IBM Bob Setup

IBM Bob is IBM's AI coding agent. This page covers how to set it up to work with Agent Client via the bob acp command.

Install and Configure

Open a terminal (Terminal on macOS/Linux, PowerShell on Windows) and run the following commands.

1. Install Bob Shell by following the IBM Bob installation guide.

2. Verify the installation:

bob --version

3. Find the installation path if needed:

macOS/Linux

which bob
# Example output: /usr/local/bin/bob

Windows

where.exe bob

4. Open Settings → Agent Client. The default command (bob) with the argument acp is pre-configured. If the agent is not found automatically, set the IBM Bob path to the path found above, or click Auto-detect.

5. Leave Arguments as acp (set by default). This is required to start IBM Bob in ACP mode.

Authentication

Bob supports a saved browser login or an API key. An API key is optional if you have already signed in to Bob Shell on this machine. See IBM's ACP authentication documentation.

Browser Login

1. Open a terminal in your vault directory and run bob.
2. Complete the browser sign-in when prompted.
3. Exit Bob Shell and connect to IBM Bob from Agent Client. Bob reuses the saved token; leave the plugin's API key field empty.

API Key

1. Obtain your IBM Bob API key from your IBM account.
2. In Settings → Agent Client, go to Preset agents → IBM Bob → API key.
3. Click Link... and enter or create a secret in Obsidian's Keychain.

The API key is injected as the BOBSHELL_API_KEY environment variable when the agent starts.

Workspace Trust

Bob requires a trusted workspace before creating an ACP session, regardless of the authentication method. In a terminal, change to your vault directory, run bob, and confirm workspace trust when prompted. Then exit Bob Shell and reconnect from Agent Client. For New chat in directory, trust that directory instead.

See IBM's workspace trust documentation.

Verify Setup

1. Click the robot icon in the ribbon or use the command palette: "Open chat view"
2. Switch to IBM Bob from the agent dropdown in the chat header
3. Try sending a message to verify the connection

Having issues? See Troubleshooting.