Wirely 1.5.3

Wirely 1.5.3: Readings that make sense for capacitors, inductors and transistors.

Use it in your browser — nothing to install

https://wirely-app.github.io/ — works on Chromebooks, and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on any computer. It updates by itself.

Downloads (desktop app)

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.5.3.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.5.3-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.5.3-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.5.3-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

Fixed

• Capacitors no longer show power. A capacitor charging up stores energy rather than turning it into heat, so the "mW" figure next to it was misleading. It now shows just voltage and current.
• Inductors show only the small loss in the coil, not the energy going in and out of their magnetic field.
• MOSFETs show the current that flows through them. The reading used to be the gate's (always about 0 A), so a MOSFET switching a motor looked like it was passing nothing. It now shows drain-to-source voltage and the drain current.
• NPN and PNP transistors now show collector-to-emitter voltage and the collector current, not the base's.

Wirely 1.5.2

Wirely 1.5.2: US symbols, PWM dims LEDs and bulbs like it does in real life, and Wirely uses much less CPU and runs fast-switching circuits faster. (Includes everything from 1.5.1.)

Use it in your browser — nothing to install

https://wirely-app.github.io — works on Chromebooks, and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on any computer. It updates by itself.

Downloads (desktop app)

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.5.2.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.5.2-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.5.2-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.5.2-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

New

• US symbols: turn on View → US symbols to draw parts the American way: zigzag resistors (and variable resistors, potentiometers, thermistors and LDRs), an S-shaped fuse, a curved minus plate on electrolytic capacitors and a filament in bulbs. Wirely remembers your choice.
• PWM dims LEDs and bulbs: LEDs, bulbs and displays now look as bright as your eye would see them. Switch one fully on and off faster than you can see (PWM) and it looks steadily dimmer, instead of flickering at random. This holds even when a busy circuit runs slower than real time. Choose a slow-motion speed and you can watch it flick on and off.
• It works for RGB LEDs too: PWM one colour to change the mix. Multiplexed 7-segment displays look steady as well.
• New example: PWM dimmer (555). Turn the knob while it runs to dim an LED and a bulb.
• The website shows its version number next to the logo.
• The website updates itself: when a new version comes out, it switches over straight away (or asks first if you have unsaved work), instead of showing the old one until your next visit.

Fixed

• The resistor's description no longer mentions a "realistic view" that doesn't exist.

Faster

• Uses much less CPU while a circuit runs, so laptops stay cooler and quieter. Wirely no longer redraws things that haven't changed: the grid, parts and wires are only drawn again when they actually change. For example, the Night light went from about 60% of a CPU core to under 10%. Everything looks exactly the same. The browser version is lighter too.
• Fast-switching circuits simulate faster: 555 timers, PWM and the buck converter. The PWM dimmer runs about 40% faster and the 555 doorbell nearly twice as fast, with the same accuracy.

425 automatic tests check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice, and the browser version is tested in a real browser before it goes live.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.5.0 — new parts, a unit box for values, and readings you can move

Wirely 1.5.0: new parts, a unit box for values, and readings you can move. Plus a big round of bug fixes, found by checking every example step by step and testing every part in thousands of random circuits.

Use it in your browser — nothing to install

https://richiewillmott.github.io/Wirely/ — works on Chromebooks, and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on any computer. It updates by itself.

Downloads (desktop app)

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.5.0.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.5.0-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.5.0-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.5.0-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

New

• A unit box next to values: double-click a resistor and there's Ω / kΩ / MΩ beside the number; capacitors have pF / nF / µF, inductors µH / mH / H, and frequencies Hz / kHz / MHz. Typing the whole value (4k7, 100n) still works.
• Move a reading out of the way: drag any reading label to wherever it's clearest. A dashed line shows which wire or part it belongs to.

New parts

• Crystal clock — an exact clock for logic circuits, unlike a 555.
• Stepper motor — turns one step at a time; drive it with an L293D and watch the shaft turn.
• Rotary switch (click to turn it) and a 12-key keypad (hold down a key), wired as rows and columns like a real one.
• JK flip-flop (4027) and Schmitt NAND gate (4093).

New examples

Stepper motor (crystal clock + L293D), Keypad (which key is pressed), Binary counter (JK flip-flops), Schmitt NAND flasher (4093) and Rotary switch (pick an LED).

Fixed

• Wire currents next to 0 V symbols — when you hover, in Readings, and in the flow dots — could be wrong (for example 7.3 mA instead of 14.8 mA in the Night light example). Part readings and voltages were always right.
• Readings at the moment something switches: regulators, 555s, logic chips, relays and motors showed the wrong current for an instant when they switched.
• A thyristor now switches a relay on: it used to let go while the coil's current was still building up.
• Chips and displays now show their power in Readings instead of 0 W.
• Wiring mistakes no longer freeze the simulation: a voltage regulator wired the wrong way round, a TL431 upside down, an op-amp with its output held outside its supply, or a burnt-out thyristor.
• More realistic failures: an op-amp on a reversed supply is destroyed, a thyristor with its gate wired straight to the supply burns out (and tells you to add a gate resistor), and a reversed regulator leaks back from OUT to IN like a real one.
• Counters and flip-flops start from 0: an input that's simply high at switch-on no longer counts as a clock pulse.
• Tidier labels when parts are turned round: names no longer sit on pins, and a chip on its side has its pin names running along the pins.

