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First Smoke Test

This page verifies that a new engineering workstation can read the repository configuration, see the PLC source tree, build the local tooling, and perform a safe deployment preview.

Run this after completing Windows Setup (1), Git and Repository Setup, and Windows Setup (2).

1. Open A Fresh Terminal

Close and reopen VS Code or PowerShell after .\pcs.cmd install tools. The pcs command depends on the updated user PATH.

From the repository root:

pcs config show

Expected result:

  • the configured project name is printed,
  • the TIA project path resolves to a local .ap19, .ap20, or newer project,
  • exportsRoot points to tia\exports,
  • the configured PLC list is shown,
  • the author value is resolved.

2. List Source Blocks

Confirm that the CLI can see the source tree:

pcs list blocks

Expected result:

  • source files below tia\exports are listed,
  • block names match their file names,
  • no TIA Portal process is required for this command.

3. Build The TIA Openness Tool

Build the local deployment executable:

pcs build

Expected result:

  • tools\tia-openness\bin\tia-deploy.exe is created or refreshed,
  • the build targets the TIA Openness API version inferred from the configured project, unless overridden.

When rebuilds are needed

Rebuild after pulling changes to tools/tia-openness, after changing the deployment tool source, or when switching between TIA Portal versions.

4. Run A Dry Deployment Preview

Use a dry-run before opening or changing TIA Portal:

pcs deploy plcs=PLC_1 blocks=FB_AlarmRouting dry-run no-compile

Expected result:

  • the selected PLC target is resolved,
  • the selected source file is resolved,
  • the command does not open TIA Portal,
  • no blocks are imported or generated.

If the block does not exist in your current source tree, list blocks first and choose another small block:

pcs list blocks
pcs deploy plcs=PLC_1 blocks=FC_0test dry-run no-compile

5. Optional First Openness Check

Only run this step when TIA Portal and the configured project are available on the workstation.

Open the configured project:

pcs tia open

Then perform a focused no-compile import:

pcs deploy plcs=PLC_1 blocks=FC_0test no-compile

First Openness prompts

The first real Openness action may trigger Windows Firewall, TIA Portal authorization, or trust prompts. Open the project manually first if prompts need interactive approval.

Ready For Normal Deployment

After the smoke test succeeds, continue with TIA Deployment for the normal source-to-TIA workflow.