abapGit Workflows

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

Workflow

1. 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

2. 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)

3. 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)

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

abapGit in ADT (BTP ABAP Environment)

1. In ADT: Window → Show View → Other → abapGit Repositories
2. Link repository using HTTPS URL
3. 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:

1. Develop in DEV system
2. Commit changes to Git (abapGit push)
3. Use transport requests to move to QAS/PRD
4. 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/