abap-mcp

Make your AI coding agent an expert SAP ABAP & RAP consultant — local by default. No SAP system, no credentials, one command to install.

abap-mcp is a Model Context Protocol server that gives any AI coding agent — Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf — real ABAP senses, built on abaplint (the open-source ABAP parser/linter). The agent brings the reasoning; abap-mcp brings ground truth: a deterministic parser, objective scores, and validated generators that keep the AI honest. It works on ABAP source wherever your agent works — a git checkout, an abapGit export, a code review, CI — long before anything reaches a system.

• New to ABAP or RAP? Your agent becomes the senior consultant looking over your shoulder: every snippet linted against Clean ABAP as you write (lint_abap), every finding explained with its rationale and examples (explain_abap_rule), and scaffold_rap_bo starts you from a canonical, self-validated RAP business object instead of a blank editor.
• Senior ABAP consultant? It's your assessment and task engine: point your agent at a repo and get a scored, categorized ABAP Cloud readiness report with an A–D tech-debt grade (check_cloud_readiness), a phased migration backlog with efforts and exit criteria (plan_cloud_migration), an objective before/after verdict on every rework (compare_abap), released-API replacements (check_released_api), and CI gates that hold the line while the migration proceeds.

The default stdio edition is 100% local: the analysis engine makes zero network calls and reads no user files. Sources go in as text and structured findings come back. The released-API list and abaplint rule data are package-bundled. An optional guarded Streamable HTTP edition makes the same tools available to remote clients such as ChatGPT web; in that mode, source text is sent to the machine you host. See privacy and data handling.

Why this exists

Every other ABAP MCP server is either a bridge to a live SAP system (ADT/RFC — needs credentials, a system, and trust) or a documentation search. But AI coding agents spend most of their time where the files are — editing abapGit repos, reviewing diffs, generating code — long before anything reaches a system. This server gives agents the missing feedback loop at that layer:

• "Does this ABAP parse? Is it clean? How does it perform?" → lint_abap (+ focus packs)
• "Fix this block automatically — casing, obsolete syntax." → fix_abap (deterministic, parser-guaranteed)
• "How far is this classic report from ABAP Cloud? Grade it." → check_cloud_readiness (A–D)
• "Plan the migration — what do we tackle first?" → plan_cloud_migration (phased backlog)
• "This class has no tests — start me a harness." → scaffold_abap_unit (failing-by-default)
• "What depends on what? Migrate which object first?" → get_object_dependencies (+ Mermaid)
• "Did this rework make the code better or worse?" → compare_abap
• "Is MARA a released API? What do I use instead?" → check_released_api
• "Start me a correct RAP business object." → scaffold_rap_bo
• "What's in this 4,000-line class? Draw it." → get_abap_outline (+ Mermaid)

Install — 60 seconds

The only requirement is Node.js 22+. No SAP system, no credentials, no API keys. New to AI tooling (or ABAP)? Follow the from-zero walkthrough in docs/INSTALL.md — or let the installer do it:

npx abap-mcp setup     # detects VS Code / Claude Code and registers the server; guides Eclipse

Otherwise, pick your client:

Codex CLI · Codex IDE extension · ChatGPT desktop — one command configures all three on the same Codex host:

codex mcp add abap-mcp -- npx -y abap-mcp

Restart ChatGPT desktop or the IDE extension, then use /mcp to confirm abap-mcp is connected. In ChatGPT desktop you can alternatively open Settings → MCP servers → Add server, choose STDIO, and enter command npx with arguments -y abap-mcp.

Codex plugin (MCP server + review/mentor/migration skills)

codex plugin marketplace add palimkarakshay/abap-mcp
codex plugin add abap-mcp@abap-mcp

ChatGPT web cannot start a local npx process. It needs a deployed HTTPS /mcp endpoint or a secure development tunnel. This repository ships the HTTP entry point and hardening controls, but does not operate a public service. Follow the OpenAI setup and self-hosting guide.

Claude Code

claude mcp add abap-mcp -- npx -y abap-mcp

VS Code (Copilot agent mode) — one click on the Install in VS Code badge above, or one command:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"abap-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","abap-mcp"]}'

For a whole team, commit examples/vscode/mcp.json as .vscode/mcp.json in your abapGit repo — everyone who opens the folder gets the server offered automatically.

Eclipse (via the GitHub Copilot plugin) — Copilot Chat in Eclipse speaks MCP: open the Copilot menu → Edit preferences → MCP, and add the same "abap-mcp" server block (command npx, args ["-y", "abap-mcp"]). Steps and prerequisites: GitHub's MCP docs, Eclipse tab. Stock ADT without Copilot has no MCP client today.

Cursor · Windsurf · any MCP client — add this to its mcp.json / .mcp.json (project or global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abap-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "abap-mcp"] }
  }
}

Claude Desktop — Settings → Developer → Edit Config, add the same mcpServers block to claude_desktop_config.json, restart.

From a clone (contributing / hacking):

npm install && npm run build
claude mcp add abap-mcp -- node /path/to/abap-mcp/dist/cli.js

Connected? Ask your agent "list your ABAP tools" — you should see eighteen by default, lint_abap through check_rap_behavior, plus the opt-in run_abap_unit when ABAP_MCP_ENABLE_RUN=1 is set.

First things to ask

• "Here's my functional spec — build the RAP implementation from it." (or run /mcp__abap-mcp__abap-from-spec)
• "Lint this class against ABAP Cloud and explain the worst finding like I'm new to ABAP."
• "How cloud-ready is this repo? Grade it and plan the migration in phases."
• "Is MARA a released API? What do I use instead?"
• "Scaffold a RAP BO for entity Booking on table zbooking, draft enabled."
• "I reworked zcl_pricing — compare old vs new: did it actually get better?"

Guided workflows built in (MCP prompts)

The consultant's playbook ships both as four MCP prompts and as four Codex plugin skills. In Claude Code the prompts appear as slash commands (/mcp__abap-mcp__…); prompt-capable clients list them natively, while the Codex plugin discovers the corresponding skills:

Prompt	What it sets up
abap-from-spec	The blank-page killer. Hand it a functional/tech spec — or a plain-language requirement — and the agent builds working, validated modern ABAP/RAP: spec → build plan with an ASSUMPTION register → deterministic scaffold_rap_bo foundation → behavior logic → every file gated through fix_abap + lint_abap until clean → filled unit tests → delivery in activation order. Nothing unlinted is ever delivered.
abap-review	A full senior-consultant code review: lint → triage → explain each finding's why → minimal fixes → prove the rework with compare_abap. Optional focus (Performance / Security / Styleguide).
abap-mentor	Over-the-shoulder mentoring mode for the rest of the session: every snippet is quietly linted and readiness-checked, findings become plain-language guidance, new objects start from validated scaffolds.
abap-migration-plan	A client-ready phased migration plan driven by plan_cloud_migration — current state, phases with S/M/L efforts and exit criteria, released-API work separated — then offers to execute phase 1.

CLI — same engine, no AI required

Every tool is also a subcommand, so it works in terminals and CI where no MCP client exists:

npx abap-mcp lint src/                          # lint files or whole directories
npx abap-mcp fix src/ --write                   # apply abaplint's deterministic auto-fixes in place
npx abap-mcp lint src/ --focus Performance      # themed pass: Performance | Security | Styleguide
npx abap-mcp lint src/ --rules-file org.json    # your org's abaplint rule pack, same engine
npx abap-mcp readiness src/ --fail-below 80     # repo-level ABAP Cloud readiness, scored + graded A–D
npx abap-mcp plan src/                          # phased migration backlog: work items, S/M/L efforts, exit criteria
npx abap-mcp unittest src/ --out tests/         # failing-by-default ABAP Unit skeletons for untested classes
npx abap-mcp deps src/ --mermaid                # dependency graph (+released-API flags) as a Mermaid diagram
npx abap-mcp compare old/ new/                  # rework verdict: findings resolved/introduced, grade movement
npx abap-mcp scaffold --entity Travel --table ztravel --key travel_id --out ./out
npx abap-mcp outline src/zcl_monster.clas.abap  # navigate big objects (--mermaid for a diagram)
npx abap-mcp released MARA I_Product --edition btp  # released-API status + successor, per edition (s4hc|btp|pce)
npx abap-mcp explain exit_or_check              # rule rationale
npx abap-mcp release --since 2605 rap           # bundled ABAP Cloud/RAP release-delta knowledge (dated, sourced)
npx abap-mcp knowledge "clean core level C"     # search the bundled SAP knowledge base (Clean Core, ATC, SAP-AI)
npx abap-mcp aisdk --scenario ZDEMO_AI --interaction string --out ./out  # scaffold a Generative AI Hub call
npx abap-mcp agent-rules --target Cloud --paired sap-adt-mcp --run       # print the AGENTS.md rules block
npx abap-mcp rapcheck src/ --release 2508       # check RAP behavior/service definitions (BDEF/SRVD); exit 1 on errors
npx abap-mcp unittest --run src/                # EXECUTE ABAP Unit tests offline (open-abap kernel, no DB/CDS/EML); exit 1 on failure

Directories are walked recursively (abapGit naming), batched automatically, and readiness merges batches into one scored, categorized repo report. Exit codes are CI-friendly (1 on error findings / failed threshold).

