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Setting Up an IBM i Environment

How to set up a CoderFlow environment for an IBM i application served by Profound UI Genie. Unlike the web-application environments, nothing runs in the task container: CoderFlow proxies to the running Genie server, so a task can drive real 5250 green-screen and Rich Display Web UI sessions while the agent edits and compiles source on the IBM i.

For the full connection reference and the IBM i-side setup, see IBM i connections; for the bigger picture, see the IBM i overview.

How this differs from a web-app environment​

  • It isn't a web app. The UI is a green-screen (5250) or Rich Display IBM i application rendered by a running Genie server — not a backend serving an SPA.
  • No app runtime to install and no Start Command. The container holds your source for editing and compiling; the live UI comes from Genie, not from a process in the container.
  • The proxy is configured by a connection, not by hand. An IBM i Interactive Sessions connection points the Application Server proxy at Genie automatically.
  • Compilation happens on the IBM i system. The agent compiles with codermake into an isolated per-task build library, rather than building in the container.

What you'll need​

  • A reachable IBM i system running Profound UI / Genie Version 6 Fix Pack 37.0 or later.
  • HTTPS on the selected Genie HTTP instance, with a trusted certificate matching the connection hostname, for captured Genie screen renderings. Configure this through IBM HTTP Server administration / Digital Certificate Manager.
  • Both CoderFlow SetEnv directives enabled globally in that instance’s /www/<instance>/conf/httpd.conf (shown below).
  • Profound Logic RAS installed (used by the sql skill) and an IBM i user profile configured with the right library list and <product-library>/PUISETENV called as or from its initial program. Use the selected installation’s actual product library; adding it to LIBL alone is insufficient. Custom initial programs may call PUISETENV indirectly. The connection form's How to set up IBM i user profile helper lists the exact requirements — see IBM i connections.
  • Permission to create environments and connections in the CoderFlow Web UI.

Create the environment​

1. Basic settings​

Go to Environments → New Environment. On the Overview tab set a Description, a Default Agent, a Docker Image name, and a Timezone. You do not need any Pre-clone instructions — the IBM i build tooling (codermake) is already in the base image, and the application UI is proxied.

2. Add the source repository​

On the Repositories tab, add the repository holding your RPG/DDS/Profound UI source. To bring existing members in and generate compile rules, enable IBM i Source Import on the repository — see Import IBM i Sources and Generate Build Rules.

3. Add an IBM i connection​

On the Connections tab, click Add Connection → IBM i, and enable the features you need:

  • SQL — database access via RAS (the sql skill). Requires the user password.
  • Build — compile with codermake into an isolated per-task library. Set the Build Repo and a Build Library Name Prefix.
  • Interactive Sessions — drive 5250 and Rich Display sessions through Genie. Set PUI Base URL, PUI Render Path (defaults to /profoundui/genie), PUI Launch Path (defaults to /profoundui/auth/genie), and the user/password.

See IBM i connections → Interactive Sessions for every field and the IBM i-side requirements.

4. What gets configured automatically​

Enabling Interactive Sessions wires up the Application Server for you — you don't set a Start Command or Proxy URL by hand. CoderFlow:

  • points the Application Server proxy at the Profound UI base URL,
  • configures basic auth from the connection,
  • adds an X-Agentic-Task-Lib header carrying the per-task build library, so Genie renders against the task's own compiled changes, and
  • adds a launch URL named Genie (<connection-name>).

It also imports the ibmi-interactive-session skill so agents can operate the sessions.

Check Profound UI reports reachability, version, HTTPS/certificate trust and CoderFlow integration separately. Guided installation also enables these global settings in the selected instance when its configuration can be safely edited:

SetEnv PUI_ALLOW_AGENTIC_TASK_LIB 1
SetEnv PUI_ALLOW_CODERFLOW_PROXY 1

For an existing instance, use Enable / repair CoderFlow integration…. This explicit setup action explains the changes and possible session interruption before applying them and starting/restarting that instance. Checking alone never changes configuration or restarts services. Unresolved includes or overrides require manual review; see the repair and recovery steps.

A successful product install keeps the Use … for interactive sessions hand-off even if integration has a remaining manual step. Saved directives, activation and the sign-on prerequisites are reported separately. PUISETENV stays unverified until you check the configured profile with a fresh Genie sign-on; CoderFlow does not rewrite profiles or custom initial programs. HTTPS/certificate provisioning also remains an administrator task.

5. Build the environment​

On the Build tab, click Build Now. When it succeeds, click Save, then Commit & Push.

Run and test it​

  1. Create a task in this environment. The agent edits source and compiles it into the task's temporary build library with codermake.
  2. Open the task and use the Genie (<connection-name>) launch URL (or the Testing menu) to open the proxied Profound UI. Drive 5250 or Rich Display sessions against the task's library list — see Staged Tasks and QA Mode.
  3. Sessions are recorded into Task Visualizations for review, alongside the changed-file diffs.

Notes​

  • Per-task isolation. The X-Agentic-Task-Lib header means each task's Genie session reflects that task's own compiled changes, isolated from other tasks.
  • One per environment. An environment can have at most one IBM i connection with the Build, Sync, or Interactive Sessions feature per scope. See Environments → Connections.