Visual Studio Code for IBM i: A Resource Guide

UPDATED 3/7/2023

VS Code for IBM i offers an alternative to RDi, the heavy-duty, fee-based graphical IDE for IBM i, and SEU, the native greenscreen IDE. It’s faster than RDi and easier to learn than either RDi or SEU. It supports development in RPGLE, COBOL, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Node.js and other languages.

Thanks to Liam Allan and other IBM i community members for creating this IBM i extension to the popular Visual Studio Code.

Code for IBM i Official Resources

Visit the Code for IBM i page on the Visual Studio Marketplace. From there you can:

Install the Code for i extension
Watch Liam Allan’s tutorial videos
Read the official documentation
Raise or review issues and enhancement ideas

VS Code for IBM i Training

For the most efficient way to get your entire team up and running with VS Code for IBM i, talk to us about training.

Code for IBM i Articles by Seiden Group

VS Code for IBM i: Introduction

Introducing Code for IBM i, a free extension for Visual Studio Code that makes it easy and efficient to develop RPGLE and COBOL applications for IBM i. Read more…

Code Coverage for RPG

How to implement Code Coverage within Code for IBM i so you can see how many lines/blocks/arcs of code are executed when you run unit or functional tests. Read more…

Viewing SQL Results, Comparing Source, Finding Content

How to use Code for IBM i (RPG, COBOL) with Visual Studio Code so you can view SQL results inline, compare sources, and search file content. Read more…

Editing PHP

How VS Code for IBM i helps IBM i developers edit PHP on IBM i with quick setup and fast loading/saving, at no cost and with time-saving developer productivity features. Read more…

RPG Linting and Content Assist

How to get started with the Code for i linter, a static code analysis tool used to flag programming errors, bugs, stylistic errors and suspicious constructs. Read more…

5250 Terminal and PASE Shell

How to open your choice of a 5250 terminal or a PASE shell right in the editor. Read more…

Source Date Settings

Source dates are supported in Code for IBM i, but not by default. Here’s how you can enable them. Read more…

Debugging RPGLE and COBOL

New as of February 2023, Code for i includes an ILE debugger. This video and related docs show how to get started with it. Read more…

January 2022 Update

An overview of all of Code for IBM i’s extensions, including RPGLE Language Tools, RPGLE free, IBM i Code Coverage, IBM i Testing, and the IBM i Git client. Read more…

Language Tools to Make Coding Easier

An overview of Code for IBM i features, highlighting support for both fixed-format and free-format RPGLE. Read more…

Project Mode

How RPGLE developers can navigate their code—and understand it—all while editing remotely in Code for i. Read more…

Edit IFS Files Using Visual Studio Code for IBM i

Follow these seven quick steps to install VS Code and its Code for IBM i extension to access and work with IFS files stored on your IBM i. Read more…

Future Resources

We will do our best to keep this list up to date, so if we miss something good, let us know!