May 17, 2026 · Announcement

Voltrus PLC v1.0 — The First Native macOS PLC IDE Ships Today

No CODESYS on Mac. No TIA Portal on Mac. No TwinCAT on Mac. If you write PLC programs and use a MacBook, your options were: run Windows in a VM, or use a different computer. Neither is acceptable in 2026.

Voltrus PLC v1.0 is available now. It is a native macOS application that provides a full IEC 61131-3 Structured Text editor, a built-in softPLC runtime, AI-assisted programming, and I/O drivers for five industrial protocols. No Windows. No virtualization. No browser-based workaround. A real PLC IDE that runs on your Mac.

What v1.0 Includes

IEC 61131-3 Structured Text Editor

The editor implements full IEC 61131-3 Structured Text compliance. Not a subset, not a dialect:

Control flow: IF/ELSIF/ELSE, CASE with range selectors, FOR, WHILE, REPEAT, EXIT, CONTINUE
Data types: STRUCT, ENUM, ARRAY, all standard integer/real/bool/time types
Functions: all standard IEC functions (math, comparison, string, time, bit-shift, selection) — 50+ built-in
User-defined: custom FUNCTION and FUNCTION_BLOCK declarations with input/output/in-out parameters

Programs compile to bytecode and execute on the built-in virtual machine. The compiler passes 19 dedicated test suites covering type checking, control flow, function resolution, and edge cases.

Built-in SoftPLC Runtime

Voltrus PLC includes a cyclic scan engine that executes your compiled Structured Text programs. The runtime performance in release mode:

        3.17 million cycles per second (0.3μs per cycle) in release mode. Fast enough to simulate real PLC scan behavior on any Apple Silicon Mac.
      

The runtime supports cyclic execution with configurable scan intervals, variable initialization, and persistent state across cycles. The virtual machine passes 38 dedicated test suites covering instruction execution, memory management, and runtime behavior.

I/O Drivers — Connect to Real Devices

Five industrial protocol drivers are included. You can read and write data to real devices directly from your Mac:

Modbus TCP — read/write holding registers, input registers, coils, discrete inputs
Siemens S7 — connect to S7-1200/1500 PLCs, read/write data blocks, markers, inputs, outputs
OPC-UA — browse namespaces, subscribe to nodes, read and write attributes
EtherNet/IP — implicit and explicit messaging to Allen-Bradley and compatible controllers
MQTT — publish PLC variables to brokers, subscribe to topics and map to internal tags

Each driver is configured through the I/O mapping panel. Map physical device addresses to internal PLC variables, and the runtime handles the rest during each scan cycle.

AI-Assisted Programming

Voltrus PLC integrates AI directly into the editor. Three modes:

Code generation — describe what you need in natural language, get Structured Text code
Explanation — select any block of code and get a line-by-line explanation
Error fixing — paste compiler errors and get corrected code with explanations

AI works through the Claude API (cloud, requires API key) or Ollama (local, no internet required). Run it on-premise with no data leaving your network.

Debugging Tools

The debugger provides what you expect from a PLC development environment:

Breakpoints — set on any line, pause execution at that point
Single-step — execute one instruction at a time, inspect variable state between steps
Force/unforce variables — override variable values to test logic without physical inputs
Trend charts — plot variable values over time to visualize process behavior

Why This Matters

The PLC programming tool market has a Mac problem. Here is what the incumbents look like:

macOS support

Native

Windows only

Download size

11 MB

2 GB+

5 GB+

Compile time

Instant

15-20 min (incremental)

5-10 min (project open)

Hardware requirement

Any Mac

Standard PC

Gaming-class PC

System stability risk

None

IDE freezes

Can BSOD Windows

Vendor lock-in

None (IEC standard)

CODESYS runtime

Siemens only

Price

$29.99 one-time

Free IDE, paid runtime

$2,000-$20,000+

CODESYS is the de facto standard for IEC 61131-3 programming, but its IDE is Windows-only, and engineers on forums consistently report 15-20 minute freezes during incremental compilation. The download is over 2 GB.

TIA Portal (Siemens) requires what users describe as a "gaming-class PC" to run acceptably. Opening a project takes 5-10 minutes. It only targets Siemens hardware. Pricing starts around $2,000 and scales to $20,000+ depending on the configuration.

TwinCAT 3 (Beckhoff) integrates into Visual Studio and can cause Windows blue screens when its real-time driver conflicts with hardware. It is Windows-only.

Voltrus PLC is 11 MB, compiles instantly, runs on any Mac, and costs $29.99.

Pricing

$29.99. One-time. No subscription.

That includes the full Structured Text editor, softPLC runtime, all five I/O drivers, AI integration, debugging tools, and free updates. There is no tiered pricing, no feature gating, and no recurring billing.

Download

Voltrus PLC is available for Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4):

Direct download: Download Voltrus PLC for Apple Silicon
Product page: voltrus.id/voltrus-plc/

The app auto-updates via Tauri v2. No manual update checks, no installer drama.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you write PLC programs on macOS?

Yes. Voltrus PLC v1.0 is the first native macOS PLC IDE. It supports full IEC 61131-3 Structured Text editing, compilation, simulation, and deployment — all on your Mac without Windows or virtualization. The built-in softPLC runtime executes compiled programs at 3.17 million cycles per second on Apple Silicon.

Does Voltrus PLC connect to real devices?

Yes. Voltrus PLC includes I/O drivers for Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, OPC-UA, Siemens S7, and MQTT. You can read and write registers and coils on real PLCs, power meters, and industrial devices directly from your Mac. Map device addresses to internal PLC variables through the I/O configuration panel.

How much does Voltrus PLC cost?

Voltrus PLC is $29.99 one-time with free updates. No subscription required. The price includes the full Structured Text editor, softPLC runtime, all five I/O drivers, AI-assisted programming, and debugging tools. Download directly from voltrus.id/voltrus-plc/.

Download Voltrus PLC v1.0

Native macOS PLC IDE. IEC 61131-3 Structured Text, softPLC runtime, 5 I/O drivers, AI-assisted programming. 11 MB download. $29.99 one-time, no subscription.

Get Voltrus PLC — $29.99

What's Next: v2.0

v1.0 ships with Structured Text. v2.0 will add three graphical IEC 61131-3 languages:

Ladder Diagram (LD) — the most widely used PLC programming language, with contacts, coils, timers, and counters
Function Block Diagram (FBD) — graphical signal flow between function blocks, for process control and interlocking logic
Sequential Function Chart (SFC) — step-and-transition diagrams for batch processes and state machines

All four IEC languages (ST, LD, FBD, SFC) will be usable within the same project. Mix Structured Text actions inside SFC steps, call function blocks written in LD from ST code. v2.0 is in development.

Related: Full SCADA System

Need full SCADA with dashboards and alarms? Voltrus SCADA supports Modbus, OPC-UA, S7, and more. Monitor, trend, and alarm across all your devices from a single interface.