Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? When it comes to IBM Developer for z/OS - hard no. That’s why I’m here to give you the lowdown on how to silently install additional Aqua products on top of IDz. So sit back, fire up A Love Supreme, and join me on a spiritual journey toward install efficiency.
Acknowledgement
Silent installation in Eclipse - in our case, IDz - refers to installing software (like plugins or products) without any user interaction or GUI prompts. It’s done using the P2 Director application, an Eclipse built-in command-line tool that installs features from an update site into an Eclipse installation. This approach is ideal for scripting, automation, or enterprise rollouts where consistency and speed are key. To learn more, visit the official Eclipse documentation: Installing Software Using the P2 Director Application.
We’ve also documented the process specifically for IDz here: Silent Installation – IBM Developer for z/OS.
Resolution
To get started, there are just a few simple preliminary steps. First, download IDz from Aqua Mainframe Dev. Under Installation Client, select Eclipse p2, and for Starting Point, choose Starting from fresh. This will take you to a page where you can download IDz for your operating system. Once the download is complete, extract the IDz archive.
Next, decide how you want to perform the silent installation. There are two options:
- Local (internal hosting): Ideal for air-gapped environments or centralized distribution. Navigate back to the Starting Point section and select Hosting an internal repository. On that page, download the Aqua update site package ZIP file.
- Remote (public update site): Best for individual developers using an internet connection. Use the Aqua update-site repository URL: https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/htp/zos/tools/aqua3.4/. You can find this by selecting Existing installation under the Starting Point section.
That’s all we need to get started.
Pursuance
Now let’s have some fun. With the preliminary steps complete, we can move on to creating your scripts for silent installation. Let’s say you want to install the following products from the Aqua 3.4 stack onto IDz 17.x: File Manager, Application Performance Analyzer, MQ Explorer, z/OS Connect, and IBM Watsonx Code Assistant for Z - here’s how you would do it.
Windows
Batch
@echo off
REM Navigate to where IDz was unzipped
cd "C:\IDz\IBM Developer for zOS\"
REM Use p2 director to install Aqua products on IDz
developer_for_zosc.exe ^
-application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director ^
-consoleLog ^
-debug ^
-installIU com.ibm.etools.fm.ui.feature.feature.group,^
com.banknet.apa.pdtools.plugin.feature.feature.group,^
com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.feature.group,^
com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.nl1.feature.group,^
com.ibm.systemz.wcaz.main.feature.feature.group,^
com.ibm.systemz.wcaz4e.cshelp.feature.feature.group,^
com.ibm.zosconnect.ui.feature.feature.group ^
-repository https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/htp/zos/tools/aqua3.4/ ^
-noSplash ^
> output.log
pause
PowerShell
# Define variables
$downloadsDir = "C:\Users\AndrewTram\Downloads\"
$p2Dir = "C:\IDz\IBM Developer for zOS\"
$p2UpdateSite = "aqua3.4_all_update_site.zip"
Write-Host "===> Starting the silent install process."
# Navigate to where IDz was unzipped
Set-Location $p2Dir
# Use p2 director to install products
$repoLocation = $downloadsDir + $p2UpdateSite
# File Manager
.\developer_for_zosc.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository jar:file:/$repoLocation!/ -installIU com.ibm.etools.fm.ui.feature.feature.group -noSplash
# Application Performance Analyzer
.\developer_for_zosc.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository jar:file:/$repoLocation!/ -installIU com.banknet.apa.pdtools.plugin.feature.feature.group -noSplash
# MQ Explorer
.\developer_for_zosc.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository jar:file:/$repoLocation!/ -installIU "com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.feature.group,com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.nl1.feature.group" -noSplash
# IBM Watsonx Code Assistant for Z
.\developer_for_zosc.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository jar:file:/$repoLocation!/ -installIU "com.ibm.systemz.wcaz.main.feature.feature.group,com.ibm.systemz.wcaz4e.cshelp.feature.feature.group" -noSplash
# z/OS Connect
.\developer_for_zosc.exe -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository jar:file:/$repoLocation!/ -installIU com.ibm.zosconnect.ui.feature.feature.group -noSplash
# Finish message
Write-Host "===> The silent install process has completed."
macOS
#!/bin/bash
"/Applications/IBM Developer for zOS.app/Contents/MacOS/developer_for_zos" \
-application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director \
-installIU \
com.ibm.etools.fm.ui.feature.feature.group,\
com.banknet.apa.pdtools.plugin.feature.feature.group,\
com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.feature.group,\
com.ibm.mq.explorer.feature.nl1.feature.group,\
com.ibm.systemz.wcaz.main.feature.feature.group,\
com.ibm.systemz.wcaz4e.cshelp.feature.feature.group,\
com.ibm.zosconnect.ui.feature.feature.group \
-repository 'https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/htp/zos/tools/aqua3.4/' \
-noSplash
Here are a few key takeaways:
- Features from the products you want to install have the
.feature.group suffix. This tells the P2 Director that the item is an Installable Unit. To view the full list of features available in the Aqua 3.4 stack, visit this page .
- When selecting a product to include in your silent install script, it's technically possible to cherry-pick individual features. However, for simplicity and to ensure compatibility, it's best to include all associated features of that product.
- As shown in the examples, when using a remote repository, reference the Aqua update-site URL directly. For a locally downloaded ZIP file, use the format
jar:file:/<path_to_aqua_update_site_zip>!/ to point to the archive as a repository.
- On Windows, use
developer_for_zosc.exe, which is the console-based version of developer_for_zos.exe (note the extra c).
- Be precise with line breaks and spacing in your scripts. In batch files, use a caret (
^) for line continuation. In shell scripts, use a backslash (\). Improper formatting may cause the install command to fail or be parsed incorrectly.
Psalm
In a world full of noise, there's beauty in automation. Fewer clicks. Fewer errors. Less friction. That’s not just engineering - that’s elegance, that’s jazz, baby. The examples above should give you everything you need to script, automate, and scale silent installations of IBM Developer for z/OS using the Eclipse P2 Director. Whether you’re pulling from a remote update site or hosting a local repository in an air-gapped environment, these tools provide a dependable foundation for integrating IDz into your broader deployment strategy.
To go further, here are a few additional resources worth bookmarking: