Application Designer AI Assist

PeopleSoft development happens in Application Designer, and everything you build there (records, fields, pages, components, PeopleCode, SQL objects, Application Engine programs) is stored as metadata in the PeopleSoft database. A general-purpose AI coding assistant can’t see any of it. Ask it about PeopleSoft and it guesses from what it knows about the delivered system, with no knowledge of your customizations.

Application Designer AI Assist closes that gap. It connects the LLM in your IDE to a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that looks up PeopleTools definitions directly in your database, so answers, explanations, and generated code are grounded in your system. It works alongside Application Designer: you ask in your IDE, then apply the results in Application Designer.

Who it’s for

• PeopleSoft developers writing and debugging PeopleCode, SQL, and Application Engine programs.
• Technical analysts tracing how a page, component, or process actually works.
• Upgrade and retrofit teams assessing customizations and their impact.
• Support engineers tracking down where a value is set or validated.

What you can ask

• “Describe the JOB record: its keys, required fields, and every page that uses it.”
• “Which PeopleCode runs when a user saves the Job Data component, and in what order?”
• “Find every PeopleCode program and SQL object that references the VOUCHER_LINE record.”
• “Write SQL that lists active employees by department, with correct effective-dated logic.”
• “Explain what this Application Engine program does, section by section.”
• “Which roles and permission lists grant access to this component?”

The Guides follow questions like these from start to finish.

How it works

1. You ask a question in an AI-enabled IDE or chat client such as VS Code, Cursor, or Claude Code. Any client that supports MCP will work.

2. The LLM picks its tools. It decides which lookups it needs and calls the MCP server, for example describe_record or search_code.

3. The MCP server queries PeopleTools metadata in tables such as PSRECDEFN, PSRECFIELD, PSPCMTXT, and PSPNLGRPDEFN, using a dedicated read-only database account.

4. The LLM answers from real definitions. It explains the design or drafts code, which you review and apply in Application Designer.

The MCP server

The MCP server is the heart of AI Assist. Because it speaks the open Model Context Protocol, it isn’t tied to one IDE or one LLM vendor: the same server works with any MCP client.

It exposes PeopleTools knowledge as a small set of focused tools. The Tools reference documents each one in detail.

Tool	What it returns
search_definitions	Records, fields, pages, components, and other definitions that match a name, description, or navigation label
describe_record	Fields, keys, types, lengths, record type, subrecords, indexes, and the pages that use the record
describe_component	Pages, search record, records, navigation, and the PeopleCode that runs in the component
describe_app_engine	Sections, steps, and actions of an Application Engine program, with their SQL and PeopleCode
get_peoplecode	PeopleCode for a record field, component, page, application class, or Application Engine step
get_sql	The text of a SQL object, SQL view, or Application Engine statement
search_code	Full-text search across all PeopleCode and SQL
find_references	Pages, components, records, and queries that refer to a record, field, or page
get_translate_values	Translate (XLAT) values for a field, as of a date
get_security	Roles and permission lists that grant access to a component
run_select	A row-limited, read-only SELECT against the application tables your administrator allows

The PeopleTools tables are the same on every database platform PeopleSoft supports, so the tools behave the same wherever your PeopleSoft database runs.

Built-in guardrails

Read-only by design

Connects with a dedicated database account that can only read, limited to the tables the tools need.

Bounded queries

Row limits and timeouts on every call, so an exploratory question can’t bog down the database.

Credentials stay put

Database credentials live with the MCP server. They never appear in prompts or LLM traffic.

Every call audited

Each tool call is logged: who asked, which tool ran, and what it queried.

The Security section explains each safeguard, and how AI Assist handles risks such as prompt injection.

Start with a development environment

Developers need definitions more than data. Pointing AI Assist at a development database, ideally one with masked or synthetic data, keeps real employee and financial data out of the conversation.

Go deeper

MCP fundamentalsHow the Model Context Protocol works, explained with PeopleSoft examples.

PeopleTools metadata primerThe PeopleTools tables behind records, PeopleCode, SQL, components, and security.

How the server worksThe server's layers, and how a tool call becomes safe, read-only SQL.

Set up AI AssistCreate the database account, configure the container, and connect your IDE.

GuidesReal tasks from question to checked answer: save processing, SQL, batch programs, security, and impact analysis.

Tools referenceEvery tool's inputs, output, and the SQL it runs against PeopleTools tables.

SecurityThe security model, read-only access, prompt injection, data protection, the audit log, and a go-live checklist.