GitHub is one of the leading collaboration platforms for modern software teams, providing Git‑based version control, streamlined code review, automations (CI/CD), and security tooling.

Integrating GitHub into your IBM i workflow connects traditional IBM i development with contemporary engineering practices—without compromising the reliability IBM i is known for.

Why pair GitHub with IBM i?

·       Version control you can trust. Git tracks every change, by whom and when, and lets you revert confidently.

·       High‑quality collaboration. Pull requests, reviews, and protected branches improve quality and reduce conflicts.

·       Built‑in security. GitHub code scanning and dependency alerts help surface issues early.

·       Automation with CI/CD. GitHub Actions can build, test, and deploy IBM i artifacts to increase speed and consistency.

Prefer GitLab or another Git hosting platform? The core concepts are identical.

Pre-requisites

·       A GitHub account with organization/repository access.

·       IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) for package management.

·       Shell access on IBM i.

Getting Started: Setting up Git on IBM i

Before you begin, you need to have Git installed on your IBM i system and a GitHub account.

1.     Step-by-step installation:

·       Open Access Client Solutions (ACS): Go to the "Tools" option and select "Open-Source Package Management."

·       Log In: Use your IBM i credentials to log in.

·       Install Git: In the "Available packages" window, search for "git" and click "Install."

·       Run Qshell: After installation, run the command CALL QP2TERM to open the Qshell interface.

·       Set the Path: To make Git commands available permanently, add the Git bin directory to your path. Run the following command:

echo 'PATH=/QOpenSys/pkgs/bin: $PATH'>> $HOME/. profile && echo 'export PATH'>> $HOME/. Profile

·       If you do not have a user home directory, create one first by running:

mkdir /home/USERNAME && touch /home/USERNAME/.profile.

·       Verify Installation: Restart your session, run CALL QP2TERM again, and then type git -version to confirm Git is installed correctly.

2.     Generating an SSH Key

For secure authentication with GitHub, you need to generate an SSH key pair.

·       Generate the Key: Run the following command, replacing the email with your own:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -C "email@example.com"

·       View the Key: Display your public key by running:

cat /home/user/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

·       Add Key to GitHub: Copy the key from the output.

Log in to your GitHub account, go to "Settings," then "SSH & GPG keys." Click "New SSH key," paste the key you copied, and give it a descriptive name.

·       Start SSH Agent: In your Qshell session, start the SSH agent with eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" and add your key to it with ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa.

·       Add GitHub to Known Hosts: To prevent security warnings, add GitHub to your list of known hosts by running:

ssh-keyscan github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts

3.     Cloning and Working with a GitHub Repository

Now you can start working with a repository. You can use your existing repository on GitHub or create a new one.

·       Clone the Repository: On GitHub, find the repository you want to use, click on the "Code" button, and copy the SSH path. Then, in your IBM i Qshell, run the command:

git clone <PATH>.

This will create a local copy of the repository on your IBM i system.

·       Copy Your Code: Use the CPYTOSTMF command to copy your IBM i source member (your code file) into the cloned repository directory. For example:

CPYTOSTMF FROMMBR('/QSYS.LIB/YOURLIB.LIB/YOURFILE.FILE/YOURMEMBER.MBR')

             TOSTMF('YOUR_DIRECTORY_PATH/YOUR_CODE_FILE.txt') STMFOPT(*REPLACE) DBFCCSID(*FILE)

             STMFCCSID(1252) ENDLINFMT(*LF) AUT(*DFT)

4.       Add, Commit, and Push: In the Qshell, navigate to your repository's directory.

·       git add . to stage all changes.

·       git commit -m "Your commit message" to save the changes.

·       git push to upload your changes to GitHub.

5.     Pulling Changes from GitHub

If others have made changes on GitHub, you can pull them down to your IBM i system.

·       Pull Changes: In your Qshell, simply run the command git pull. This downloads the latest changes from the GitHub repository.

·       Copy Back to IBM i: Use the CPYFRMSTMF command to copy the updated file from your Git directory back into your IBM i source member.

CPYFRMSTMF FROMSTMF('YOUR_DIRECTORY_PATH/YOUR_CODE_FILE.txt')

 TOMBR('/QSYS.LIB/YOURLIB.LIB/YOURFILE.FILE/YOURMEMBER.MBR') MBROPT(*REPLACE)

 ENDLINFMT(*LF)

By following these steps, you can start using GitHub to manage your IBM i code, enabling a more collaborative and efficient development process.

Conclusion

Bringing GitHub into your IBM i ecosystem modernizes collaboration, governance, and delivery—without sacrificing the platform’s strengths. Whether you are building net‑new applications or incrementally modernizing, adopting Git‑based workflows (with SSH auth, UTF‑8 files, and CI/CD) will help your teams move faster with confidence.