ibm3270 0.1.0

Python wrapper for the s3270 IBM 3270 terminal emulator

ibm3270

Python wrapper for the s3270 IBM 3270 terminal emulator.

ibm3270 provides a synchronous, testable API for automating TN3270 terminal workflows from Python.

Features

• Simple synchronous API built around the Terminal class
• Screen reading helpers (screen(), read(), coordinate-based access)
• Input helpers (string(), enter(), pf())
• Wait and synchronization helpers (wait_for(), unlock/state waits)
• Structured errors for predictable exception handling
• Unit and integration test suite

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• s3270 installed and available on your PATH (or configured via TerminalOptions)

What Is s3270?

s3270 is the scriptable command-line emulator from the x3270 suite. It implements the TN3270/TN3270E protocol and exposes terminal operations (connect, read screen, send keys) in a way automation tools can drive. ibm3270 uses s3270 as its execution engine and provides a clean Python API on top.

Installation

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/dmalta/ibm3270.git
cd ibm3270
pip install .

Install for development

pip install -e .
pip install pytest pytest-cov pytest-timeout

See the full platform-specific setup guide in docs/user_guide/01_installation.md.

Quickstart

from ibm3270 import Terminal


def main() -> None:
    term = Terminal()
    term.start()
    try:
        term.connect("example.mainframe.com", 23)
        if term.wait_for("READY", timeout=5_000):
            term.refresh()
            print(term.screen())
        term.disconnect()
    finally:
        term.stop()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

User Guide TOC

• Introduction
• Installation
• Quickstart
• Connecting
• Reading the Screen
• Sending Input
• Waiting for Changes
• Advanced Usage
• Troubleshooting
• Glossary
• API Reference

Additional Documentation

• Full API and architecture notes
• s3270 manual page
• Technical design document

References

• The x3270 Wiki
• x3270 repository

Running Tests

pytest

Run integration tests separately (requires a working s3270 + live host setup):

pytest -m integration

Packaging

Build source and wheel distributions:

python -m build

The project uses hatchling as its PEP 517 build backend.