z/OS Connect

z/OS Connect

z/OS Connect

Truly RESTful APIs to and from your IBM Z mainframe

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z/OS Connect - What's new in each release ...

By Kate Bittles posted Wed September 21, 2022 07:57 AM

  
z/OS Connect follows a modern continuous delivery cycle to ensure that the latest updates can be delivered to you each and every month. The following blog showcases some of the key features that have become available in the last six months of releases, from bug fixes to resource configuration to new features.
The z/OS Connect team are continuously developing to enable you to empower a wide community of developers with a simple and intuitive way to consume data and services hosted on IBM Z.

The versions shown for the API toolkit (zosConnect-2.0), z/OS Connect Designer (zosConnect-3.0) and z/OS Connect Server (zosConnect-2.0 and zosConnect-3.0) are those available when this blog post was last updated and may be superseded by newer versions. To check if a minimum version is required for a particular OpenAPI capability, refer to the IBM z/OS Connect documentation. 
Version Features Liberty Version zosConnect-2.0 - API toolkit /
Standalone Build toolkit, Server started task
zosConnect-2.0 - Gradle plug-ins, Designer / Server started task, Server image for containers 

3.0.94

PH66550

23 Jun 2025

  • z/OS Connect Designer has been enhanced to support nested arrays and the UI page header has been redesigned responsiveness and accessibility.
  • The “Creating a CICS z/OS Connect API” getting started tutorial now includes steps on how to create and edit a z/OS Connect API project in the z/OS Connect Designer deployed in Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces. For more information, see Using z/OS Connect Designer with Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces.
  • The z/OS Connect “Accessibility features” topic now includes more details with regards accessibility support for z/OS Connect users. For more information, see IBM z/OS Connect accessibility features.
  • APAR fixes.

25.0.0.3

 

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.10
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.11
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.10
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.5
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example,Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

3.0.93

PH66161

20 May 2025

 

25.0.0.3

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.10
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.11
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.10
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.4
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example,Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

3.0.92

PH65640

22 Apr 25

 

24.0.0.12

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.10
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.11
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.9
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.3
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example, Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

3.0.91

PH65316

25 Mar 25

 

24.0.0.12

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.10
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.11
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.9
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.3
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example, Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

3.0.90

PH64884

24 Feb 25

 

  • From z/OS Connect 3.0.90, the IBM z/OS Connect Designer UI navigation panel includes accessibility and responsive improvements.
  • z/OS Connect supports Gradle 8.12.1
  • APAR fixes.

 

24.0.0.12

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.9
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.10
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.8
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.2
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example, Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

3.0.89

PH64407

24 Jan 25

 

  • The z/OS Connect API requester Gradle plug-in has two new optional attributes (extendFieldNames and groupSuffix) that enable the customization of the z/OS Connect artifacts from an OpenAPI3 definition. For more information about these new optional attributes, see extendFieldNames and groupSuffix.

  • APAR fixes.

 

24.0.0.12

 

  • Designer (s390x and linux/amd64)
  • Server image (zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64)
  • IBM z/OS Connect Operator - 1.0.8
  • IBM z/OS Connect CASE package bundle - 1.0.9
  • API provider Gradle plug-in - 1.4.8
  • API requester Gradle plug-in -  1.2.2
  • An OCI compliant Container Platform - for example, Podman 4.3 or later, Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later.

WebSphere Liberty Profile 25.0.0.3

The version of WebSphere Liberty Profile that is embedded in z/OS Connect 3.0.94 is 25.0.0.3. Find out more from the Liberty documentation.

Angel V22

The version of the Angel shipped with WebSphere Liberty Profile 25.0.0.3 is version 22. If you choose not to update to this level of the Liberty Angel, then the following warning message will appear in your messages.log file:

CWWKB0127W: The current angel version is earlier than the version that the server expects. Update the angel version to the latest available version.

 Find out more.

API toolkit versions (for zosConnect-2.0 support)

The latest version of the z/OS Connect API toolkit plug-in to design and create your services and APIs is 3.4.0.0 for Aqua 3.4 users and 3.3.0.8 for Aqua 3.3 users.  You should obtain the latest version of the API toolkit from the Aqua download site for your version of Aqua as it includes all the latest features and fixes.


If you unzip the API toolkit zip file on Windows, due to the long filenames of some of the file members, you should use a tool such as 7-Zip or the "jar -x" command. Do not use winzip, winrar, or the Windows own zip extraction tool, as warnings/errors will occur during the unzip and the API toolkit will be unusable.
Find out more.

Announcements

z/OS Connect Designer (for zosConnect-3.0 support)

Available on linux/s390x and linux/amd64 architecture with an OCI-compliant container platform of your choice. For example, Podman, Docker Desktop 19.0.3 or later (or alternative open containers tooling), Red Hat® OpenShift® 4.9 or later. 

Designer is a containerized, web-based intuitive interface providing a low-code approach to developing OpenAPI3 specification APIs.  Powerful data mapping using JSONATA gives users flexibility to create both basic and complex mappings. All of this is shipped with an embedded server for lifecycle testing of the API.  Find out more.

z/OS Connect API requester Gradle plug-in (for zosConnect-3.0 support)

Available with the z/OS Connect (installed by using SMP/E).

Generate and deploy z/OS Connect API requesters to your z/OS Connect Server with the new IBM z/OS Connect API requester Gradle plug-in. For more information, see Calling APIs from z/OS applications 

z/OS Connect API provider Gradle plug-in (for zosConnect-3.0 support)

You can develop APIs starting with an OpenAPI 3.0 definition and use the IBM® z/OS® Connect API provider Gradle plug-in to generate the API provider project files and the language copybooks that are required to implement the API.

From IBM z/OS Connect 3.0.69, the supplied Gradle plug-in can be used to generate a complete API provider project, which can then be built and deployed into z/OS Connect. These APIs are then used to call your CICS® COBOL channel and container applications. For more information, see Developing APIs with Gradle.

z/OS Connect Server image (for zosConnect-3.0 support)

Available on zos/s390x, linux/s390x and linux/amd64 architecture, an OCI-compliant container platform of your choice. For example, IBM z/OS Container Platform, Red Hat OpenShift 4.9 or later.

Delivering containerized API deployments enabling users to adopt a micro-service architecture for their APIs that take advantage of the improved security schemes provided by the OpenAPI 3 specification. 

The z/OS Connect Server (zosConnect-3.0) 3.0.55 or later is also available as a started task z/OS Connect Server for z/OS 2.5 or later, IBM 64-bit SDK for z/OS. Find out more.

Get started today

Use the links below to find out more, and to get started with 3.0.94 now!  What is IBM z/OS Connect?

Download the IBM z/OS Connect Designer image

Install the z/OS Connect Server image 

Install z/OS Connect by using SMP/E

Install z/OS Connect API toolkit

IBM z/OS Connect API provider Gradle Plugin

IBM z/OS Connect API requester Gradle Plugin

For more information about z/OS Connect, find out more.

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