Mainframe DevOps: Extend CI/CD to z/OS

Build, promotion, deployment, and audit stay in one flow from commit to production. Source lives in Enterprise Git, in BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline, or in both.

Mainframe DevOps applies version control, automated build and test, and governed deployment to COBOL, PL/I, JCL, and Assembler applications on z/OS. Source can live in Enterprise Git, in BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline, or in both. Build, promotion, deployment, and audit run on z/OS through Code Pipeline either way, and your existing orchestrators and compliance controls stay in place.

Two paths to the same pipeline

Teams reach mainframe CI/CD from two directions. BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline supports both, and the mainframe behaves the same way on either path.

Code Pipeline holds the source

Code Pipeline operates as the source code manager with feature branching, and interoperates with Git workflows where the rest of the organization works. Teams moving off Endevor or ChangeMan start here.

Enterprise Git holds the source

GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure Repos stays the system of record. Code Pipeline runs build, promotion, deployment, and audit on z/OS. Your orchestrator triggers it through webhooks, REST, or the command line.

Code Pipeline takes an open-borders approach. Source lives where your teams work, and build, deploy, and audit run on z/OS through one set of governed pipelines. Teams change paths without rebuilding the pipeline.

How one pipeline runs from commit to production on z/OS

Walk a single change from commit to production through BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline.

1. A change enters the pipeline

Source lands in Enterprise Git under pull request rules, or in Code Pipeline under an assignment. Either way, a webhook fires your orchestrator.

2. Your orchestrator calls Code Pipeline

Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or GitLab CI/CD invokes BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline through REST, the command line, or a DevOps Extension. No custom bridging code.

3. Code Pipeline builds on z/OS

Modular compile skeletons compile COBOL, PL/I, JCL, and Assembler and resolve copybooks, running natively on z/OS.

4. Code Pipeline tracks component dependencies

Programs, copybooks, and called programs move through the lifecycle with their relationships intact. Impact Analysis surfaces the downstream components a change affects, and every action writes to the audit trail.

5. Code Pipeline promotes approved changes

Promotion moves approved changes through lifecycle stages, applying environment configuration and enforcing approvals at each gate.

6. Code Pipeline deploys and keeps a fallback path

Real-time status across target environments, approvals issued from web or mobile, and partial or full fallback to a valid previous version when a deploy goes wrong.

What z/OS adds to your pipeline, and what closes it

These differences determine whether your pipeline remains the control point or becomes a coordinator passing instructions to systems it does not govern.

     Dimension     Your distributed pipeline     What z/OS adds     What BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline provides
Source of truthGit repositorySource may live in Git, in a mainframe SCM, or in bothOperates as the source code manager with feature branching, or as the build and deploy layer under Enterprise Git
BuildCompile and package portable artifactsCompile, link-edit, and resolve copybooks against the target systemModular compile skeletons covering COBOL, PL/I, JCL, and Assembler
GovernancePolicy-driven, often external to the pipelineApprovals audited per changeApprovals at each promotion gate from web or mobile, with a full audit trail
RecoveryRedeploy the previous artifactFallback restores the running program in placePartial or full fallback to a valid previous version on demand

Where BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline operates in the CI/CD architecture

Code Pipeline runs the mainframe side of the lifecycle. It manages source, or it takes source from Enterprise Git. It builds, promotes, deploys, and records every action on z/OS. Distributed orchestrators drive it through webhooks, REST, or the command line, and results return to the pipeline that called it.

Code Pipeline is the CI/CD layer of BMC AMI DevX, BMC's mainframe developer productivity platform.

Diagram showing two development paths converging on BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline. Application A keeps source in Code Pipeline. Application B keeps source in Enterprise Git using GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure Repos. Both paths run build and deploy on z/OS through Code Pipeline.

Mainframe DevOps results with Code Pipeline

15x

more code changes per year

50%

reduction in toolchain administration costs

6x

faster deployment frequency (Fortune 100 financial services customer)

$7.1M

three-year present value from increased release frequency

See mainframe DevOps on a live mainframe

Hosted z/OS, guided scripts, nothing to install.

How mainframe DevOps keeps one governed record

Everything is recorded as it happens. One execution path captures build, promotion, approval, and deployment as they happen. BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline supports fallback to valid previous versions with lifecycle visibility and audit controls.

Concurrency works without collisions

Developers work on interdependent components at the same time. Code Pipeline tracks lifecycle state for every component and every version, so parallel work stays visible and Impact Analysis surfaces conflicts before they reach production.

One execution path across the platform boundary

The same execution path governs distributed and z/OS changes.

Intent and execution stay connected

Intent is recorded where your teams work, in a pull request or in a Code Pipeline assignment. Execution is governed in the pipeline. The record of what shipped, when, and who approved it lives in one place.

Governance stays inside the pipeline

Approvals and promotion controls are enforced within the pipeline execution flow, and every action writes to the audit trail.

SBOM generation for z/OS applications

The pipeline already holds the record. Every promotion, approval, and deployment writes to it, along with the components each change touched. Producing a component inventory from that record becomes a job you schedule rather than a project you staff.

Distributed CI/CD platforms generate SBOMs for containers and packaged artifacts. They do not cover the COBOL, PL/I, JCL, and Assembler applications running on z/OS.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act mandates SBOMs for market access. Article 8 of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act requires financial entities to identify and document their ICT assets and keep those inventories current.

BMC AMI DevX Code Pipeline generates the SBOM through a batch job teams schedule inside the pipeline they already run. The output is CycloneDX JSON covering program names and versions, copybooks, and called programs for the components Code Pipeline manages. The inventory refreshes as often as the job runs.

  • Compliance evidence on demand: provenance and supply chain transparency for the components Code Pipeline manages.
  • Faster vulnerability response: component inventory exists before an event.
  • Evidence that stays current: the inventory refreshes as often as the job runs.

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TrustRadius awards for BMC AMI DevX

BMC AMI DevX has earned consecutive Top Rated awards and a Buyer's Choice award from TrustRadius, reflecting sustained customer satisfaction. Users recognized the solution for modernizing mainframe development, improving code quality, and enabling faster, more secure delivery across enterprise environments.

See mainframe DevOps on a live mainframe

Hosted z/OS, guided scripts, nothing to install.