WinCC OA Database Explorer

May 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

Version License Coverage Quality gate Released

A VS Code extension that recreates the WinCC OA PARA module, providing a graphical interface for browsing and editing datapoint types (DPTs), datapoints (DPs), and their configurations directly from VS Code.

Features

Unified Tree View

Browse DPTs, their DP instances, and element hierarchies in a single tree:

  • DPT (symbol-class) → DP instances (database) → element tree (struct/field)
  • Click on leaf elements to open the config editor

Config Editor Webview

View all configurations for a datapoint element:

  • Current value with timestamp, status, and type info
  • Address, alert handling, archive, PV range, smoothing, distribution configs
  • Set values through the WinCC OA event manager

Project Auto-Detection

Automatically connects to WinCC OA projects via:

  1. Extension settings (winccoa-database.projectPath)
  2. winccoa-project-admin extension API
  3. Workspace folder detection

Drag & Drop DP Names

Effortlessly copy datapoint names for use in scripts, documentation, or AI assistants:

  • Drag & drop datapoint or element nodes from the tree view into any VS Code editor or external application
  • Context menu: Right-click on DP or element nodes and select "Copy DP Name"
  • Automatically constructs the full element path (e.g., System1:ExampleDP.config.address)
  • Works seamlessly with Copilot Chat, terminals, and external tools

Architecture

VS Code Extension
  |
  |-- better-sqlite3 (read) ----> ident.sqlite    (DPTs, elements, DPs)
  |                                config.sqlite   (address, alert, archive, ...)
  |                                last_value.sqlite (current values)
  |
  |-- MCP HTTP Client (write) --> MCP HTTP Server --> WinCC OA Event Manager
                                  (localhost:3001)
  • Reading: All data is read from SQLite databases at {projectDir}/db/wincc_oa/sqlite/ using better-sqlite3 (native Node.js module, prebuilt for Electron and Node.js runtimes)
  • Writing: Values are set through the WinCC OA MCP HTTP server, which routes them through the event manager

Note: Direct SQLite writes do not propagate to the WinCC OA runtime. Use the MCP server for value changes.

Prerequisites

  • VS Code 1.106+
  • WinCC OA 3.20 or higher (requires SQLite cache)
  • A running WinCC OA project with SQLite databases
  • WinCC OA MCP HTTP server running (for value setting)
  • winccoa-project-admin extension (optional, for auto-detection)

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
  3. Search for "WinCC OA Database Explorer"
  4. Click Install

From VSIX

code --install-extension vscode-winccoa-database-X.Y.Z.vsix

The extension works cross-platform on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Native modules are prebuilt for Electron (local VS Code) and Node.js (Remote SSH/Containers).

Development

Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile
npm run compile

Run Locally

Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

Development Scripts

  • Build: npm run compile
  • Watch: npm run watch (auto-recompile on changes)
  • Package: npm run package
  • Lint: npm run lint
  • Format check: npm run format:check
  • Unit tests: npm run test:unit
  • Integration tests: npm run test:integration

Branching Model (GitFlow)

  • develop is the default branch (day-to-day work)
  • main is the stable branch (releases)
  • feature/* / bugfix/* target develop
  • release/vX.Y.Z and hotfix/vX.Y.Z target main

More details: docs/automation/GITFLOW_WORKFLOW.md

CI/CD Pipeline

  • CI Pipeline: .github/workflows/ci-cd.yml
  • Pre-releases: Created on PRs to main
  • Stable releases: Created from main branch
  • Integration tests: .github/workflows/integration-winccoa.yml

More details: docs/automation/CI-INTEGRATION.md

Roadmap

  • DPT editor webview (edit element tree structure)
  • Create/delete datapoints and datapoint types
  • Config editing (address, alert handling, archive, etc.)
  • Search/filter in tree view
  • Historical data access (PostgreSQL)
  • Multi-language support for display names
  • Drag & drop for element reordering
  • File watcher for SQLite database changes
  • Support for distributed systems

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.

Disclaimer

WinCC OA and Siemens are trademarks of Siemens AG. This is a community project and is not affiliated with Siemens AG.

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Made with ❤️ for and by the WinCC OA community