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IBM i MCP Server

Official

MCP server for IBM i systems, providing secure SQL-based access.

GitHub source repository ↗

★ 78 Stars Category · Database Popular Source revision 62b31295ed25

42FMRS · D

Reliability

5/20

Security and permissions

6/20

Maintenance

7/20

Documentation

13/20

Setup experience

11/20

The IBM i MCP Server provides secure, SQL-based access to IBM i systems via Mapepire, tailored for AI agent interactions with Db2 for i. It is officially maintained but requires the Mapepire prerequisite. With YAML tool definitions and a companion CLI, it is flexible for both AI and terminal users. It is best suited for AI workloads on IBM i needing modern, low-latency database access.

Read the FMRS scoring method →

The IBM i MCP Server enables AI agents to interact with IBM i systems through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It provides secure, SQL-based access to Db2 for i databases via Mapepire, allowing AI applications like Claude, VSCode Copilot, Bob, and custom agents to query system information, monitor performance, and execute database operations. The repo also ships the ibmi CLI, a terminal-first sibling that shares the same YAML-driven SQL tool engine, so the same tool definitions work in both the MCP server and the CLI.

Tools

system_status

Overall system performance statistics with CPU, memory, and I/O metrics.

Setup

Install and configure Mapepire on the IBM i system (default port 8076).
Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/IBM/ibmi-mcp-server.git and navigate into it.
Configure a .env file with DB2i_HOST, DB2i_USER, DB2i_PASS, DB2i_PORT (default 8076), and DB2i_IGNORE_UNAUTHORIZED.
Start the server with npx -y @ibm/ibmi-mcp-server@latest --transport http --tools ./tools/performance/performance.yaml.
Verify the server health with curl http://localhost:3010/healthz.

Fit and risk

Best for

Building AI agents or AI-powered applications that interact with IBM i.
Requiring remote server support over the MCP protocol (stdio or HTTP).
Leveraging Mapepire for fast, lightweight, low-latency database access.
Defining custom SQL tools via YAML.

Not for

Terminal-first interactions without an MCP client; the `ibmi` CLI is better for that.
IBM i systems without Mapepire installed.
Scenarios requiring traditional ODBC/JDBC database access.
Simple SQL query tools without AI or MCP integration.

Required permissions

Requires IBM i credentials (username and password) for database access.
Requires Mapepire server running on IBM i (default port 8076).
May require network access to the specified port on the IBM i system.
Needs access to QSYS2 system views and tables for the example tools.

Risks and side effects

Credential management: passing passwords directly can be risky; use environment variables or secure storage.
Network attack surface: exposing the MCP server over HTTP could allow unauthorized access unless secured (HTTPS, authentication).
Data exposure: SQL tools may access sensitive data; restrict tool scope.
Resource consumption: long-running queries may impact IBM i performance.

Troubleshooting

Verify Mapepire is running on port 8076 and firewall allows inbound connections.
Check that the `.env` file has correct host, user, password, and port settings.
Ensure Node.js 18 or later is installed.
If using Docker, ensure proper volume mounts for the tools directory and `.env` file.
Check server health via `curl http://localhost:3010/healthz`.

Use cases

System monitoring: real-time performance analysis and health checks.

Troubleshooting: diagnose issues using natural language queries.

Reporting: generate system reports and insights.

Automation: execute administrative tasks through conversation.

Supported clients

Claude DesktopFull support

VSCode CopilotFull support

BobFull support

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