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ibmi-mcp

by WhitehornLtd
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Python
Remote

ibmi-mcp

Give your AI Agent terminal access to your IBM i system via TN5250.

ibmi-mcp is an MCP server that lets AI Agents like Claude interact with IBM i the same way a human would through a 5250 green-screen terminal.

Installation

Install and register with Claude Code:

claude mcp add ibmi-5250 -- uvx ibmi-mcp

This requires the connection environment variables to be set in your shell profile. You can also pass them inline with -e flags:

claude mcp add ibmi-5250 \
  -e IBMI_HOST=myhost.example.com \
  -e IBMI_USER=myuser \
  -e IBMI_PASSWORD=mypassword \
  -- uvx ibmi-mcp

Configuration

Variable

Description

Required

Default

IBMI_HOST

IBM i hostname or IP

Yes

—

IBMI_PORT

TN5250 port

No

23

IBMI_SSL

Enable TLS

No

false

IBMI_USER

Username for auto-signon

No

—

IBMI_PASSWORD

Password for auto-signon

No

—

IBMI_DEVICE_NAME

Virtual device name

No

—

IBMI_CODEPAGE

EBCDIC codepage

No

cp037

IBMI_TERMINAL_TYPE

Terminal type

No

IBM-3179-2

IBMI_SSH_TUNNEL

Tunnel TN5250 through SSH

No

false

IBMI_SSH_PORT

SSH port for file transfer and tunneling

No

22

IBMI_SSH_KEY_FILE

Path to SSH private key

No

—

IBMI_SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS

Path to known_hosts file

No

—

When IBMI_USER and IBMI_PASSWORD are set, ibmi-mcp will automatically sign on when it detects a login screen after connecting.

Tools

Tool

Description

connect

Connect to an IBM i system via TN5250

disconnect

Disconnect the active session

read_screen

Read the current screen content and input fields

send_keys

Type text into the current input field

send_key

Send a function/attention key (Enter, F1-F24, PageUp, PageDown, Tab, etc.)

set_cursor

Position the cursor at a specific row and column

upload_file

Upload a file from the local system to the IBM i

download_file

Download a file from the IBM i to the local system

Features

  • Auto-signon — Automatically detects sign-on screens and logs in with configured credentials

  • File transfer — Upload and download files to/from the IBM i IFS via SFTP

  • SSH tunneling — Tunnel TN5250 through SSH when port 23 is not directly reachable

  • Full key support — Enter, F1-F24, PageUp, PageDown, Tab, Backtab, Clear, Help, Print, Attn

  • Local editing — Backspace, Delete, Field Exit, Home, and End handled locally for responsive editing

  • Structured screen data — Returns screen text, cursor position, and input field metadata

  • Configurable codepage — Supports EBCDIC codepage translation (default: CP037)

License

BSD 2-Clause. See LICENSE for details.

About Whitehorn Ltd. Co.

ibmi-mcp is developed and maintained by Whitehorn Ltd. Co., a legacy system modernization firm. We specialize in IBM i, RPG, COBOL, and midrange platforms. We help our clients protect what they can't afford to break while building a path forward.

Learn more about how Whitehorn Ltd. Co. can help you modernize your IBM midrange systems at whitehorn.ltd.

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