406 automatic tests check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice — and the browser version is tested in a real browser before it goes live.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.4.1 — Readings, and 16 new parts

Wirely 1.4.1: Readings, 16 new parts, and brighter LEDs. Thanks to everyone who sent ideas! This release includes everything from 1.4.0.

Use it in your browser — nothing to install

https://richiewillmott.github.io/Wirely/ — works on Chromebooks, and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on any computer. It updates by itself.

Downloads (desktop app)

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.4.1.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.4.1-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.4.1-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.4.1-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

New in 1.4.1

• RGB LEDs mix properly: green is now the same kind of chip as blue (about 3.1 V, like real RGB LEDs), so green and blue on one resistor share the current and make cyan. Red is only about 2 V, so if it shares a resistor with the others it takes nearly all the current — just like a real one. Give each colour its own resistor to mix any colours (see the RGB colour mixer example).
• LEDs look brighter when they're on: a stronger colour and a bigger, brighter glow.

Readings (1.4.0)

Press the new Readings button while a circuit runs and every wire shows its voltage and current, and every part its voltage, current and power. Or leave it off and click any wire or part to pin just that reading — click again to remove it. Simulate → Copy readings copies them all as a table, ready to paste into a spreadsheet or your write-up.

New parts (1.4.0)

• Bi-colour LEDs (2-leg and 3-leg) and an RGB LED.
• Bridge rectifier and transformer — build a real mains-style power supply.
• Thyristor (SCR): C106D, 2N5060, TIC106D, BT151 — a gate pulse latches it on until the current stops.
• Voltage regulators: 7805, 7809, 7812, LM1117-3.3 and the adjustable LM317. They drop out, current-limit, and get too hot without a heatsink.
• Comparators: LM393 and LM311.
• L293D motor driver: drive a motor forwards and backwards from logic pins, with PWM speed control.
• 4026 counter (drives a 7-segment display directly) and 4060 counter with built-in oscillator.
• DPDT switch, DPDT relay (two changeover contacts), Hall effect sensor and solenoid.

New examples (1.4.0)

Thyristor alarm (latching), 5 V power supply (7805), RGB colour mixer, Counter (555 + 4026), Reversing a motor (DPDT), Motor driver (L293D) and Relay reversing a motor (DPDT).

329 automatic tests check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice — and the browser version is tested in a real browser before it goes live.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.3.0

Wirely 1.3.0: parts you asked for, and Wirely in your web browser. Thanks to everyone who sent requests!

Use it in your browser, nothing to install

https://richiewillmott.github.io/Wirely/ works on Chromebooks, and in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on any computer.

It's the same Wirely: the same parts, symbols, examples and simulator, running in the browser. Your circuits stay on your computer and nothing is uploaded.

• Save gives you a .wirely file that opens in the browser version and the desktop app alike.
• File → Copy a link to this circuit: paste it into Google Classroom or Teams and everyone gets their own copy.
• Works offline after the first visit, and Chrome can install it as an app for the Chromebook launcher.
• Touchpad and touch-screen friendly: two-finger scroll to move around, pinch to zoom.

Downloads (desktop app)

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.3.0.exe. Run it and it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.3.0-mac-arm64.dmg. Open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.3.0-x86_64.AppImage. Run chmod +x Wirely-1.3.0-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

New parts

• Shift registers: 74HC164, 74HC595 (with its output latch and output-enable), 74HC165 and 74HC597 (with its input latch). Try the new Shift register (74HC595) example: set the data switch, clock it in, then latch it onto eight LEDs.
• 4051 analogue switch (CD4051B and 74HC4051): connects COM to one of eight channels, with each type's real on-resistance.
• TL431 / TLV431 adjustable references: set any voltage with two resistors. See the new TL431 adjustable reference example.
• Solid-state relay (TLP3122A): a small LED current silently switches up to 1.4 A, AC or DC, isolated.
• 2N7002 MOSFET added.
• Every part type is explained: double-click a transistor, MOSFET, diode, op-amp and more, choose a type, and a line underneath tells you what it's good for, like why you'd pick an AO3400 over a 2N7002.

Also

• Chip labels no longer sit on top of the pins.
• On the graph, a curved trace no longer hides the grid lines and the other trace.

271 automatic tests check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice, and the browser version is tested in a real browser before it goes live.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.1.0

Wirely 1.1.0: more accurate MOSFETs and op-amps.

