Prosys OPC UA Browser

What you actually use it for

• Browsing and reading a server from a Linux or macOS workstation, where UaExpert is not an option.
• Giving a non-Windows integrator or a customer's IT team a graphical way to confirm what a server exposes.
• Checking endpoints, security policies and user token types a server advertises before configuring a permanent client.
• First-contact commissioning where you want to confirm a machine is on the network and its address space is populated.
• Teaching and demonstrations alongside the Prosys simulation server, so both ends of the connection are from a single vendor and behave predictably.

Walkthrough

1. Install the Java clientProsys ships platform installers and a Java bundle. Confirm which Java runtime the build you download expects; a mismatch is the most common reason it will not launch on a locked-down Linux workstation.
2. Connect to a discovery or session endpointEnter opc.tcp://host:4840 to hit the discovery endpoint and let the client list the session endpoints, or paste a full endpoint URL including its path when the server does not serve discovery on the same address.
3. Connect unsecured first, then secureEstablish an anonymous, unsecured session to prove the route, then repeat with a signed and encrypted endpoint. On the secure attempt, expect a trust prompt and expect to move the client's certificate into the server's trusted store.
4. Browse the address space and read attributesExpand Objects and select nodes. Confirm NodeId, DataType and AccessLevel before you promise a downstream system that a tag is readable, writable or of a particular numeric type.
5. Note the namespace mappingRead the Server object's NamespaceArray and record URI-to-index pairs. As with any client, carry URIs and not indexes into your configuration.
6. Point it at the free lab servers to sanity-check the client itselfIf a connection fails, try opc.tcp://opcua.umati.app:4840 or opc.tcp://milo.digitalpetri.com:62541/milo. A client that reaches those but not your machine tells you the problem is the machine or the network, not the tool.

What it will not do

• The free browser is a viewer-oriented product; the writing, subscription tuning, alarm and history depth found in a full client may require the paid product.
• Java runtime dependency, which is an obstacle on hardened workstations and in some corporate images.
• Not a headless tool: it needs a graphical session, so it does not replace a terminal client for SSH-only access.
• No PubSub inspection and no packet-level view.
• Feature naming and the split between the free browser and the commercial client have changed over time, so documentation you find may not match your build.

Alternatives

Last verified 7 September 2026 against OPC UA 1.05.07. OPC UA Connect is an educational resource and is not affiliated with the OPC Foundation.