iris-dev

Connect GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or any MCP-compatible AI assistant directly to a live InterSystems IRIS instance. Your AI can compile, test, search, read, write, and debug ObjectScript without leaving the chat.

No Python. No pip. No npm. No API keys.

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How it works

iris-dev runs as a local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. Your AI assistant calls its tools — iris_compile, iris_doc, iris_execute, etc. — and iris-dev executes them against your real IRIS instance over the Atelier REST API. The AI sees compile errors, class definitions, and execution output in-line, the same way it would with a local filesystem.

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Quick start — pick your setup

Option A: IRIS in Docker (local dev)

# 1. Install iris-dev (Mac Apple Silicon)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/intersystems-community/iris-dev/releases/latest/download/iris-dev-macos-arm64 \
  -o /usr/local/bin/iris-dev && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iris-dev
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/iris-dev 2>/dev/null

# 2. Let iris-dev find your container automatically
iris-dev init              # writes .iris-dev.toml from your running containers

# 3. Add to Claude Code (~/.claude/settings.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iris-dev": {
      "command": "iris-dev",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": { "OBJECTSCRIPT_WORKSPACE": "${workspaceFolder}" }
    }
  }
}

Option B: Remote or server IRIS (no Docker)

# Set connection via env vars — no .iris-dev.toml needed

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iris-dev": {
      "command": "iris-dev",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "IRIS_HOST": "iris.example.com",
        "IRIS_WEB_PORT": "52773",
        "IRIS_USERNAME": "_SYSTEM",
        "IRIS_PASSWORD": "SYS",
        "IRIS_NAMESPACE": "MYAPP"
      }
    }
  }
}

For HTTPS or a non-root web gateway path:

"IRIS_SCHEME": "https",
"IRIS_WEB_PORT": "443",
"IRIS_WEB_PREFIX": "irisaicore"

Option C: VS Code Copilot Agent Mode

1. Install the binary (see Installation below)
2. Download vscode-iris-dev-*.vsix from the releases page
3. In VS Code: Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X) → ... → Install from VSIX
4. Reload VS Code — iris-dev (IRIS) appears automatically in Copilot Chat → Agent mode → tools

The extension reads your existing objectscript.conn and intersystems.servers config — no extra setup if you already use the InterSystems VS Code extensions.

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Installation

Mac

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3):
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
curl -fsSL https://github.com/intersystems-community/iris-dev/releases/latest/download/iris-dev-macos-arm64 \
  -o /usr/local/bin/iris-dev && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iris-dev
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/local/bin/iris-dev 2>/dev/null

# Intel Mac: replace "arm64" with "x86_64" above

Linux

curl -fsSL https://github.com/intersystems-community/iris-dev/releases/latest/download/iris-dev-linux-x86_64 \
  -o /usr/local/bin/iris-dev && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iris-dev

Windows

1. Download iris-dev-windows-x86_64.exe from the releases page
2. Save it somewhere permanent, e.g. C:\Users\yourname\bin\iris-dev.exe
3. In VS Code User Settings (JSON), set the binary path:

"iris-dev.serverPath": "C:\\Users\\yourname\\bin\\iris-dev.exe"

WSL2: Use the Windows binary. Set IRIS_HOST to the Windows host IP — localhost in WSL2 resolves to the Linux VM, not the Windows host.

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Tools

iris-dev exposes 23 tools to your AI assistant:

Tool	Needs Docker?	What it does
iris_compile	—	Compile a class, routine, or wildcard (MyApp.*.cls). Returns errors with line numbers.
iris_execute	—	Run arbitrary ObjectScript and return output.
iris_query	—	Execute SQL, return rows as JSON.
iris_doc	—	Read, write, delete, or check any IRIS document. SCM checkout handled via chat dialog.
iris_symbols	—	Search classes and methods via %Dictionary.
docs_introspect	—	Deep class inspection: methods, properties, XData, superclasses.
iris_search	—	Full-text search across the namespace. Supports regex and category filters.
iris_info	—	Namespace discovery: documents, jobs, CSP apps, metadata.
iris_macro	—	Macro inspection: list, signature, definition, expand.
iris_debug	—	Map INT errors to source lines, fetch error logs, capture error state.
iris_generate	—	Build a context-rich prompt for the AI to generate ObjectScript. No API key needed.
iris_generate_class	—	Generate and compile a class from a description (requires LLM API key).
iris_generate_test	—	Generate %UnitTest scaffolding for an existing class.
iris_source_control	✓	Check lock status, checkout, execute SCM actions.
iris_test	✓	Run %UnitTest tests and return structured pass/fail results.
iris_production	✓	Start, stop, update, check, or recover an Interoperability production.
iris_interop_query	✓	Query production logs, queue depths, or message archive.
iris_containers	✓	List, select, or start IRIS Docker containers.
iris_admin	—	IRIS administration: list namespaces, databases, users, roles, web apps; check permissions; create/delete users, namespaces, webapps (requires IRIS_ADMIN_TOOLS=1).
iris_get_log	—	Retrieve a stored result by log_id from the progressive disclosure store. With id: returns the full result (paginated with limit/offset). Without id: lists all stored log entries. Use when a tool returns truncated: true.
skill	✓	Manage the local skills registry (list, describe, search, forget).
skill_community	✓	Browse community skills.
kb	✓	Index markdown files into a searchable knowledge base.

