cobol-parser-mcp

MCP server that parses COBOL mainframe programs and extracts structured data plus AI-powered business logic summaries — works with any LLM provider.

pip install cobol-parser-mcp            # pure parsing, no LLM needed
pip install cobol-parser-mcp[anthropic] # + Claude
pip install cobol-parser-mcp[openai]    # + GPT-4o
pip install cobol-parser-mcp[groq]      # + Groq (fast + cheap)
pip install cobol-parser-mcp[all]       # + all providers

Part of the mainframe modernization pipeline — takes the manifest.json from mainframe-ingest-mcp and produces per-program JSON files ready for code generation.

What it extracts

For every COBOL program:

Claude Desktop config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cobol-parser-mcp": {
      "command": "cobol-parser-mcp",
      "env": {
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage from Python

Parse a single file (no API key needed)

from cobol_parser_mcp.tools.parser import parse_cobol_file
import json

result = parse_cobol_file("/path/to/SS6001XX.cob")
print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))

Parse entire codebase with AI summaries

import asyncio
from cobol_parser_mcp.tools.batch import parse_all_programs

# Using Anthropic (Claude)
result = asyncio.run(parse_all_programs(
    manifest_path="./manifest.json",  # from mainframe-ingest-mcp
    output_dir="./parsed",
    ai_summaries=True,
    provider="anthropic",             # or openai, groq, ollama, custom
    api_key="sk-ant-...",             # or set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var
    max_ai_programs=20,
))
print(f"Parsed {result['parsed_ok']} of {result['total_programs']} programs")

Using other LLM providers

# OpenAI
result = asyncio.run(parse_all_programs(
    manifest_path="./manifest.json",
    output_dir="./parsed",
    provider="openai",
    api_key="sk-...",
    model="gpt-4o",
))

# Groq — fast and cheap
result = asyncio.run(parse_all_programs(
    manifest_path="./manifest.json",
    output_dir="./parsed",
    provider="groq",
    api_key="gsk_...",
))

# Ollama — fully local, no API key, no internet
result = asyncio.run(parse_all_programs(
    manifest_path="./manifest.json",
    output_dir="./parsed",
    provider="ollama",
    model="llama3",
))

# No AI at all — pure parsing only
result = asyncio.run(parse_all_programs(
    manifest_path="./manifest.json",
    output_dir="./parsed",
    ai_summaries=False,
))

Output format

Each program produces a <PROGRAM_NAME>.json file:

{
  "program": "SS6001XX",
  "line_count": 1048,
  "identification": {
    "program_id": "SS6001XX",
    "author": "STATE OF MARYLAND SDAT",
    "date_written": "1995-06-12"
  },
  "data_division": {
    "working_storage": [
      { "level": "1", "name": "WS-ENTITY-RECORD", "type": "GROUP" },
      { "level": "5", "name": "WS-ENTITY-ID",     "type": "PIC X(10)" }
    ],
    "copybooks_expanded": ["BUSENTIT", "SSCC03EQ", "DFHAID"]
  },
  "procedure_division": {
    "paragraph_count": 7,
    "paragraphs": [
      {
        "name": "0000-MAIN",
        "lines": "28-45",
        "calls_paragraphs": ["1000-INIT", "2000-PROCESS", "9999-EXIT"]
      }
    ]
  },
  "sql_statements": [
    {
      "type": "SELECT",
      "tables": ["BUSENTIT"],
      "columns": ["ENTITY_ID", "ENTITY_NAME", "STATUS_CD"],
      "where": "ENTITY_ID = :WS-ENTITY-ID",
      "line": 167
    }
  ],
  "cics_commands": [
    { "command": "RECEIVE MAP", "map": "SS6TMAP", "mapset": "SS6TMAP", "line": 152 },
    { "command": "LINK PROGRAM", "program": "SS6009XX", "line": 334 }
  ],
  "business_logic_summary": {
    "db2_tables_read":    ["BUSENTIT"],
    "db2_tables_written": ["BUSENTIT", "TRNSACTN"],
    "screens_used":       ["SS6TMAP", "SS6XMAP"],
    "programs_called":    ["SS6009XX"],
    "estimated_complexity": "HIGH",
    "ai_summary": {
      "purpose": "Handles online business entity inquiry and status update for CICS terminal users",
      "business_domain": "Business Entity Registration",
      "user_facing": true,
      "key_operations": [
        "Receive user input from SS6TMAP screen",
        "Query BUSENTIT table by entity ID",
        "Update entity status in BUSENTIT",
        "Log transaction to TRNSACTN",
        "Link to SS6009XX for downstream processing"
      ],
      "modernization_notes": "Maps cleanly to GET /api/entity/{id} and PUT /api/entity/{id}/status REST endpoints"
    }
  }
}

A _index.json summary file is also written with stats across all programs.

Supported LLM providers

Part of the modernization pipeline

mainframe-ingest-mcp  →  manifest.json
        ↓
cobol-parser-mcp      →  per-program JSON files   ← you are here
        ↓
bms-to-angular-mcp    →  Angular components
db2-schema-mcp        →  PostgreSQL schema

License

MIT