Downloads

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.1.0.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.1.0-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.1.0-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.1.0-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

What's new

• MOSFETs fitted to their datasheets. Every type's threshold voltage and on-resistance match its datasheet, and each now has its body diode, internal gate resistance and voltage-dependent gate and drain capacitances. Switching takes real time and the gate shows the Miller plateau. Gate charge matches the datasheets (AO3400: 6.1 nC vs 6 nC; FQP27P06: 32.3 nC vs 33 nC) and switching delays match ngspice to within a few nanoseconds.
• Op-amps fitted to their datasheets. Open-loop gain, input bias current, supply current, output swing that depends on the load (a 741 on ±15 V gives ±14 V into 10 kΩ and ±13 V into 2 kΩ), and the LM358 reaching 0 V but not its top rail. Output current is drawn through the supply pins, and too high a supply voltage destroys the chip.
• Diodes survive short surges as real ones do, instead of popping on a nanosecond spike.
• Over-voltage is realistic: MOSFETs break down a little above their rating — a short coil spike is absorbed (power MOSFETs survive it, a 2N7000 doesn't), but a supply above the rating destroys them. Motors burn out on far too much voltage.
• About twice as fast on every circuit, and much faster with MOSFETs.
• Updating is cleaner: the Windows installer removes the old version's library files first.
• Linux: tested on Wayland as well as X11.

239 automatic tests now check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.0.0

The first public release of Wirely: a free, open-source circuit design and simulation app. Draw a circuit, press play, watch it work.

For the workplace, the classroom and the workbench. It runs on your own computer, with no account and no cloud.

Downloads

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.0.0.exe — run it and follow the installer. It adds Wirely to the Start menu and makes .wirely files open in Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.0.0-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open (it isn't signed by Apple yet).
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.0.0-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

What it does

• Draw circuits with British/IEC symbols. Drag parts from the gallery, drag from pin to pin to wire them up, and double-click a part to change its values (type 10k, 4k7, 100n …). Also includes undo, copy and paste, text notes, PNG/SVG/PDF export, a parts list and light and dark themes.
• Press Play and it runs. LEDs glow, lamps light, motors spin up and slow under load, relays click, buzzers and speakers make real sound, and meters read. Wires are coloured by voltage, with dots showing the current flow. Click switches and drag sensor sliders while it runs, and hover over any wire for its voltage and current.
• Parts that pop: an LED without a resistor, an overloaded resistor, or a transistor hit by a relay coil's voltage spike. Each shows a message saying what happened and how to fix it.
• Graph (oscilloscope) with up to four probes, plus logic probes.
• 55 parts: the 555 timer, op-amps, logic gates, D flip-flop, 4017 counter, 4511 decoder, 7-segment display, optoisolators, and MOSFETs and transistors with real part numbers. Also relays, inductors, motors, sensors and a signal generator with PWM.
• 20 example circuits, from an LED and resistor to a 555 doorbell, an LED chaser, an optoisolator and a buck converter.

Accuracy

Wirely has its own circuit solver, using the same core method as SPICE. 184 automatic tests check it against textbook formulas (LED current, transistor gain, RC and RL curves, 555 timing, op-amp gain) and against ngspice. For example, the buck converter gives 5.743 V out in Wirely and 5.747 V in ngspice.

Known limits

• No PCB or breadboard layout.
• No AC sweep or SPICE model import yet.
• Op-amps and MOSFETs use simplified models.
• Fast-switching circuits run slower than real time; the answers are still right.

Licence

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Use it for anything, including at work.

Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.

Wirely 1.2.0

Wirely 1.2.0: real filament lamps.

Downloads

• Windows (64-bit): Wirely-Setup-1.2.0.exe — run it; it updates an existing Wirely. If SmartScreen warns you (the installer isn't code-signed yet), click More info → Run anyway.
• Mac (Apple Silicon): Wirely-1.2.0-mac-arm64.dmg — open it and drag Wirely into Applications, replacing the old one. The first time, right-click Wirely → Open → Open.
• Linux (x86_64): Wirely-1.2.0-x86_64.AppImage — run chmod +x Wirely-1.2.0-x86_64.AppImage, then run it.

What's new

• Filament lamps behave like real ones. The filament's resistance rises as it heats up, so a lamp's current–voltage graph curves over — just like the GCSE/A-level required practical (current goes as V^0.6, as real lamps measure). Hover over a lamp at different voltages and work out R = V ÷ I: it changes.
• Switch-on surge: a cold filament has about a twelfth of its hot resistance, so a lamp takes a surge of about 11× its running current when switched on, then settles in a fraction of a second. Lamps brighten and fade over a moment instead of instantly, and lamps on reduced power look properly dim (two lamps in series are clearly dimmer than one).
• Resistors ride out short surges: they now heat up over about a second before burning out, as real ones do, so a brief surge is fine but a lasting overload still burns them out.

243 automatic tests check Wirely against hand calculations, datasheets and ngspice.

Free and open source under the GNU GPL v3. Bug reports, ideas and part requests are welcome on the Issues tab.