Agentic workflows, recipes & CI

docs/examples/abap2xlsx-assessment.md — what all of this produces on a real, well-known open-source repo (100 files, three commands, no system). docs/COOKBOOK.md — practical recipes: the fix-until-clean loop, PR review without a transport, whole-repo migration triage, CI gates, per-persona use cases. examples/claude-code/ — drop-in agentic workflows that turn the tools into that over-the-shoulder consultant: an abap-code-reviewer subagent, an abap-cloud-migrator sweep loop (readiness score as the loop condition), an abap-tech-debt-assessor (the graded A–D client deliverable), per-repo .mcp.json, and a GitHub Actions quality gate for abapGit repos.

Agentic loop

The full offline loop an agent can run before anything reaches a system:

1. Scaffold — scaffold_rap_bo, scaffold_abap_unit, or scaffold_abap_ai_sdk for a validated starting point instead of a blank editor.
2. Fix, then lint — fix_abap (deterministic mechanical pass) followed by lint_abap until findings are zero or consciously waived.
3. Run — run_abap_unit (opt-in via ABAP_MCP_ENABLE_RUN=1, or always through abap-mcp unittest --run) executes the ABAP Unit tests and feeds real pass/fail results back into the loop — TH Köln's ABAP benchmark (arXiv 2601.15188) measured this alone moving Claude Opus 4.5 from 31.6% to 78.7% task success across feedback rounds.
4. Readiness — check_cloud_readiness / plan_cloud_migration to grade the result and size what's left; compare_abap proves the rework didn't regress.
5. Hand off — pair with SAP's official ADT MCP server or abap-adt-mcp for the in-system half (write, activate, ATC, a real ABAP Unit run) — see Related projects.

