create devices and networks, generate and import SCL/SimaticML, manage blocks/types/tags, and run compile → download → online — all behind a clean HTTP surface that any application, script, or AI assistant can drive.

It carries every bit of complexity the Openness API forces (net48/AMD64 assemblies, runtime assembly resolution, a single serial worker that owns the TiaPortal) and hides it behind HTTP, with a system-tray GUI (start/stop/monitor the API) and a CLI for headless use.

This is the product hub — downloads, documentation, and customer support. The application is proprietary; its source lives in a separate private repository.

How it fits together

Three pieces, split by what runs where:

The MCP and the harness are open and free. The serve app is what actually talks to TIA Portal, and it's the licensed product.

Download

Free to download. Grab the latest installer from the **Releases** page:

• TIAOpenness-Setup-<version>.exe — one-click installer (recommended): copies the app and runs first-time setup (adds you to the Siemens TIA Openness group, creates a shortcut, optional autostart), then opens the Getting started screen.
• TIAOpenness-app-<version>.zip — portable build; unzip and run TIAOpenness.exe setup.

Prerequisites: Windows 10/11 (x64), .NET Framework 4.8 (the installer checks), and TIA Portal V21 + the Openness component installed (the app loads the Siemens assemblies from your local install — they are not redistributed).

See the Getting started guide for the full walkthrough.

Languages

The app ships bilingual — English / Portuguese:

• The desktop app (GUI, CLI, setup and diagnostics) auto-detects your Windows language (English everywhere outside Brazil). You can also pick explicitly: in the installer wizard, in the app's Language selector, or with --lang en|pt on the command line.
• The docs and the tia MCP server (tool descriptions, remediation hints, messages) are English.
• The HTTP API speaks English; a few human-readable status texts (environment checks, license status) follow the app's configured language.

Try it — free download, license to use

The app follows the "download free, activate with a license" model (like JetBrains / Sublime):

• The download is public and free — anyone can install it.
• A valid activation license unlocks use. Without one, every API endpoint except GET /health answers 403 license_required, so the binary does nothing until activated.
• The activation license is a cryptographically signed token, validated offline — no phone-home required to run.

Want to evaluate it? Start the self-serve 30-day trial at plcware.io/en/trial: it includes the Pro scopes and needs no card.

Plans and licensing

Plans and prices are on plcware.io. Licensing covers per-seat use, with tiers from inspection/scaffolding up to full create → compile → deploy and hardware control. For licensing questions, contact PLCWare support or email support@plcware.io.

Drive it from AI (MCP)

The app is non-opinionated (endpoints pass parameters straight through to Openness), which makes it ideal to drive from an AI assistant. The tia MCP server is a thin HTTP client published on npm — point it at your running serve and you're done:

npx -y @renanlido/tia-openness-mcp

For Claude Code (one line, user scope):

claude mcp add --transport stdio --env TIA_API_BASE=http://localhost:5000 --scope user tia -- npx -y @renanlido/tia-openness-mcp

Other clients (Claude Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf) and the Windows cmd /c npx gotcha are covered in docs/INSTALL.md.

The MCP never sends a key — activation is the host's responsibility (the license configured on the serve machine). Without a licensed serve to point at, the MCP can only diagnose connectivity (tia_ping).

MCP client: MIT (see LICENSE). Desktop app: EULA.

For an end-to-end harness that turns a structured spec into a verified TIA project, install the **tia-harness** Claude Code plugin.

Guides

Practical guides for TIA Portal Openness, in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese on plcware.io:

• Export a PLC block to SimaticML XML
• Import LAD, FBD and SCL blocks from code
• Compile a PLC and read the messages
• Create devices, hardware and network
• Set up TIA Portal Openness on Windows
• Connect an AI assistant through MCP

The same guides live in this repository under docs/guides.

Documentation

• Getting started — download → install → activate → start the API.
• MCP / client setup (docs/INSTALL.md) — wire the tia MCP into any AI client.
• CHANGELOG — release history of the app.
• Support — how to get help, report bugs, request features.
• EULA — end-user license agreement for the app.

Support & issues

• 🐛 Bug? Open a public bug report.
• 💡 Feature idea? Open a public feature request.
• 💬 Questions, trials, licenses or purchases? Contact PLCWare privately through support or email support@plcware.io.

See SUPPORT.md for channels and response expectations.

License

The PLCWare app is proprietary software — all rights reserved. Use requires a valid activation license; see the EULA. The open MCP and harness client layers are MIT-licensed in their own repositories.

TIA Portal, TIA, SIMATIC, STEP 7, and Siemens are trademarks of Siemens AG. This is an independent product for TIA Portal and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Siemens.