z/OS Assistant for Copilot

Talk to your mainframe in natural language — directly from GitHub Copilot Chat.

z/OS Assistant is a VS Code Chat Participant that bridges GitHub Copilot and z/OS via the Zowe SDK. Manage datasets, monitor jobs, submit JCL — all through conversational commands, in plain English or French.

🌐 Automatic language detection — responses are automatically delivered in the language of your prompt. No configuration required. Just write naturally in English or French and the assistant responds in kind.

Documentation

Requirements

The extension automatically connects using:

1. Zowe Explorer's active profile (if installed)
2. zowe.config.json in your workspace (fallback)

No additional credential configuration needed.

Features

@zos /ds — Datasets & PDS Members

Browse, read, write, search and manage z/OS datasets and PDS members.

@zos /ds list datasets HLQ.COBOL.**
@zos /ds show members of HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds display HLQ.COBOL.SRC(PGMA)
@zos /ds search PERFORM in HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds info about HLQ.COBOL.LOAD
@zos /ds download member PGMA from HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds download all members of HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds download all datasets HLQ.COBOL.**
@zos /ds upload PGMA.cbl to HLQ.COBOL.SRC(PGMA)
@zos /ds upload directory ./cobol to HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds copy member PGMA from HLQ.COBOL.SRC to HLQ.COBOL.BAK(PGMA)
@zos /ds copy dataset HLQ.COBOL.SRC to HLQ.COBOL.BAK
@zos /ds create PDS HLQ.NEW.SRC lrecl 80
@zos /ds create sequential dataset HLQ.WORK.DATA recfm VB lrecl 256
@zos /ds create classic PDS HLQ.COBOL.SRC primary 5 CYL
@zos /ds create binary library HLQ.LOAD.LIB
@zos /ds create HLQ.NEW.SRC like HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds delete member OLDPGM from HLQ.COBOL.SRC
@zos /ds delete dataset HLQ.WORK.DATA

17 operations: list, read, write, create, delete, search, info, download, upload, copy — with auto-detected syntax highlighting for COBOL, JCL, and ASM. Dataset creation supports 5 preset types (PARTITIONED, SEQUENTIAL, CLASSIC, BINARY, C) with configurable site defaults via settings.

@zos /jobs — z/OS Jobs

Monitor and manage your batch jobs with visual status indicators.

@zos /jobs list my jobs
@zos /jobs status of JOB12345
@zos /jobs show output of JOB12345
@zos /jobs monitor JOB12345 BATCH01
@zos /jobs cancel JOB12345 BATCH01

7 operations: list, status, spool output, cancel, purge, monitor — with visual RC indicators (✅ 🟡 🔴) and automatic error diagnosis.

@zos /run — JCL Submission

Submit JCL from datasets, local files, inline, or resubmit previous jobs.

@zos /run submit HLQ.JCL(BATCH01)
@zos /run launch HLQ.JCL(COMPILE) and monitor
@zos /run resubmit job JOB12345
@zos /run submit local file ./downloads/HLQ/JCL/CNTL/BATCH01.jcl
@zos /run submit and monitor downloads/HLQ/JCL/CNTL/NIGHTLY.jcl

6 operations: submit from dataset, submit from local file, submit inline JCL, submit + auto-monitor with spool display, resubmit from previous job.

Safety System

Destructive operations are protected by a three-tier confirmation system:

Production detection: datasets matching *.PROD.*, *.PRD.*, SYS*.** are automatically flagged. Configurable via settings.

Getting Started

1. Install GitHub Copilot Chat and Zowe Explorer
2. Install z/OS Assistant for Copilot from the Marketplace
3. Open the Copilot Chat panel (Ctrl+Alt+I)
4. Type @zos to start interacting with your mainframe

Configuration

Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and search for z/OS Assistant:

Dataset creation defaults (zosAssistant.createDefaults.*):

Commands

Language Model Tools

In addition to chat commands, z/OS Assistant exposes the following tools that Copilot can invoke automatically during conversations:

• #zos_listDatasets — List datasets matching a pattern
• #zos_listMembers — List PDS members
• #zos_readMember — Read a PDS member's content
• #zos_datasetInfo — Get dataset attributes (DSORG, RECFM, LRECL…)
• #zos_searchContent — Search text across a PDS
• #zos_downloadMember — Download a single PDS member to the local workspace
• #zos_downloadAllMembers — Download all members of a PDS to a local directory
• #zos_downloadAllDatasets — Download all datasets matching a pattern
• #zos_uploadFileToPds — Upload a local file to a PDS member
• #zos_uploadDirToPds — Upload a local directory to a PDS (each file becomes a member)
• #zos_copyMember — Copy a PDS member to another dataset (with optional rename and replace)
• #zos_copyDataset — Copy an entire PDS or sequential dataset to a new target
• #zos_createDataset — Create a z/OS dataset (PARTITIONED, SEQUENTIAL, CLASSIC, BINARY, C) with full attribute control
• #zos_deleteMember — Permanently delete a PDS member
• #zos_deleteDataset — Permanently delete an entire dataset (with optional volume for non-SMS)
• #zos_listJobs — List jobs by owner, prefix, or status
• #zos_getJobStatus — Get detailed job status and return code
• #zos_getJobOutput — Retrieve spool output (SYSPRINT, JESMSGLG…)
• #zos_submitLocalJcl — Submit a local JCL file to z/OS
• #zos_submitJcl — Submit JCL from a dataset member

Telemetry

All telemetry data is stored locally on your machine (VS Code globalState). Nothing is sent externally. Run z/OS: Usage report (last 30 days) to view your usage statistics.

To disable telemetry, set zosAssistant.telemetryEnabled to false in settings.

Roadmap

• [ ] /tso — TSO and console commands
• [ ] /uss — USS filesystem operations
• [ ] Copilot instruction file for enhanced COBOL assistance
• [ ] Dataset content caching for faster repeated reads

Known Issues

• /tso and /uss commands are not yet implemented (placeholders)

Report issues at github.com/zarafa-dev-io/zLMTools/issues.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.