ABAP Development Tools for Visual Studio Code

Download and install Visual Studio Code on your system if you have not already done so.

1. Open a browser and go to https://code.visualstudio.com/

2. Download the installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

3. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

4. Launch Visual Studio Code once installation is complete.

ℹ️ Hint: Ensure you are running a recent stable version of Visual Studio Code. Go to Help > About to check your version.

Install the ABAP Development Tools (ADT) extension for Visual Studio Code from the Visual Studio Marketplace. This extension connects Visual Studio Code to your ABAP backend and includes the built-in ADT MCP Server that you will use in Exercise 1. If you are accessing it from any event like ‘We are Developers’ the Visual Studio Code and ADT Extension will already be installed in the available machines.Changes here

Install from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace

1. Open Visual Studio Code.

2. Open the Extensions view:

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+X (macOS: Cmd+Shift+X), or
   • Click the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar (left edge)

3. In the search bar, type ‘ABAP Development Tools’

4. Locate the “ABAP Development Tools” extension published by SAP and click Install.

5. Wait for the installation to complete.

   ✅ Success: You should see “ABAP Development Tools” listed under Installed extensions.

   

Verify the installation

1. Open the Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P and type ABAP. You should see ABAP-specific commands such as:

• ABAP: New Destination...
• ABAP: Open Object...
• ABAP: Create New ABAP Object...
• ABAP: Activate

✅ If you see these commands, the extension is installed correctly.

Create a destination in Visual Studio Code to connect to your ABAP system, then add it to your workspace.

Choose the connection type that matches your system:
- HTTP — SAP BTP ABAP Environment or SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
- RFC — SAP S/4HANA on-premise or SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition (requires SAP Logon configured on your machine)

Option A: HTTP destination (Cloud systems)

1. Open the Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P.

2. Type ABAP: New Destination and select “ABAP: New Destination…”.

3. Select HTTP as the connection type.

4. Enter the system URL of your ABAP Cloud system. The URL format is:
   https://<system-id>.abap.<region>.hana.ondemand.com

5. Press Enter, then enter a short ID for this destination (e.g., BTP_DEV).

6. Press Enter. The connection is established.

   Command Palette → "ABAP: New Destination..." ↓ Connection Type → HTTP ↓ System URL → https://<system-id>.abap.<region>.hana.ondemand.com ↓ Destination ID → BTP_DEV ↓ ✅ Connection established!

Option B: RFC destination (On-premise systems)

ℹ️ Prerequisite: Your system must be configured in SAP Logon (SAP GUI) with RFC connectivity before proceeding.

1. Open the Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P.

2. Type ABAP: New Destination and select “ABAP: New Destination…”.

3. Select RFC as the connection type.

4. A list of systems from your SAP Logon configuration is displayed. Select your target system.

5. Enter your username and press Enter.

6. Enter the client number (e.g., 100) and press Enter.

7. Enter your login language (e.g., EN) and press Enter.

8. The connection is established.

   Command Palette → "ABAP: New Destination..." ↓ Connection Type → RFC ↓ System → <SID> ↓ Username → <username> ↓ Client → 100 ↓ Language → EN ↓ ✅ Connection established!

9. As soon as the connection is established you should be able to see a visual feedback that the destination was created successfully and a notification pop-up with a button which directly adds it as a folder to your workspace.
   

   

10. If you missed adding the destination to the workspace using the above popup please continue with Step 4.

1. Open the Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P.
   
   
2. Type ABAP: Add Destination as Folder and select “ABAP: Add Destination as Folder to the Workspace…”.

3. Select your newly created destination.

4. For HTTP systems: a browser window opens — log in with your ABAP system credentials.
   For RFC systems: the connection is established immediately using your SAP Logon credentials.

5. After login, your system connection appears as a folder in the Visual Studio Code Explorer view (left sidebar).

6. Open Destination settings to see the details of the added system
   

   

1. In the Explorer view, expand the folder for your system connection.
   
   
2. Navigate through the package hierarchy to find objects.

Get familiar with the key Visual Studio Code areas you will use throughout this tutorial.

Key UI areas for ABAP development

Essential keyboard shortcuts