# COBOL AI

> Canonical public COBOL modernization and static-analysis workbench for PlatPhormNews.
> Base URL: https://cobol.platphormnews.com
> Version: 0.6.0

## Purpose

COBOL AI lets humans and agents paste, analyze, document, modernize, estimate, explain, track, and plan COBOL modernization work through public-safe browser tools, deterministic static analysis, model-assisted backend scaffolding, Kanban previews, ASCII rendering, MCP, and REST APIs.

## Public-Safe Capabilities

- Static analysis: line counts, divisions, sections, data items, PIC clauses, file I/O, PERFORM, EVALUATE, IF, GO TO, Y2K patterns, control-flow complexity, data dictionary, risk score, and cost estimate.
- Documentation: deterministic markdown generated from source structure and analyzer evidence.
- Compliance: deterministic findings for Y2K, control-flow, file I/O, dependencies, scale, and modernization review.
- COBOL 2023: experimental suggestions only; no automatic rewrite is claimed without compiler and human review.
- Translation: backend model-assisted scaffold exists; current model state is degraded/unconfigured.
- Kanban: public local preview by default; board mutation is a future protected action.
- ASCII: bounded local ASCII rendering with upstream integration state reported honestly.

## Auth Policy

Public-safe Phase 1 access is enabled by default. Future protected actions use PLATPHORM_API_KEY only through Authorization: Bearer or X-PlatPhorm-API-Key headers when PLATPHORM_REQUIRE_API_KEY=true.

## Core Endpoints

- GET /api/health and /api/v1/health
- GET /api/docs, /openapi.yaml, /openapi.json
- POST /api/analyze and /api/v1/analyze
- POST /api/modernize and /api/v1/modernize
- POST /api/v1/compliance, /api/v1/document, /api/v1/cobol2023, /api/v1/cost-estimate, /api/v1/data-dictionary
- POST /api/kanban, /api/ascii, /api/jobs and /api/v1 aliases
- GET/POST /api/mcp
- GET /llms.txt, /llms-full.txt, /llms-index.json, /rss.xml, /feed.xml, /sitemap.xml, /sitemap-main.xml

## MCP

Tools: modernize_cobol, analyze_cobol, check_cobol_compliance, generate_cobol_docs, suggest_cobol2023, estimate_cobol_cost, extract_data_dictionary, create_kanban_task, convert_to_ascii, list_samples, get_pricing, get_health, get_info, get_route_compliance, get_discovery_compliance, create_docs_report, create_sheet_report, create_deck_summary

Resources: cobol://samples, cobol://sample/{id}, cobol://pricing, cobol://analysis/schema, cobol://compliance/rules, cobol://cobol2023/features, cobol://openapi, cobol://llms, cobol://trust-policy

Prompts: modernize_cobol_program, analyze_cobol_program, explain_cobol_risks, generate_data_dictionary, generate_cobol_documentation, create_modernization_plan, create_kanban_breakdown, explain_cobol2023_migration, human_machine_cobol_handoff

## Samples

- Bank Account Balance (bank-balance): Classic COBOL bank balance calculation with business logic
- Customer Record Report (customer-report): File processing with formatted report output
- Date Validation (Y2K Pattern) (date-validation): Classic Y2K-era date handling and validation
- Hello World (hello-world): Simple COBOL program to get started

## Integrations

- Kanban: https://kanban.platphormnews.com
- ASCII: https://ascii.platphormnews.com
- MCP Hub: https://mcp.platphormnews.com
- Trace: https://trace.platphormnews.com

## Trust Policy

Public-safe COBOL static analysis, complexity scoring, cost estimation, playground usage, local non-sensitive code draft persistence, read-only MCP introspection, RSS/feed consumption, trusted-domain discovery, standard route compliance, Vercel metadata capture, backend model scaffolding, and trace-linked COBOL operations are intentionally supported for public use. PLATPHORM_API_KEY support is scaffolded for future protected backend services, protected model translation, Kanban mutation, batch jobs, sync, test-triggering, reporting, administrative actions, and sensitive operations.


## Pricing Tiers

- Trivial: < 50 non-blank lines, $0.02/line. Assumption: Small examples and utilities.
- Simple: 50-200 non-blank lines, $0.05/line. Assumption: Reports and batch scripts.
- Moderate: 200-1,000 non-blank lines, $0.12/line. Assumption: Transaction programs.
- Complex: 1,000-5,000 non-blank lines, $0.25/line. Assumption: Core modules with file I/O and dependencies.
- Enterprise: 5,000+ non-blank lines, $0.40/line. Assumption: Large mainframe systems requiring phased planning.

## Route Standard

- /api/health
- /api/v1/health
- /api/docs
- /openapi.yaml
- /openapi.json
- /llms.txt
- /llms-full.txt
- /llms-index.json
- /robots.txt
- /sitemap.xml
- /sitemap-main.xml
- /sitemap-index.xml
- /rss.xml
- /feed.xml
- /manifest.webmanifest
- /faq
- /.well-known/mcp.json
- /.well-known/agents.json
- /.well-known/ai-plugin.json
- /.well-known/security.txt
- /.well-known/trust.json
- /api/mcp

## Data Handling

COBOL source is analyzed on request and is not persisted server-side in Phase 1. Browser session history is AES-GCM encrypted with a 24-hour TTL. PLATPHORM_API_KEY is never stored in browser storage, traces, discovery files, RSS, sitemap, or generated output.

## Model Safety

When model assistance is unavailable, COBOL AI returns an explicit degraded state instead of fabricated translated code. When model assistance is configured later, generated output must be labeled as assistance, trace-linked, validated, and marked as requiring human review.