IBM Bob Integration

IBM Bob is IBM’s AI-powered development assistant and IDE designed for enterprise software development.

Platform Support: Windows, macOS, Linux Transport Modes: Stdio (local) and HTTP (remote) MCP Client: Built-in MCP client for connecting to MCP servers

Prerequisites

Ensure you have IBM Bob installed and configured:

# Verify Bob installation
bob --version

Getting Bob: IBM Bob is available to IBM employees and authorized partners. Visit the IBM Bob product page for access information.

Configuration File Location

Bob stores its MCP server configuration in:

User Configuration
Workspace Configuration

Location: ~/.bob/mcp.json or %USERPROFILE%\.bob\mcp.json (Windows)Benefits:

Available across all projects
Personal configuration
Not shared via version control

Location: .bob/mcp.json in your project rootBenefits:

Shared with team via version control
Project-specific MCP servers
Consistent across team members

Local (Stdio) Setup

Configure a local server that Bob will spawn and manage:

Using Configuration File

Create or edit your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibmi-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest", "--tools", "/absolute/path/to/tools"],
      "env": {
        "DB2i_HOST": "your-ibmi-host.com",
        "DB2i_USER": "your-username",
        "DB2i_PASS": "your-password",
        "DB2i_PORT": "8076",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "NODE_OPTIONS": "--no-deprecation"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important:

The --tools path must be an absolute path
Replace credentials with your actual IBM i system details
Ensure the user profile has appropriate database authorities

Remote (HTTP) Setup

Connect to a remote IBM i MCP Server:

Step 1: Start Remote Server

On your server machine, configure and start the MCP server with authentication:

# Configure .env file
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http
MCP_AUTH_MODE=ibmi
IBMI_HTTP_AUTH_ENABLED=true

# Start server
npm run start:http

Step 2: Obtain Access Token

# Generate access token
node get-access-token.js --verbose

# Copy the token from output

Step 3: Configure Bob

Edit your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibmi-mcp": {
      "url": "http://localhost:3010/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Production: Replace http://localhost:3010 with your production server URL and ensure HTTPS is enabled for secure communication.

Environment Variable Expansion

Bob supports environment variable expansion for secure credential management:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibmi-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest", "--tools", "${IBMI_TOOLS_PATH}"],
      "env": {
        "DB2i_HOST": "${DB2i_HOST}",
        "DB2i_USER": "${DB2i_USER}",
        "DB2i_PASS": "${DB2i_PASS}",
        "DB2i_PORT": "${DB2i_PORT:-8076}",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio"
      }
    }
  }
}

Supported syntax:

${VAR} - Expands to the value of environment variable VAR
${VAR:-default} - Expands to VAR if set, otherwise uses default

Testing the Connection

After configuration, restart Bob and verify the MCP server connection:

Restart Bob: Close and reopen the Bob IDE
Check MCP status: Look for MCP indicators in the Bob interface
List available tools: Ask Bob “What MCP tools are available?”
Test a tool: Try “Show me the IBM i system status using MCP”

Troubleshooting

Server Not Appearing

Symptoms: MCP server doesn’t show up in BobSolutions:

Verify JSON syntax in your MCP configuration file
Check that npx -y @ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest works from terminal
Ensure absolute paths are used for --tools
Restart Bob completely
Check Bob logs for MCP-related errors

Authentication Failed (Remote)

Symptoms: Connection refused or 401 Unauthorized for remote connectionsSolutions:

Verify server is running: curl http://localhost:3010/mcp
Check token is valid: verify token hasn’t expired (default: 1 hour)
Ensure MCP_AUTH_MODE=ibmi and IBMI_HTTP_AUTH_ENABLED=true on server
Get a fresh token: node get-access-token.js --verbose
Confirm Authorization header format: Bearer TOKEN

Tools Not Loading

Symptoms: Server connects but no tools availableSolutions:

Verify tools path exists and is absolute
Check YAML files are valid in tools directory
Ensure IBM i credentials are correct
Verify Mapepire is running on IBM i (port 8076)
Test tools: npx -y @ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest --list-toolsets --tools /path

Connection to IBM i Failed

Symptoms: Server starts but can’t connect to IBM iSolutions:

Test IBM i connectivity: ping your-ibmi-host
Verify Mapepire is running: netstat -an | grep 8076
Check firewall allows port 8076
Ensure DB2i credentials have appropriate authorities
Verify hostname resolution

Advanced Configuration

Multiple IBM i Systems

Configure multiple server instances for different IBM i systems:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibmi-dev": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest", "--tools", "/path/to/dev-tools"],
      "env": {
        "DB2i_HOST": "dev-ibmi.company.com",
        "DB2i_USER": "DEVUSER",
        "DB2i_PASS": "${DEV_PASSWORD}",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio"
      }
    },
    "ibmi-prod": {
      "url": "https://prod-mcp.company.com/mcp",
      "transport": "http",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${PROD_MCP_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Custom Toolsets

Load specific toolsets for different workflows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ibmi-performance": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest",
        "--tools", "/path/to/tools",
        "--toolsets", "performance,monitoring"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DB2i_HOST": "your-ibmi-host.com",
        "DB2i_USER": "${DB2i_USER}",
        "DB2i_PASS": "${DB2i_PASS}",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio"
      }
    },
    "ibmi-security": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest",
        "--tools", "/path/to/tools",
        "--toolsets", "security,audit"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DB2i_HOST": "your-ibmi-host.com",
        "DB2i_USER": "${DB2i_USER}",
        "DB2i_PASS": "${DB2i_PASS}",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio"
      }
    }
  }
}

Next Steps

SQL Tools

Create custom SQL tools for your IBM i workflows

Configuration

Explore all IBM i MCP Server configuration options

Authentication

Set up secure IBM i HTTP authentication

Other Clients

Explore other MCP-compatible clients

Additional Resources

Internal Documentation: For IBM employees, detailed Bob MCP configuration is available at Bob MCP Documentation.

​IBM Bob Integration

​Prerequisites

​Configuration File Location

​Local (Stdio) Setup

​Using Configuration File

​Remote (HTTP) Setup

​Step 1: Start Remote Server

​Step 2: Obtain Access Token

​Step 3: Configure Bob

​Environment Variable Expansion

​Testing the Connection

​Troubleshooting

​Advanced Configuration

​Multiple IBM i Systems

​Custom Toolsets

​Next Steps

SQL Tools

Configuration

Authentication

Other Clients

​Additional Resources

IBM Bob Integration

Prerequisites

Configuration File Location

Local (Stdio) Setup

Using Configuration File

Remote (HTTP) Setup

Step 1: Start Remote Server

Step 2: Obtain Access Token

Step 3: Configure Bob

Environment Variable Expansion

Testing the Connection

Troubleshooting

Advanced Configuration

Multiple IBM i Systems

Custom Toolsets

Next Steps

Additional Resources