`generate:nodeset`

Read a NodeSet2.xml file and render the matching PHP types.

Usage

opcua-cli generate:nodeset <xmlFile> [--output=./generated/] [--namespace=Generated\\OpcUa] [global-options]

Does not connect to any server — fully local processing.

Examples

opcua-cli generate:nodeset path/to/Robotics.NodeSet2.xml \
    --output=src/Generated/Robotics/ \
    --namespace="App\\OpcUa\\Robotics"

Backslashes in the namespace need shell-escaping (the example above uses "App\\OpcUa\\Robotics" for bash). On Windows cmd.exe, plain App\OpcUa\Robotics works.

Output layout

For a spec with enums + DTOs + codecs:

src/Generated/Robotics/
├── RoboticsNodeIds.php                   NodeId string constants
├── RoboticsRegistrar.php                 GeneratedTypeRegistrar wiring
├── Enums/
│   ├── OperationalModeEnumeration.php
│   ├── MotionDeviceCategoryEnumeration.php
│   ├── AxisMotionProfileEnumeration.php
│   └── ExecutionModeEnumeration.php
├── Types/                                (when the spec has structured DataTypes)
│   ├── SomeDtoType.php
│   └── …
└── Codecs/                               (one per Type)
    ├── SomeDtoTypeCodec.php
    └── …

For a spec with only enums (Robotics, ADI, …), Types/ and Codecs/ are absent. For a spec with no custom DataTypes at all (Machinery, LaserSystems, …), only <Spec>NodeIds.php and <Spec>Registrar.php are emitted.

See Code generation · Generate from XML for the per-artefact format.

How it maps to the library

The output integrates with php-opcua/opcua-client via ClientBuilder::loadGeneratedTypes(). The registrar implements the GeneratedTypeRegistrar contract; consuming the output is a one-line builder call. See Code generation · Consuming generated code.

Where to get NodeSet2.xml files

For the official spec catalogue, the pre-generated package is faster than running generate:nodeset yourself.

When to use generate:nodeset vs the pre-generated package

What's not generated

• Method signatures. OPC UA method NodeIds appear in <Spec>NodeIds; the parameter / return shape is not currently emitted as a typed wrapper.
• Browse paths. The output is NodeIds, not navigation helpers.
• Event-type DTOs. Event NodeIds are in <Spec>NodeIds; the event payload is decoded as raw Variant[] by the library, not by the generator.
• XML-encoded ExtensionObjects. Codecs emit binary (encoding = 1) only.

How it maps to the library

The generator inside opcua-cli produces the same shape that php-opcua/opcua-client-nodeset distributes. Internally:

Common pitfalls

• Namespace casing. OPC UA URIs are case-sensitive. The generator names files after the spec's URI segment — DI/ becomes DiRegistrar, ISA95/ becomes OpcISA95Registrar. Rename if you want consistent PascalCase, but expect regeneration to overwrite.
• Missing dependencies. A NodeSet2.xml that imports Machinery types fails to generate if Machinery is not available. Generate dependencies first.
• Stale output. generate:nodeset does not detect what's already in --output. It writes files; pre-existing files are overwritten silently. Clean the directory if you want a pristine regeneration.