Strong typing, OOP, testability for industrial automation.
Type-safe. Deterministic. Hardware-agnostic.
A modern programming language for industrial automation.
PLC programming has been frozen in time for decades. Chronax breaks that pattern. Inspired by IEC 61131-3 but free from its limitations, Chronax is a modern synchronous language that brings strong typing, OOP, formal verification, and test-driven development to industrial automation.
Write in text or switch to Ladder and Grafcet diagrams instantly—no information loss. Test logic without hardware. Prove safety properties formally. Deploy to any PLC or generate embedded code.
Chronax gives automation engineers the tools software developers have had for 30 years—without abandoning proven automation paradigms.
Approachable for automation engineers. Uncompromisingly rigorous for software engineers.
Chronax rethinks IEC 61131-3 from the ground up — replacing its ambiguities and blind spots with strict, modern semantics — with ideas borrowed from Rust, Ada, and Java to bring modern software engineering to industrial control. The result is a language that feels familiar to both audiences — and makes no compromise on correctness.
Everything is explicit. No implicit coercion, no hidden behavior, no ambiguity. The compiler catches type mismatches, unreachable states, and unsafe constructs at compile time — so errors never reach the factory floor.
For automation engineers, this means readable code that behaves exactly as written. For software engineers, this means a language with the rigor they demand — strong typing, generics, formal verification — applied to a domain that has been waiting 30 years for it.
Zero vendor-specific constructs.
I/O declarations are abstract — define what your system needs, map to actual hardware at build time. The same source code generates programs for Siemens, Rockwell, or Schneider PLCs, or compiles to C for custom embedded systems. Switch platforms without rewriting.
Chronax ships with compatibility libraries that cover the standard function blocks of each target — TIA Portal, Control Expert, Codesys, and more. The compiler automatically maps each call to the vendor's native API. When a function doesn't exist on a target, Chronax generates the implementation. Write vendor-neutral code. The compiler handles the rest.
PLC targets
Embedded targets
Built for engineers who ship.
Strong typing, OOP, generics
Eliminate runtime errors with compile-time type checking. Build reusable components with object-oriented programming and generic packages. Modern software engineering, industrial-strength reliability.
Logical time & determinism
Same inputs always produce same outputs—guaranteed. Chronax's synchronous model with logical time ensures reproducible behavior for testing, simulation, and safety-critical applications. No race conditions, no timing surprises.
Built for safety
Language restrictions prevent unsafe constructs. No undefined behavior, no hidden side effects, no memory corruption. Designed from day one for safety-critical applications.
Deep static analysis
Catch errors at compile time, not during commissioning. Advanced static analysis detects dead code, unreachable states, type violations, and logic errors before deployment.
Formal proof for certification
Generate mathematical proofs of correctness for safety-critical systems. Chronax supports formal verification methods required for SIL 2/3, IEC 61508, and aerospace standards. Certification-ready by design.
Unit testing built-in
Write tests alongside your control logic. Validate functions, procedures, and state machines without hardware. Run thousands of tests in seconds—catch bugs before commissioning.
Simulation & debugging
Simulate complete PLC programs on your laptop—faster than real-time. Step through code, inspect variables, and validate behavior under every condition. Debug at your desk, not on the factory floor.
Functional testing
Create automated test scenarios that validate end-to-end system behavior. Define inputs, expected outputs, and timing requirements. Ensure no regressions as your codebase evolves.
Bijective Ladder, Grafcet, FBD
Switch between text and graphical representations instantly—no information loss. Edit in code or diagrams; both views stay perfectly synchronized. One source of truth, multiple views.
Software developers & automation engineers.
Software developers write in text with modern IDE features. Automation engineers review and edit in Ladder or Grafcet diagrams. Same codebase, comfortable for everyone. Switch instantly based on the task at hand.
Compile, test, simulate, deploy — all from the command line.
Perfect for CI/CD pipelines, automated builds, and scripting. Full control without opening an IDE.
Ready to try Chronax?
Free CLI live now for partner companies. Waitlist access from June 15 in registration order. General availability in early October.
Join the waitlist