Tools

Tool	What it does
lint_abap	abaplint static analysis over ABAP/CDS/BDEF sources → structured findings with rule docs links. Presets: style (default, snippet-friendly), full, syntax-only; per-rule overrides for org rule packs; focus lens (Performance / Security / Styleguide) for themed reviews.
check_cloud_readiness	Dual-parse diff (classic baseline vs Cloud): statements that are valid today but illegal in ABAP Cloud become categorized blockers (dynpro, list output, native SQL, …) with a transparent score and a density-banded A–D tech-debt grade; code broken at the baseline is reported separately, not counted as migration work. Also surfaces a separate, dated released-API cross-check (releasedApiFindings): direct access to non-released classic tables and deprecated-API usage found in the source, with CDS successor hints — informational, not folded into the score.
fix_abap	abaplint's own machine-applicable corrections, applied and verified: keyword casing, obsolete statements with defined modern replacements (MOVE → =, …). Batches re-parse after every pass and a batch that would break the parse is discarded — output is parser-guaranteed, never guessed. Unfixable findings return as remaining for judgment-tier rework (prove it with compare_abap).
plan_cloud_migration	The task-manager layer over readiness: arranges every blocker into a phased, consulting-ordered backlog — repair-the-baseline first, then mechanical quick wins, core rework, UI re-architecture, and a separate snapshot-dated released-API phase. Each work item carries an S/M/L effort band, a remediation recipe and sample locations; each phase carries objective, re-checkable exit criteria. Deterministic: same readiness numbers, rearranged — no new judgments.
compare_abap	Before/after verdict on a rework: lint findings resolved vs introduced (matched by content, so moved code isn't noise), blocker/score/grade movement, and classes/methods/FORMs added or removed. The objective referee for refactors and AI rewrites.
check_released_api	Looks up objects (tables, CDS views, function modules, classes, …) in SAP's bundled per-edition Cloudification snapshots (edition: s4hc | btp | pce, default s4hc) → released / deprecated / not-released per object, plus SAP's own successor(s) when published, a curated CDS successor fallback for common classic tables, and a classicAPI/noAPI/internalAPI classification. The released-API half of readiness, offline.
scaffold_rap_bo	Generates the canonical RAP managed-BO stack (root view, behavior definition strict(2) + optional draft, behavior class + handler locals, projection, metadata extension, OData V4 service definition) plus suggested table DDL, activation order and next steps.
scaffold_abap_unit	Generates the local ABAP Unit test class for each global class: setup + one skeleton test per public method, every skeleton failing loudly with a TODO so generated-but-empty tests can't masquerade as coverage. Round-tripped through abaplint with the class under test.
get_object_dependencies	Dependency graph over the provided sources — parser-level table/function references (annotated with released-API state + CDS successors), inherits/implements structure, and honestly-labeled textual cross-references. Optional Mermaid flowchart. The sequencing companion to plan_cloud_migration.
list_abap_rules	Browse abaplint's ~180 rules (filter by text or tag).
explain_abap_rule	One rule in depth — rationale (often Clean ABAP), examples, docs URL.
format_abap	Offline pretty-printer (keyword case + indentation).
get_abap_outline	Classes/methods/visibility/interfaces/FORMs of a source — navigate big objects without reading them whole. Optional Mermaid classDiagram output for instant structure visuals.
explain_abap_release	Bundled, dated (curated 2026-09-10) knowledge base of ABAP Cloud / CDS / RAP / EML / ATC release deltas across the 2502–2608 trains plus ABAP Platform 2025 — each row an original summary with a cited SAP source URL and a confirmed / reported confidence flag; filter by sinceRelease, product, kind.
search_sap_knowledge	Free-text search over the same bundle plus Clean Core governance (Levels A–D, release contracts C0–C3, the real ATC vocabulary) and 7 SAP-AI decision cards (SAP-ABAP-1, Generative AI Hub, ABAP AI SDK, SAP's official ADT MCP server, …) — every hit carries its sources and confidence.
scaffold_abap_ai_sdk	Generates a validated ABAP class calling the Generative AI Hub through the ABAP AI SDK (ISLM): 7 interaction shapes (string, messages, prompt-template, function-calling, structured-output, streaming, orchestration), round-tripped through abaplint against abap-mcp's own bundled IF_AIC_* stubs (validated: "abaplint-syntax"); returns the manual ISLM setup steps it cannot perform itself.
get_abap_agent_rules	Emits the AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md rules block for an ABAP repo: lint-before-commit, the readiness gate, released-API discipline, scaffold-first, the offline unit-test loop, and division of labour with an online ADT MCP server.
check_rap_behavior	Checks RAP behavior definitions (.bdef.asbdef) and CDS service definitions (.srvd.srvdsrv) with abap-mcp's own BDL/SDL parser and a 48-rule set (40 behavior rules including the structural tiers, 7 service-definition rules, 1 release gate) — abaplint deep-parses neither file type, so this is the only static feedback they get without a system. Covers the draft/etag/lock/authorization/numbering consistency set, strict-mode obligations, action/operation/validation/determination/side-effect coherence, projection use against the base BDEF, and service expose against the CDS entities you pass in the same call; with abapRelease it also gates constructs newer than that release. Two-tier by design: punctuation breakage is an error, a construct the grammar does not know is an info that says so.
run_abap_unit (opt-in — ABAP_MCP_ENABLE_RUN=1)	Executes ABAP Unit tests offline: transpiles to JavaScript via @abaplint/transpiler against the bundled open-abap kernel and runs it in a sandboxed subprocess (server-owned temp dir, hard timeout, no network) — one pass/fail/error/skipped row per method, plus the honest static lint. Evidence about pure logic only — no DB/CDS/EML/AMDP/auth. Always available in the CLI as abap-mcp unittest --run.

Knowledge base & resources

A dated, cited SAP knowledge bundle ships with the package (curated 2026-09-10): 100 ABAP Cloud / RAP release-delta rows (2502–2608 trains + ABAP Platform 2025, plus pre-2502 chronology corrections so an agent can't present an established feature as a 2025-26 novelty), 55 Clean Core entries (Levels A–D, release contracts C0–C3, the real ATC vocabulary), and 7 SAP-AI decision cards (SAP-ABAP-1, Generative AI Hub orchestration, the ABAP AI SDK, Joule for Developers, SAP's official ADT MCP server, …). Every row is abap-mcp's own original summary over a cited source with a confirmed / reported confidence flag — never copied SAP prose (see the licensing boundary in docs/DESIGN.md).

Reach it as tools (explain_abap_release, search_sap_knowledge; CLI release / knowledge) or as MCP resources a host can attach directly to a conversation: abap-mcp://knowledge/manifest (provenance for every bundled file), .../release-deltas, .../clean-core, .../sap-ai (whole files), and .../release/{id}, .../clean-core/{id}, .../sap-ai/{id} (individual cards, each returned as both application/json and text/markdown).

Honesty box — what this is not