IBM Bob
| Developer(s) | IBM |
|---|---|
| Initial release | March 24, 2026 |
| Stable release | 1.0
/ March 24, 2026 |
| Engine | |
| Operating system | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Platform | Visual Studio Code, Command-line interface |
| Type | AI assistant, Integrated development environment, Software development tool |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | bob |
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IBM Bob (also known as Project Bob) is an AI-assisted software development tool developed by IBM. It is available as a Visual Studio Code extension and a command-line interface, and targets enterprise software development environments. IBM announced the product in October 2025; it reached general availability in March 2026.
Background
IBM Bob succeeded earlier IBM AI coding products, including Watsonx Code Assistant for System Z mainframe and Code Assist for RPG, developed at IBM's Rochester laboratory. IBM consolidated these into a single platform following advances in AI handling of RPG (Report Program Generator), a programming language associated with IBM midrange and mainframe systems.[1]
History
IBM publicly introduced Project Bob at IBM TechXchange 2025 on October 7, 2025.[2] At announcement, IBM stated that over 6,000 of its internal developers were already using the tool, with IBM reporting an average internal productivity improvement of 45%.[3]
In November 2025, IBM announced that the product had entered a preview stage.[3]
IBM Bob 1.0 reached general availability on March 24, 2026, released as a Visual Studio Code plug-in and SaaS offering.[4]
Architecture
IBM Bob uses a multi-model approach, selecting from several large language models (LLMs) depending on task and context:[5]
- IBM Granite - IBM's proprietary foundation models
- Anthropic Claude
- Meta Llama
- Mistral AI
IBM announced a partnership with Anthropic at the time of Bob's introduction, stating that Anthropic's models would be integrated into IBM software products starting with Bob.[5]
Bob supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling integration with third-party tools and services.[6]
Features
Bob operates as both an IDE extension and a command-line tool (BobShell), coordinating AI agents across code generation, testing, documentation, and deployment tasks.
Bob embeds security scanning into development workflows, including shift-left vulnerability scanning, FedRAMP hardening support, and quantum-safe cryptographic migration assistance.[5]
Supported programming languages include RPG, COBOL, CL, Java, Python, and SQL.[3] Enterprise integrations include Red Hat OpenShift, HashiCorp, and Instana. Deployment options include SaaS and on-premises configurations.
See Also
References
- ↑ "Bob More Than Just A Code Assistant, IBM i Chief Architect Will Says". IT Jungle. December 1, 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
- ↑ "IBM Unveils Advancements Across Software and Infrastructure to Help Enterprises Operationalize AI". IBM Newsroom. October 7, 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Announcing IBM Project Bob: Your AI partner for faster, smarter software development". IBM. October 7, 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
- ↑ "IBM Gets Bob 1.0 Off The Ground". IT Jungle. March 2, 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "IBM Unveils Advancements Across Software and Infrastructure to Help Enterprises Operationalize AI". IBM Newsroom. October 7, 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
- ↑ "IBM Bob: Shift left for resilient AI with security-first principles". IBM. Retrieved 2026-04-25.
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