Use an agent to inspect and explain COBOL on z/OS

A desktop agent connected to a mainframe to read COBOL, submit jobs, and summarize failures from spool output.

Done with Custom agentยท Intermediate

What they did
A developer used Hopper, a desktop app that runs locally and connects to z/OS over TN3270, with optional FTP support. They prompted the agent in plain English, and it navigated ISPF, read COBOL and JCL, submitted jobs, decoded spool output and VSAM records, and could even issue NEWCOPY to CICS. Read-only actions happened right away, while anything that would change the system stopped for approval.
How it went
The product says this can cut down hours of SDSF troubleshooting to a single tag that returns the abend code, the failing step, and the source line. No benchmark numbers were provided, and without FTP credentials the dataset and job browsers, builds, and most agent tools remain off.
Tips
If FTP access is available, the tool can do much more; without it, several features stay disabled. On the free Hobby tier, you also need access to your own mainframe.

Try it yourself with Claude Code

I have a COBOL program at [path] on a mainframe. Read the program and its copybooks, then explain in plain English what each paragraph or section does. List the files, datasets, and fields it uses, and point out any business rules that seem implicit in the code. Then suggest a high-level plan for rewriting it in [target language]. Do not change anything. If any step would require editing, submitting, deleting, or sending data, stop and ask me first.

Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.

Read the original on hypercubic.ai โ†—

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