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Agent skill

Mainframe Planning

by OpenHands in OpenHands/extensions

Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Mainframe Planning

skills CLI
$ npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill mainframe-planning -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install OpenHands/extensions mainframe-planning --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/OpenHands/extensions.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/cobol-modernization/skills/mainframe-planning .claude/skills/mainframe-planning && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
mainframe-planning
GitHub stars
157
Token cost
~763 tokens
SKILL.md length
335 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
78
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents.

  • Works in 5 steps: Pattern: The mainframe construct (e.g.,… → Replacement: The standard COBOL equivalent → Error Handling: How to replicate the… → …
  • Preparing COBOL code for local execution
  • SKILL.md covers Output Format, Constructs to Address, Critical Requirements and Common Mappings Reference
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Mainframe Planning is an agent skill from OpenHands/extensions. Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents. Use when preparing COBOL code for local execution or migration.

Its SKILL.md is about 760 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts. Compatibility notes: Requires knowledge of CICS/VSAM mainframe constructs

The repository describes itself as: Public registry for OpenHands extensions. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Preparing COBOL code for local execution

Example prompts

  • “/mainframe-planning”

Requirements

  • Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires knowledge of CICS/VSAM mainframe constructs

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Pattern: The mainframe construct (e.g., EXEC CICS READ FILE(...))
  2. Replacement: The standard COBOL equivalent
  3. Error Handling: How to replicate the mainframe's error behavior
  4. Resource Cleanup: Any cleanup the replacement requires (CICS auto-manages resources; file I/O does not)
  5. Edge Cases: Behavior differences between mainframe and standard COBOL

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d008b81. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

  • Compatibility

    Requires knowledge of CICS/VSAM mainframe constructs

    From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Mainframe Planning loads about 763 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 49 tokens; SKILL.md has 335 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~49
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~763

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from OpenHands/extensions at commit d008b81, republished under its MIT licence (© OpenHands). 335 words, ~763 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/mainframe-planning/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
mainframe-planning
description
Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents. Use when preparing COBOL code for local execution or migration.
compatibility
Requires knowledge of CICS/VSAM mainframe constructs
license
MIT
triggers
mainframe planning, cics replacement, cobol transformation guide, mainframe dependency

Create a comprehensive transformation guide that maps each mainframe dependency to its standard COBOL replacement.

This guide is a prerequisite for the actual transformation — DO NOT modify any code, only create the guide.

Output Format

Document each mainframe-specific construct with:

  1. Pattern: The mainframe construct (e.g., EXEC CICS READ FILE(...))
  2. Replacement: The standard COBOL equivalent
  3. Error Handling: How to replicate the mainframe's error behavior
    • Map CICS RESP/RESP2 codes to FILE STATUS equivalents
    • Specify which FILE STATUS values to check (e.g., 00=success, 23=not found, 35=file not exists)
  4. Resource Cleanup: Any cleanup the replacement requires (CICS auto-manages resources; file I/O does not)
  5. Edge Cases: Behavior differences between mainframe and standard COBOL

Constructs to Address

Data Operations (CICS/IMS/VSAM)
  • READ, WRITE, REWRITE, DELETE operations
  • STARTBR, READNEXT, READPREV (browse operations)
  • CICS error handling: HANDLE CONDITION, RESP/RESP2 options
  • VSAM → sequential or indexed file I/O
UI/Terminal Operations (BMS maps, screens)
  • SEND MAP, RECEIVE MAP → these can be MOCKED or stubbed
  • Screen I/O is not needed for business logic validation
  • Document how to replace with simple ACCEPT/DISPLAY or test harness stubs
  • Focus on preserving the data flow, not the UI interaction
Other Mainframe Constructs
  • Mainframe data types (COMP-3 packed decimal, etc.)
  • JCL-embedded constructs
  • IMS calls (if present)

Critical Requirements

  • Every CICS command that can fail MUST have an error handling replacement documented
  • UI operations should be clearly marked as "mock/stub" so the agent doesn't get stuck on them
  • Prefer: file-based I/O over mainframe I/O, standard data types over mainframe types

Common Mappings Reference

FILE STATUS Codes
CodeMeaningCICS Equivalent
00SuccessNormal completion
23Record not foundNOTFND condition
35File does not existNOTOPEN condition
22Duplicate keyDUPREC condition
3xI/O errorsVarious IOERR conditions
CICS to Standard COBOL
CICS CommandStandard COBOL
EXEC CICS READ FILE(...)READ filename INTO...
EXEC CICS WRITE FILE(...)WRITE record-name FROM...
EXEC CICS REWRITE FILE(...)REWRITE record-name FROM...
EXEC CICS DELETE FILE(...)DELETE filename RECORD
EXEC CICS STARTBR FILE(...)START filename KEY...
EXEC CICS READNEXT FILE(...)READ filename NEXT INTO...

© OpenHands, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in plugins/cobol-modernization/skills/mainframe-planning of OpenHands/extensions.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit d008b81

Compare with similar skills

Mainframe Planning next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Mainframe Planning compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Mainframe Planning this skillOpenHands/extensions157—~763Automated safety check: PassMIT
TransformersK-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills48k1 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Hugging Face Transformers Usagedavila7/claude-code-templates32k12 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Transformers JSsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills47k1 repos~444Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Fp Data Transformssickn33/agentic-awesome-skills47k2 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Nexrad Mosaic Constructionsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills47k1 repos~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Mainframe Planning

What does Mainframe Planning do?

Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents. Mainframe Planning is an agent skill from OpenHands/extensions. Create a transformation guide for replacing mainframe-specific COBOL constructs with standard COBOL equivalents.

When should I use Mainframe Planning?

Mainframe Planning fits situations like: preparing COBOL code for local execution.

How do I install Mainframe Planning in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill mainframe-planning -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/cobol-modernization/skills/mainframe-planning in OpenHands/extensions) into .claude/skills/mainframe-planning in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Mainframe Planning in Codex?

Run `npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill mainframe-planning -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/cobol-modernization/skills/mainframe-planning in OpenHands/extensions) into .agents/skills/mainframe-planning in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Mainframe Planning in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add OpenHands/extensions --skill mainframe-planning -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/mainframe-planning, .gemini/skills/mainframe-planning, .github/skills/mainframe-planning and .opencode/skills/mainframe-planning in your project.

What does Mainframe Planning need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Mainframe Planning is instructions for the agent only. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires knowledge of CICS/VSAM mainframe constructs.

Does Mainframe Planning access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Mainframe Planning safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Mainframe Planning use?

Mainframe Planning is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Mainframe Planning use?

About 763 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.1k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Mainframe Planning?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Mainframe Planning: Transformers (K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills, 48k stars), Hugging Face Transformers Usage (davila7/claude-code-templates, 32k stars), Transformers JS (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars) and Fp Data Transforms (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Mainframe Planning?

OpenHands (a GitHub organization) maintains it in OpenHands/extensions, which has 157 GitHub stars. The repository holds 78 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: OpenHands/extensions on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.