zopen

zopen-mcp-server exposes the zopen command-line tool as MCP-compatible tools, enabling you to manage z/OS packages remotely or locally via a unified interface. By default, the server runs in local mode and can be switched to remote mode with the appropriate flags to execute zopen commands on a remote z/OS system through SSH. The available tools map directly to common zopen subcommands, such as listing packages, querying information, installing, removing, upgrading, and retrieving version details. This allows MCP clients to orchestrate package management on z/OS without requiring direct SSH interactions in their own logic.

To use the server, start it in local mode or remote mode depending on your environment. In remote mode, provide SSH connection details (host, user, and key) so that zopen commands can be executed on the target system. Once the server is running, MCP clients can invoke the exposed tools (zopen_list, zopen_query, zopen_install, zopen_remove, zopen_upgrade, zopen_info, zopen_version) through the MCP protocol to perform operations and retrieve results in a structured format.

Prerequisites:

• Go 1.23 or later
• zopen installed locally or accessible on the remote z/OS system

Installation steps:

1. Ensure Go is installed and in your PATH:

go version

2. Clone the repository and navigate to the project directory:

git clone <repository-url> && cd zopen-mcp-server

3. Build the server using the provided Makefile:

make build

This will produce an executable named zopen-mcp-server in the project directory.

4. Run the server in local mode by default:

make run

5. To run in remote mode, start the binary with remote flags (example):

./zopen-mcp-server --remote --host <your-zos-host> --user <your-user> --key <path-to-ssh-key>

6. Optional: clean build artifacts:

make clean

Tips and notes:

• In remote mode, ensure the SSH key has the necessary permissions to execute zopen commands on the target system.
• The server communicates over stdio by default when launched by a parent application; remote mode uses SSH for command execution on z/OS.
• If you encounter connectivity issues, verify SSH access, host reachability, and that zopen is installed on the target or available locally as configured.
• The list of available tools corresponds to the zopen subcommands: zopen_list, zopen_query, zopen_install, zopen_remove, zopen_upgrade, zopen_info, zopen_version. These are exposed as MCP tools for integration with MCP clients.
• Monitor and manage authentication details securely; avoid leaking SSH keys or credentials in logs or configuration files.