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What Is IBM Bob? IBM's AI Coding Agent for RPG on IBM i Explained

Updated August 10, 2026

Every IBM i shop with a long history has some amount of fixed-format RPG: dense, column-position-dependent code that is hard to read, harder to hire for, and slow to modernize by hand. IBM Bob is IBM's current, purpose-built answer to that specific problem. Introduced as "Project Bob" at TechXchange in October 2025, it reached general availability 1.0.0 on March 24, 2026, and is worth understanding on its own terms rather than lumping it in with general-purpose AI coding tools.

What it actually does

Code explanation

Explains existing RPG, CL, DDS, and SQL code, useful when the person who wrote a given program has since retired.

Code generation

Generates new RPG code from natural-language prompts, using a model fine-tuned on the IBM i execution environment, program call interfaces, and data structure conventions.

Modernization and documentation

Suggests modernization improvements, including fixed-to-free-format RPG conversion, and produces automatic documentation for existing programs.

How it fits into a modernization project

IBM Bob is not a full modernization solution by itself. It addresses the source-code layer: explanation, generation, and modernization suggestions. Most real modernization projects still involve DevOps and application lifecycle tooling from vendors like ARCAD Software or Fresche Solutions, and sometimes a separate UI modernization layer from a vendor like Profound Logic, alongside whatever AI-assisted code work Bob handles.

What replaced watsonx Code Assistant for i

IBM previewed watsonx Code Assistant for i in November 2025 as an upcoming, IBM i-specific watsonx product out of its Rochester lab. That track did not reach independent general availability; it was superseded by Bob, which shipped as GA in March 2026. If you have seen watsonx Code Assistant for i referenced elsewhere, treat Bob as its current successor.

What to confirm before you commit

Supported RPG dialects, IBM i release requirements, and licensing for IBM Bob have continued to evolve since its March 2026 GA release. Confirm current specifics directly with IBM rather than assuming feature parity with what was announced earlier ... this article summarizes positioning and general capability, not a frozen feature list.

Sources

Related Tools & Vendors

IBM Bob (Project Bob)

IBM's current, generally available AI coding agent for IBM i, built as a fork of Visual Studio Code and tuned for RPG, CL, DDS, and SQL development and modernization work.

IBM watsonx Code Assistant for i

IBM's November 2025 preview announcement of an IBM i-specific, RPG-focused AI code assistant. This preview track was superseded by IBM Bob, which reached general availability in March 2026.

IBM watsonx.ai

IBM's studio for building, tuning, and deploying foundation models and generative AI applications, and the underlying AI layer other watsonx products are built on.

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