Phani Puttabakula - Mar 7, 2026

Part 1: Getting Started with ABAPer – Signup, Documentation and Setup

Part of ABAPer Series

• Getting Started ABAPer

• ABAPer First Prompts

• ABAPer Code Review

• ABAPer Writing Code

Summary

ABAPer is an AI-powered development environment built specifically for ABAP developers. It gives you a browser-based IDE with Monaco editor, an AI assistant that understands ABAP, and direct connectivity to your SAP systems — all without installing anything locally. This article walks you through signup, setup, and your first AI-assisted interaction.

The Problem

ABAP developers have worked with SE80 and ADT (Eclipse) for decades. These tools are reliable, but they lack the AI-assisted capabilities that developers in other ecosystems now take for granted. Copilot and ChatGPT are general-purpose — they don’t understand your SAP system, your transports, your custom tables, or your ABAP codebase structure.

You need an AI assistant that speaks ABAP natively.

Why This Matters

Modern development has shifted. JavaScript developers have Copilot. Python developers have AI code review built into their editors. ABAP developers deserve the same.

ABAPer bridges that gap:

• It connects directly to your SAP system via ADT (ABAP Development Tools) protocol
• It understands ABAP object types: programs, classes, function modules, CDS views, tables, structures, includes
• It can read, analyze, create, and activate ABAP objects
• It provides S/4HANA compatibility analysis out of the box
• It runs in your browser — no Eclipse, no local installation

This is not a generic AI wrapper. It is an ABAP-native development tool.

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Sign Up at BlueFunda

1. Go to https://bluefunda.com
2. Click Sign Up
3. Create your account using email or SSO
4. Verify your email address

ABAPer uses Keycloak-based authentication. Your account works across the Web IDE, VSCode extension, and API access.

Step 2: Access the Documentation

All product documentation is available at:

https://docs.bluefunda.com

The documentation covers:

• Getting started guides
• SAP system connection setup
• AI prompt reference
• Feature walkthroughs
• Troubleshooting

Bookmark this page. You will reference it often as you learn ABAPer’s capabilities.

Step 3: Open the Web IDE

After signing in, navigate to the ABAPer Web IDE. The interface is divided into several areas:

Left Sidebar:

• Explorer — Browse SAP packages, favorite packages, and object trees
• Search — Full-text search across ABAP objects in your SAP system
• Git — Git operations and status
• GitHub — Browse and import code from GitHub repositories

Center:

• Monaco Editor — Full-featured ABAP code editor with syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, bracket colorization, and code snippets
• Tab Bar — Multiple open files, just like VSCode

Right Panel:

• AI Assistant — Chat-based AI panel for prompts, code review, and generation (toggle with Ctrl+L / Cmd+L)

Bottom Panel:

• Problems — Linting errors and syntax check results
• Output — Execution logs
• Transpiler — ABAP-to-JavaScript transpilation output

Menu Bar:

• File — New object, open object (Cmd+P), save, activate
• SAP — System connection management
• AI — Quick AI actions (review, explain, optimize, S/4HANA check)
• View — Toggle panels and layout

Step 4: Connect to Your SAP System

ABAPer connects to SAP systems via the ADT (ABAP Development Tools) protocol — the same protocol used by Eclipse ADT.

1. Click SAP in the menu bar → Connection Settings
2. Enter your SAP system details:
   • Host — Your SAP system hostname or IP
   • Client — SAP client number (e.g., 100)
   • Username — Your SAP user
   • Password — Your SAP password
3. Click Test Connection to verify connectivity
4. Save the connection

ABAPer supports multiple SAP system connections. You can switch between development, quality, and sandbox systems.

Step 5: Browse Your First Package

Once connected:

1. Open the Explorer panel in the left sidebar
2. Expand the package tree to browse objects
3. Click on any ABAP object to open it in the editor
4. Use Cmd+P (Open Object) to search for objects by name

You can also add frequently used packages to your Favorites for quick access.

Step 6: Set Up the VSCode Extension (Optional)

If you prefer working in VSCode:

1. Open VSCode
2. Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for ABAPer
4. Install the extension by BlueFunda
5. Press Cmd+Shift+A to open the AI chat panel
6. Follow the device authorization flow to log in:
   • A one-time code appears in VSCode
   • Your browser opens for authentication
   • Once authorized, the extension is connected

The VSCode extension provides:

• AI chat panel with streaming responses
• Context-aware prompts (it captures your selected code and open file)
• Chat commands: /explain, /generate, /performance, /table
• Copy and Insert actions on AI responses

Step 7: Where to Report Issues

Found a bug? Need a feature?

Report issues on the VSCode extension GitHub repository:

• Go to the ABAPer VSCode repository on GitHub
• Open a new Issue
• Describe the problem with steps to reproduce

The development team monitors this repository actively.

Your First Prompt

Let’s run your first AI-assisted action. Open any ABAP program in the editor, then open the AI panel (Ctrl+L / Cmd+L).

PROMPT:

Explain this ABAP program. Summarize its purpose, structure, and key logic.

EXPECTED OUTPUT:

The AI reads your active file, analyzes the ABAP code structure, and provides a structured summary. No copy-pasting into ChatGPT. No context switching.

Best Practices

1. Connect your SAP system first. The AI assistant is most powerful when it can access your actual ABAP objects, not just pasted code snippets.

2. Use the Web IDE for exploration, VSCode for heavy editing. The Web IDE is great for browsing, reviewing, and quick AI interactions. VSCode is better for longer coding sessions.

3. Start with Explain. Before using AI to write or review code, use the Explain action to see how well the AI understands your code. This builds confidence in the tool.

4. Bookmark the docs. https://docs.bluefunda.com is your reference for features, prompt patterns, and troubleshooting.

5. Favorite your packages. Add your most-used development packages to Favorites in the Explorer panel to save navigation time.

Troubleshooting

“Connection failed” when adding SAP system

• Verify the hostname is reachable from your network
• Ensure ADT services are enabled on your SAP system (transaction SICF, path /sap/bc/adt)
• Check that your SAP user has the necessary authorizations for ADT
• Confirm the client number is correct

AI panel shows “disconnected”

• Check the transport indicator in the bottom status bar
• Refresh the browser page
• Re-authenticate if your session has expired

VSCode extension not responding

• Check the status bar — if it shows “ABAPer: Login”, click it to re-authenticate
• Ensure your internet connection is stable (the extension connects to BlueFunda’s cloud services)
• Check VSCode Output panel (select “ABAPer” from the dropdown) for error messages

Objects not appearing in Explorer

• Verify your SAP connection is active (green indicator in status bar)
• Check that your SAP user has display authorization for the package
• Try searching with Cmd+P instead — it uses a different search path

Conclusion

You now have ABAPer set up and running — either in the browser or in VSCode. You’ve connected to your SAP system, browsed your packages, and run your first AI prompt.

ABAPer is not a replacement for SE80 or Eclipse ADT. It is a new layer on top of your existing SAP development workflow that adds AI capabilities where they matter most: understanding code, reviewing changes, generating boilerplate, and catching issues early.

Next Article

In Part 2: Your First ABAPer Prompts, we’ll explore practical prompt examples for everyday ABAP development — from explaining programs to fetching metadata, querying repository objects, and connecting to GitHub. You’ll learn how to structure prompts that get useful results on the first try.