Code for IBM i Minimum Requirements
The Code for i maintainers have updated the Code for i documentation 
with clearer minimum requirements.
Code for IBM i Fridays: A Free Seiden Community Event
December 2024 Update
You’ll find up-to-date information on Code for i Fridays—such as the next meeting date and highlights of past meetings—on this page.
The Code for i extension to Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has become ever more popular and powerful. It’s also free and open source.
Seiden Group has been hosting online gatherings to share, learn, solve problems, and contribute improvements to Code for i. Hosted by Alan Seiden, the meetings often include guests such as Liam Allan, the originator of Code for i.
Read-only Mode in VS Code for IBM i
If you are using the Code for i extension and would like to “browse” or view certain source members without the risk of modifying them, use the “Read only” or “Protected” capability.
VS Code for IBM i Repositories
Those of us who help support Code for i, the popular IDE for IBM i based on VS Code, often need to look at the code that makes it work.
Fully open source, the code that runs Code for i is available on Github repositories. From there, the code can be viewed and even enhanced by the public.
Using SSH Keys with VS Code for IBM i
To make our IBM i servers more secure, our system administrator has configured our SSH services to require public key authentication rather than password-based logins. To comply with this security policy, we also set up our Visual Studio Code for i connections to use SSH keys.
This article explains how to set up an SSH key with Code for i.
How to Report an Issue with VS Code for IBM i
If you believe you have found a bug or other issue with the Code for IBM i extension, you can post it to the Code for i issue tracker. The maintainers are very good about resolving issues.
Before reporting an issue, though, we recommend checking for (and applying) updates. It is very possible that your issue was already resolved.
How to Update the Code for i Extension
Code for IBM i has been moving quickly. As the popularity of this Visual Studio Code extension has grown, updates and enhancements have arrived regularly.
If you encounter a bug or issue, installing the latest update may resolve it. Updating Code for i requires only a restart of VS Code. Here are some details to clarify how to restart as well as how to roll back the update, if desired.
Debug RPGLE and COBOL with VS Code for IBM i
Updated July 14, 2025
Our Twitter feeds recently rang out with this long-awaited news from Liam Allan:
“Debugging ILE COBOL and RPGLE inside @code like it’s any other day! I’m pumped for this release #ibmi.”
As reported by Alex Woodie in IBM i Debugger Comes to VS Code, IBM decoupled their RPG/COBOL debugger from RDi after years of encouragement from Liam. It’s now available as a Debug Service to the thousands of IBM i developers who have downloaded Visual Studio Code for IBM i. Read more →
Edit IFS Files Using Visual Studio Code for IBM i
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a lightweight source code editor that runs on multiple desktops, including Windows, Linux, and MacOS. It provides built-in support for PHP, Node.js, Python, and many other languages and runtimes.
Halcyon Tech’s Code for IBM i extension adds the ability to edit IBM i Integrated File System (IFS) files inside VS Code. It’s easy to get set up to access and edit IFS-based code using this popular editing tool.
In just seven quick steps, you can install VS Code and its Code for IBM i extension and begin working with IFS files stored on your IBM i.
Code for IBM i: Project Mode
Visual Studio Code for IBM i recently acquired a series of enhancements that greatly enrich the RPGLE developer experience.
Known as Project Mode, the new features allow RPGLE developers to easily navigate their code — and understand it — all while editing remotely in the IDE. They can now find all references to definitions, find definitions of all references, and go to the implementation of export procedures without leaving the editor.