IBM i (AS/400) MCP Server

AI agent automation for IBM i — 5250 terminal, SSH/CL commands, and DB2 SQL via ODBC.

Quick Start

1. Install uv (one-time)

pip install uv
# or: winget install astral-sh.uv

2. Add MCP config to Amazon Quick

Go to Settings → Capabilities → Connections and add:

{
  "name": "IBM i (AS/400)",
  "description": "Connect to IBM i for RPA automation — 5250 terminal, SSH commands, and DB2 SQL",
  "command": "uv",
  "args": ["run", "N:\\Quick\\ibmi_mcp_server\\server.py"],
  "env": {
    "IBMI_HOST": "your-ibmi-hostname",
    "IBMI_USER": "YOUR_USER",
    "IBMI_PASSWORD": "YOUR_PASSWORD",
    "IBMI_COMMAND_BLOCKLIST": "PWRDWNSYS,DLTLIB,RSTLIB,INZSYS"
  }
}

3. Done!

Start chatting with the IBM i RPA Operator agent. It will connect to your system automatically.

How It Works

• Zero setup — uv resolves all dependencies automatically from inline PEP 723 metadata
• Three transports: 5250 terminal (green screen navigation), SSH (CL commands), ODBC (SQL queries)
• Safety built-in: dangerous commands (PWRDWNSYS, DLTLIB, etc.) are blocked by default

Transport Selection

Scenario	Transport
Navigate interactive menus / F-keys	5250 Terminal
Run CL commands (WRKACTJOB, DSPLIB)	SSH
Query/update DB2 tables	ODBC
Access IBM i Services (QSYS2)	ODBC
Call RPG/COBOL programs	ODBC (QCMDEXC)

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
IBMI_HOST	Yes	IBM i hostname or IP
IBMI_USER	Yes	User profile
IBMI_PASSWORD	Yes	Password
IBMI_PORT	No	5250 port (default: 23)
IBMI_SSH_PORT	No	SSH port (default: 22)
IBMI_USE_SSL	No	Use SSL for 5250 (default: false)
IBMI_ODBC_DRIVER	No	ODBC driver name (default: iSeries Access ODBC Driver)
IBMI_COMMAND_BLOCKLIST	No	Comma-separated blocked CL commands

Prerequisites on IBM i

• SSH: SSHD running (STRTCPSVR *SSHD)
• 5250: Port 23 (or 992 for TLS) accessible
• ODBC: Host server jobs active (STRHOSTSVR *ALL) + IBM i Access ODBC Driver installed locally

Local Testing (Optional)

A mock server (mock_as400_server.py) is included for offline testing only:

python mock_as400_server.py --port 2323

This simulates basic 5250 sign-on, CL commands, and includes Thai text test data. Not needed for production use.

Security Best Practices

1. Use a dedicated user profile with minimal authority
2. Set IBMI_COMMAND_BLOCKLIST for destructive commands
3. Enable audit journaling (QAUDJRN) on the IBM i
4. Use SSL/TLS when possible
5. Never store credentials in code — use environment variables

License

MIT