Tools marked ✓ Needs Docker require IRIS_CONTAINER to be set. Tools without the mark work over Atelier REST and work with any IRIS instance — local or remote.

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Configuration reference

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
IRIS_HOST	localhost	IRIS web gateway hostname
IRIS_WEB_PORT	52773	Web gateway port
IRIS_SCHEME	http	http or https
IRIS_WEB_PREFIX	(empty)	URL path prefix (e.g. irisaicore for /irisaicore/api/atelier/)
IRIS_USERNAME	_SYSTEM	IRIS username
IRIS_PASSWORD	SYS	IRIS password
IRIS_NAMESPACE	USER	Default namespace
IRIS_CONTAINER	(empty)	Docker container name — required for Docker-dependent tools
OBJECTSCRIPT_WORKSPACE	$PWD	Workspace root for .iris-dev.toml lookup
IRIS_LOG_STORE_MAX	50	Max entries in the progressive disclosure log store. Oldest entry evicted when full.
IRIS_LOG_TTL_MINUTES	60	Minutes before a log entry expires. Expired entries return LOG_EXPIRED.
IRIS_INLINE_COMPILE	20	iris_compile: max distinct error/warning entries returned inline before truncation.
IRIS_INLINE_SEARCH	30	iris_search: max result entries returned inline before truncation.
IRIS_INLINE_INFO	30	iris_info (what=documents): max document entries returned inline before truncation.
IRIS_INLINE_ERROR_LOGS	20	debug_get_error_logs: max log entries returned inline before truncation.

.iris-dev.toml (per-project config)

Drop this file in your project root and commit it so teammates get the same setup automatically.

# Local Docker container
container = "myapp-iris"
namespace = "MYAPP"

# Remote IRIS (alternative to Docker)
# host = "iris.example.com"
# web_port = 52773
# scheme = "https"          # for TLS
# web_prefix = "irisaicore" # for non-root gateway path

Generate from your running containers: iris-dev init

Enterprise containers (intersystems/iris, intersystems/irishealth)

Enterprise images ship with WebServer=0 — no private web server. The standard solution is the ISC Web Gateway container alongside IRIS. iris-dev auto-detects it.

# docker-compose snippet
services:
  iris:
    image: containers.intersystems.com/intersystems/iris:2026.1
    ports: ["4972:1972"]
  webgateway:
    image: containers.intersystems.com/intersystems/webgateway:2026.1
    ports: ["52773:80"]            # iris-dev scans port 52773
    entrypoint: ["/bin/sh", "/init.sh"]
    volumes: ["./webgateway-init.sh:/init.sh:ro"]

Three non-obvious setup gotchas in fresh containers — see iris-vscode-objectscript skill for the complete working webgateway-init.sh.

Connection discovery order

iris-dev resolves the connection in this order — first match wins:

1. CLI flags (--host, --web-port, --scheme)
2. .iris-dev.toml in the workspace root
3. Environment variables (IRIS_HOST, etc.)
4. VS Code settings.json (objectscript.conn / intersystems.servers)
5. Docker containers (scored by workspace name similarity)
6. Localhost port scan (52773, 41773, 51773, 8080)

VS Code: Server Manager integration

If you use the InterSystems VS Code extensions, iris-dev reads your server definitions automatically. Your objectscript.conn should reference a named server so the full definition (including pathPrefix for non-standard gateways) is picked up:

"objectscript.conn": { "active": true, "server": "your-server-name" }

If iris-dev can't find your server: View > Output > iris-dev shows which servers were found and where.

Secure credential storage: If the InterSystems Server Manager extension is installed, iris-dev uses it to retrieve credentials from the OS keychain. On first use you'll be prompted for username and password. When the password prompt appears, click the 🔑 key icon before pressing Enter to store it in the keychain — subsequent VS Code restarts will then be fully silent. Pressing Enter without clicking 🔑 uses the password for the current session only. Server Manager is optional; without it iris-dev falls back to credentials in your server definition or MCP env vars.

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Commands

iris-dev mcp           # Start the MCP server (used by Claude Code / Copilot)
iris-dev compile MyApp.Foo.cls   # Compile from the terminal
iris-dev init          # Generate .iris-dev.toml from running containers
iris-dev --version     # Check version

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Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. File bugs at the Issues tab — visible to the team and helps prioritization.

Questions or urgent issues: thomas.dyar@intersystems.com