Quick Start Guide

NTi was built to solve a problem few tools tackle: connecting your IBM i to .NET and being up and running in under 15 minutes.

No disruption to your workflow, no training required, no complex setup. Everything plugs directly into Visual Studio with a single NuGet reference. You write standard C# with a familiar syntax, no RPG knowledge required, no steep learning curve.

NTi is also fully cross-platform - Windows, Linux, and macOS - and works with any IBM i version.

That's it. Just code.

Prerequisites

Development side

• Visual Studio 2022, JetBrains Rider, or VS Code with the C# extension
• A compatible .NET version:
  • .NET 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
  • .NET Standard 2.1
  • .NET Core 3.1
  • .NET Framework 4.7 and later

IBM i side

• IBM i V5R4 or later
• TCP services *DATABASE, *RMTCMD, and *SIGNON started
• An active NTi license - Start your free trial

💡 For the complete prerequisites and license installation steps, see the Installation page.

Step 1 - Install NTi via NuGet

Open a terminal in your project folder and add the packages:

dotnet add package Aumerial.Data.Nti
dotnet add package Dapper

Or via the Visual Studio Package Manager Console:

Install-Package Aumerial.Data.Nti
Install-Package Dapper

💡 Why Dapper? Dapper is a lightweight micro-ORM that automatically maps SQL results to your C# objects. It extends your NTi connection with intuitive methods like Query<T> and Execute, making data access clean and natural.

Step 2 - Open a connection

using Aumerial.Data.Nti;
using Dapper;

using var conn = new NTiConnection("server=serverName;user=userName;password=password");
conn.Open();

Console.WriteLine(conn.State == ConnectionState.Open
     ? "✅ IBM i connection and NTi license OK."
    : "❌ Connection failed.");

💡 The connection string supports many advanced options: SSL/TLS, connection pooling, MFA, default library, and more. See the Connection page for the full reference.

Step 3 - Read data

public class MyRecord
{
    public string Id    { get; set; }
    public string Label { get; set; }
}

var records = conn.Query("SELECT * FROM MYLIB.MYTABLE");

Step 4 - Write data

conn.Execute(@"
    UPDATE MYLIB.MYTABLE
    SET LABEL = 'Updated'
    WHERE ID = 'REC-001'
");

💡 For a complete example using Entity Framework Core (Code First, DB First, CRUD), see the CRUD with EF Core 8 tutorial.

Step 5 - Access all IBM i resources

NTi goes far beyond SQL. From your C# code, you have access to the full range of IBM i resources.

Execute a CL command

try
{
    conn.ExecuteClCommand("CRLIB LIB(MYLIB) TEXT('My new library')");
}
catch (NTiException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}

💡 See the Execute a CL command tutorial.

Call an RPG program

var parms = new List
{
    new NTiProgramParameter("Hello", 10).AsInput(),  // CHAR(10) INPUT
    new NTiProgramParameter("", 128).AsOutput()      // CHAR(128) OUTPUT
};

conn.CallProgram("MYLIB", "MYPGM", parms);

string result = parms[1].GetString(0, 128);

💡 See the Call a program tutorial for a complete example with input parameters and return values.

Call a stored procedure

var parameters = new DynamicParameters();
parameters.Add("myParam", dbType: DbType.Decimal, direction: ParameterDirection.Output);

var records = (await conn.QueryAsync(
    "MYLIB.MYPROC",
    parameters,
    commandType: CommandType.StoredProcedure
)).ToList();

💡 See the Stored procedure tutorial for a complete example using both the DataReader and Dapper approaches.

What's next?

You're up and running. Here are a few pages to go further:

• Connection - connection string, pooling, MFA
• Entity Framework Core - Code First and DB First ORM on DB2 for i
• Toolbox - spool files, CL commands, jobs, and system values