Getting Started with VS Code for IBM i [Video Tutorial]

Code for IBM i is rapidly gain traction as an efficient, cost-effective alternative to RDi for RPGLE (fixed and free format), COBOL, CL, and Db2 for i development.

To help traditional IBM i developers explore this fast and flexible IDE, Patrick Behr offers this first tutorial in his Getting Started with VS Code for i video series. In it, he demonstrates how to install VS Code and its IBM i Development pack, connect to an IBM i server, set and manage library lists, filter your object browser, and change and compile RPG source.

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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.

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VS Code for IBM i Repositories

VS Code for iThose 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.

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Patrick Behr Joins Seiden Group

Patrick BehrI’ve admired Patrick Behr’s work in the IBM i community for many years. One of the most talented IBM i developers I know, he draws on an impressively broad range of skills to build future-minded solutions to today’s business challenges.

That’s why I’m delighted to announce that Patrick Behr has officially joined Seiden Group’s team of technical consultants. In addition to his excellent technical and business skills, his commitment to mentoring and advocating for the IBM i community make him the perfect fit for our team.
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Why I Learned RPGLE

RPGLEWhen I told my friends  I was learning RPGLE, they thought I had gone a bit crazy. Why would I want to learn that “old” programming language?

My quest stemmed from a common issue that I experienced first hand. As a web developer, I would often hear, “The business logic is located in RPG code and we don’t know what it does. We will have to wait and ask the RPG programmer to explain it to us before we can continue with the project, but that person is too busy now.”

Or worse yet, “We are completely redoing our ERP system because we can’t find RPG programmers.”

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Edit IFS Files Using Visual Studio Code for IBM i

Code for IBM iVisual 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.

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Learn about Merlin for IBM i

IBM MerlinYou may have heard about IBM’s new Merlin tools for modern RPG development methodology. But what is it, really, and how would it benefit your shop?

Seiden Group’s Jack Woehr, one of the top Merlin advocates in the country, will be presenting three talks on Merlin at COMMON NAViGATE on Oct. 4–5, 2022:

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VS Code for IBM i: A Resource Guide

UPDATED 2/5/2025

Code for IBM iVS Code for IBM i offers an alternative to RDi, the fee-based graphical IDE for IBM i, and SEU, the native green-screen 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, etc. Liam Allan’s Code for IBM i 2024 review updates us on the state of the open source project.

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Update: Code for IBM i Language Tools

Code for IBM iCode for IBM i and its RPGLE language tools have come a long way! I am excited to share some of the language tools improvements with you today. They are absolutely worth talking about. Language tools are what makes writing code fun and exciting, and we can be better developers with them.

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Visual Studio Code and 5250

With our latest version of Code for IBM i, developers have access to virtually everything they need when writing both RPG and open source applications, all in a single editor.

This blog post covers the two types of terminals available: a PASE shell, enhanced in 0.84 for faster launch, and a 5250 terminal.

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