Project Bob

Project Bob is IBM's AI-powered software development partner designed to help enterprise developers ship quality software faster. Built as an AI-first integrated development environment, Bob understands developer intent, repository context, and security standards to provide intelligent assistance throughout the entire software development lifecycle. Over 10,000 IBM developers use Bob internally, reporting an average 45% productivity gain by automating repetitive tasks and augmenting complex work.

Bob goes beyond typical code assistants by orchestrating intelligence across editing, building, refactoring, testing, documenting, and scaling. It uses multi-model orchestration to automatically select the most efficient AI model for each task, reducing costs compared to direct model provider access.

• IDE Chat Integration - Bob lives inside the IDE, making it easy to ask questions, design solutions, debug issues, and refactor code without breaking flow. It understands repo context so every answer feels like it comes from a teammate.

• Agentic Code Review - Goes beyond linting by understanding developer intent, flagging issues early, and explaining its reasoning. Reviews shift from reactive bottlenecks to proactive, educational feedback.

• Vulnerability & Secrets Detection - AI-powered security scanning surfaces vulnerabilities and credential leaks as you code, catching issues before they reach a pull request.

• Java Modernization - Automated upgrades from Java 8 to 17 and beyond, plus framework migrations from Struts or JSF to React, Angular, or modern stacks.

• Literate Coding - A developer environment enhancement that blends documentation clarity with code precision, allowing developers to reference multiple context points across files and edit code using natural language.

• DevSecOps Support - Helps securely deploy and configure applications using technologies like Ansible, Terraform, and more.

• Enterprise Compliance - Adapts to organizational coding standards, testing frameworks, and compliance needs including FedRAMP, HIPAA, and PCI.

• MCP Server Integration - Connects with MCP servers like IBM Instana for enhanced observability and issue detection.

To get started, join the waitlist on the IBM products page to request access to the private tech preview. Bob integrates with Anthropic's Claude models through IBM's watsonx portfolio, with broader availability expected in the future.