IBM i Spool File Management

Manage and analyze spooled files, output queues, and printer configurations using SQL services from QSYS2 and SYSTOOLS.

Available Tools

The ibmi CLI is the primary tool for executing spool queries. Set SKILL_DIR to this skill's installed location (the directory containing this SKILL.md file):

# SKILL_DIR = directory containing this SKILL.md
# Examples: ./skills/spool, ~/.claude/skills/spool

# List all spool tools
ibmi tools --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" --toolset spool_default

# Run a specific tool
ibmi tool list_output_queues --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"

# Ad-hoc SQL for custom queries
ibmi sql "SELECT * FROM QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_ENTRIES_BASIC WHERE USER_NAME = 'MYUSER'"

The ibmi-mcp-server also provides execute_sql and describe_sql_object for MCP-connected agents.

Service Selection Guide

Output Queue Management

• QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_INFO -- Output queue configuration, status, writer info
• QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_ENTRIES -- Detailed spooled file entries per output queue (51 columns)
• QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_ENTRIES_BASIC -- Lightweight spooled file listing (16 columns, faster)

Spooled File Operations

• QSYS2.SPOOLED_FILE_INFO() -- Detailed spool file attributes per job (table function)
• SYSTOOLS.SPOOLED_FILE_DATA() -- Read actual spool file content line by line (table function)

Printer Configuration

• QSYS2.SYSTABLES (FILE_TYPE='P') -- Printer file definitions

Key Capabilities

Output Queue Operations

• List Queues -- Find output queues by library, see file counts and writer status
• Browse Entries -- View spool files in a specific output queue with status and size
• System-wide Search -- Search across all queues by user, status, or date

Spool File Analysis

• Per-job Detail -- Get spool file attributes, page counts, and output queue placement
• Read Content -- Extract text from spooled files line by line
• Storage Analysis -- Identify top consumers, find old files, get storage summaries

Cleanup Planning

• Age-based Search -- Find spool files older than N days
• User Consumption -- Show total files, pages, and bytes per user
• Status Distribution -- Count files by status (READY, HELD, SAVED)

Common Use Cases

1. Find a user's spool files -- Filter by user across all output queues
2. Check output queue status -- See file counts, writer status, queue configuration
3. Read report output -- Extract text content from a specific spooled file
4. Identify cleanup targets -- Find old spool files or top storage consumers
5. Storage capacity planning -- Get total spool usage with status breakdown
6. Troubleshoot print jobs -- View spool file details for a specific job
7. Audit printer files -- List printer file definitions by library
8. Monitor output queues -- Check which queues have the most files waiting

Quick Examples

List output queues with most files

ibmi tool list_output_queues --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"

Find spool files for a user

ibmi tool list_spool_files_basic --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" user_filter=MYUSER

Find old spool files (90+ days)

ibmi tool find_old_spool_files --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" days_old=90

Read spool file content

SELECT ORDINAL_POSITION, SPOOLED_DATA
  FROM TABLE(SYSTOOLS.SPOOLED_FILE_DATA(
    JOB_NAME => '123456/MYUSER/MYJOB',
    SPOOLED_FILE_NAME => 'QPJOBLOG'))
  ORDER BY ORDINAL_POSITION;

Top spool storage consumers

SELECT USER_NAME, COUNT(*) AS TOTAL_FILES,
       SUM(TOTAL_PAGES) AS TOTAL_PAGES, SUM(SIZE) AS TOTAL_SIZE
  FROM QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_ENTRIES_BASIC
  GROUP BY USER_NAME
  ORDER BY TOTAL_SIZE DESC
  FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY;

Pre-built Tools

The tools/spool.yaml file provides 9 ready-to-use tools:

Tool	Description
list_output_queues	Output queues with file counts, writer status, and configuration
list_output_queue_entries	Spool files in a specific output queue
list_spool_files_basic	System-wide spool file search by user and status
get_spooled_file_info	Detailed spool file attributes for a job
read_spooled_file_data	Read spool file text content line by line
top_spool_consumers	Top spool storage consumers by user
find_old_spool_files	Find spool files older than N days
get_printer_file_info	Printer file definitions on the system
spool_storage_summary	System-wide spool storage summary with status counts

ibmi tool <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"          # Execute
ibmi tool <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/" --dry-run # Preview SQL
ibmi tools show <tool_name> --tools "$SKILL_DIR/tools/"     # View details

Reference Documentation

• Spool Services Catalog -- Available SQL services
• Example SQL Patterns -- Working query examples
• IBM OUTPUT_QUEUE_INFO -- View documentation
• IBM SPOOLED_FILE_INFO -- Table function documentation