RPGTools Suite

A professional engineering toolchain designed to analyze, structure and automate IBM i RPG codebases.

It focuses on understanding existing RPG sources, extracting reliable metadata, and generating OpenAPI specifications, RPG skeletons and validation outputs that enable modern, consistent workflows — without rewriting applications or introducing disruptive runtime layers.

RPGTools is used by IBM i teams who want to improve API documentation, standardize development practices, reduce manual boilerplate, and integrate RPG services into modern ecosystems.

Architecture at a Glance

RPGTools is built around a single Core Engine, reused consistently across all interfaces.

Core Engine

Parses RPG / SQLRPGLE (free & fixed format)
Resolves includes and prototypes
Detects REST endpoints
Generates OpenAPI specifications and RPG artifacts
Applies validation and consistency rules

CLI

Batch execution
Automation and CI/CD integration
Swagger generation and validation

Web UI

Configuration editor
Swagger and properties generation
Logs and diagnostics
Enterprise configuration management

VS Code Extension

Structure navigation
Swagger preview
Validation messages
Remote IBM i support

All components rely on the same parsing and generation engine, ensuring identical results regardless of how the tool is used.

End-to-End Workflow

A deterministic, traceable workflow — identical from CLI, Web UI, or VS Code.

Input: RPG / SQLRPGLE sources, local files or remote IBM i members; includes resolved using enterprise-defined search rules.
Parsing & Analysis: format detection (free/fixed), AST construction, extraction of data structures, procedures and prototypes.
REST Detection: pattern-based detection, configurable thresholds, confidence scoring, explicit annotations where available.
Generation: OpenAPI/Swagger (3.x), properties/wsparam files, RPG skeletons and templates.
Validation: structural checks, naming conventions, required headers and metadata, enterprise-specific rules.

Core Capabilities

OpenAPI / Swagger generation

Endpoint detection based on code analysis
RPG type mapping to JSON schemas
Consistent request / response models
Error and status handling
Output compatible with Swagger UI and API tooling

Keep API documentation aligned with real code — not manually maintained specs.

RPG skeleton generation

RPGTools generates structured RPG skeletons, not business logic.

Program and procedure templates
Standardized headers
Prototypes and data structures
Consistent layout and conventions

Validation & consistency checks

Required headers
Naming conventions
Metadata presence
REST exposure consistency
Enterprise-specific rules via configuration

Validation results are surfaced in CLI output, Web UI logs, and directly in VS Code.

Remote IBM i Support

Local and remote workflows, transparently.

Local filesystem
VS Code member:// remote files
IBM i IFS via SSH/SFTP
DB2 services via ODBC

A unified transport layer selects the appropriate mechanism based on context, enabling the same workflows locally or against IBM i systems without code changes.

Performance & Scalability

Designed for large codebases.

Include resolution optimizations
Intelligent caching (local vs remote)
Configurable TTLs
Minimal memory footprint
Deterministic execution paths

Performance tuning is driven by configuration, not hard-coded assumptions.

What RPGTools Is — and Is Not

RPGTools is

an analysis and automation toolchain
a bridge between RPG and modern API ecosystems
a productivity and consistency accelerator

RPGTools is not

a runtime REST framework
a code refactoring engine
a low-code or no-code platform
a replacement for RPG or IBM i fundamentals

Demo Videos

See RPGTools in action — real workflows, no marketing fluff.

Web Console

Configuration management, Swagger generation, and real-time diagnostics through the browser interface.