ARCAD MCP Server
A vendor-built Model Context Protocol server from ARCAD Software, launched in spring 2026, that exposes IBM i application metadata from ARCAD's own repository to AI coding tools including IBM Bob, Claude, and GitHub Copilot in VS Code. It is a separate product from IBM's own IBM i MCP Server.
ARCAD MCP Server is ARCAD Software's own implementation of the Model Context Protocol, separate from IBM's own IBM i MCP Server. ARCAD said it was launching the server in spring 2026; IT Jungle reported the plan on April 6, 2026, and ARCAD's product page was live with more than 70 MCP tools by late April 2026. Instead of having an AI agent scan RPG or COBOL source directly, the server draws on ARCAD's existing application repository, updated in real time, to hand agents precise, factual context, pairing probabilistic AI with deterministic analysis to reduce hallucination. Listed integrations include VS Code with GitHub Copilot, IBM Bob, Claude, Make, and n8n, with z/OS support planned. ARCAD says source code never leaves the local environment and new tool batches ship quarterly. It targets the same agentic-AI-on-IBM-i niche as IBM's MCP Server, but is built on ARCAD's DevOps and code-analysis repository rather than direct Db2 for i access.
Related Terms
IBM i MCP Server
An open-source, IBM-published server implementing the Model Context Protocol (MCP), letting AI agents and LLMs query Db2 for i data and take defined actions on IBM i using natural language. In beta since October 2025.
Model Context Protocol
An open standard, released by Anthropic on November 25, 2024, that defines a client-server architecture for connecting AI applications to external data sources, tools, and prompts over JSON-RPC 2.0. IBM's IBM i MCP Server is an implementation of it for Db2 for i and other IBM i resources.
IBM Bob (Project Bob)
IBM's generally available AI coding agent for IBM i, built as a fork of Visual Studio Code and tuned for RPG, CL, DDS, and SQL. Reached GA on March 24, 2026; Bob 2.0 and the IBM i-specific Bob Premium Package for i shipped June 24, 2026.
IBM i
IBM's operating system for Power servers running traditional AS/400-lineage business applications, with Db2 for i built directly into the OS.