abapgit

abapGit Workflows

Guide for managing ABAP development objects in Git repositories using abapGit.

Workflow

Determine the user's goal:
- Setting up abapGit for the first time
- Cloning an existing repository
- Pushing ABAP code to a Git repository
- Configuring branching or transport strategies
- Setting up CI/CD pipelines for ABAP
- Troubleshooting abapGit issues
Identify the environment:
- On-premise SAP system with abapGit standalone
- SAP BTP ABAP Environment (abapGit integration in ADT)
- gCTS (Git-enabled Change and Transport System)

Guide implementation with best practices for ABAP-specific Git workflows

abapGit Overview

Aspect	Description
What	Open-source Git client for ABAP, runs inside the SAP system
Serialization	Converts ABAP objects to file-based format for Git storage
Deserialization	Imports file-based format back into ABAP objects in the system
Supported Objects	Classes, interfaces, CDS, function groups, programs, tables, etc.
Installation	Via abapGit standalone report or Eclipse plugin

Setup

Installing abapGit Standalone (On-Premise)

Create report ZABAPGIT_STANDALONE or ZABAPGIT_FULL
Download latest version from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abapGit/build/main/zabapgit_standalone.prog.abap
Copy content into the report and activate
Run the report via SE38 or transaction ZABAPGIT

abapGit in ADT (BTP ABAP Environment)

In ADT: Window → Show View → Other → abapGit Repositories
Link repository using HTTPS URL
Requires communication arrangement for Git service

SSL Certificates

Download GitHub/GitLab root certificates
Import via STRUST (transaction) → SSL Client (Anonymous) or (Standard)
Required for HTTPS connections to Git providers

Core Operations

Clone a Repository

1. Open abapGit (standalone or ADT)
2. Click "+ Clone" / "Link abapGit Repository"
3. Enter repository URL (HTTPS)
4. Select target package (create if needed)
5. Select branch (default: main)
6. Pull objects into the system

Push Changes to Git

1. Stage changed objects (select what to include)
2. Write a meaningful commit message
3. Push to remote branch
4. Resolve conflicts if any

Pull Updates from Git

1. Open the repository in abapGit
2. Click "Pull"
3. Review incoming changes
4. Activate pulled objects

.abapgit.xml Configuration

The .abapgit.xml file in the repository root controls serialization settings:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<asx:abap xmlns:asx="http://www.sap.com/abapxml" version="1.0">
 <asx:values>
  <DATA>
   <MASTER_LANGUAGE>E</MASTER_LANGUAGE>
   <STARTING_FOLDER>/src/</STARTING_FOLDER>
   <FOLDER_LOGIC>PREFIX</FOLDER_LOGIC>
   <IGNORE>
    <item>/.gitignore</item>
    <item>/LICENSE</item>
    <item>/README.md</item>
    <item>/package.json</item>
    <item>/.travis.yml</item>
   </IGNORE>
   <REQUIREMENTS/>
  </DATA>
 </asx:values>
</asx:abap>

Key Settings

Setting	Values	Description
`MASTER_LANGUAGE`	`E`, `D`, etc.	Master language for texts
`STARTING_FOLDER`	`/src/`	Root folder for serialized objects
`FOLDER_LOGIC`	`PREFIX` / `FULL`	How package hierarchy maps to folders
`IGNORE`	File patterns	Files to exclude from deserialization
`REQUIREMENTS`	Software components	Dependencies that must be present before import

Folder Logic

PREFIX: Package name prefix is removed. Z_PKG_SUB under Z_PKG → sub/ folder
FULL: Full package name becomes folder. Z_PKG_SUB → z_pkg_sub/

Branching Strategy

Recommended: Trunk-Based for ABAP

main (production-ready)
  └── feature/add-validation
  └── feature/new-report
  └── bugfix/fix-calculation

Keep main branch stable and deployable
Create short-lived feature branches
Merge via pull requests with code review
One SAP system per branch for development

Transport-Based Strategy

DEV system ←→ feature branches
QAS system ←→ release branch
PRD system ←  main branch (tags for releases)

Transport vs. Git Workflows

Aspect	Transport-Based	Git-Based (abapGit)
Versioning	Transport requests	Git commits with full history
Collaboration	Transport of copies	Branches, pull requests, code review
Rollback	Difficult	`git revert` or checkout previous commit
CI/CD	Limited	Full integration with pipelines
Multi-system	Transport routes	Clone/pull to each system
Conflict resolution	Manual	Git merge tools

Hybrid Approach

Many teams use abapGit for version control while retaining transports for deployment:

Develop in DEV system
Commit changes to Git (abapGit push)
Use transport requests to move to QAS/PRD
Git serves as source of truth and backup

CI/CD Integration

abaplint in CI Pipeline

# .github/workflows/abaplint.yml
name: abaplint
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  abaplint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: niclas-timm/abaplint-action@main

abaplint.json Configuration

{
  "global": {
    "files": "/src/**/*.*"
  },
  "syntax": {
    "version": "Cloud",
    "errorNamespace": "^(Z|Y|LCL_|LIF_)"
  },
  "rules": {
    "description": "ABAP lint configuration"
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
SSL handshake error	Import SSL certificates via `STRUST`
Authorization error	Check `S_DEVELOP` authorization object
Object locked by transport	Release or remove transport lock
Serialization error	Check object type support in abapGit
Namespace conflicts	Ensure unique naming conventions
Large repository slow	Use shallow clone or split into sub-packages

Output Format

When helping with abapGit topics, structure responses as:

## abapGit Guidance

### Context

- Environment: [On-premise / BTP / gCTS]
- Operation: [Clone / Push / Pull / Setup]

### Steps

[Step-by-step instructions]

### Configuration

[Relevant .abapgit.xml or abaplint settings]

References

abapGit Documentation: https://docs.abapgit.org/
abapGit GitHub: https://github.com/abapGit/abapGit
abaplint: https://abaplint.org/

Related Skills

abap: Use for abaplint integration with abapGit repositories
btp-abap-environment: Use for abapGit setup in BTP ABAP Environment
abap-cloud: Use for ensuring abapGit repositories are ABAP Cloud compliant