feat(adt-mcp): Feature parity with vibing-steampunk — onboard essential MCP tool capabilities

[ThePlenkov]

Overview

vibing-steampunk (vsp) is a Go-native MCP server that bridges SAP ADT REST APIs with AI coding assistants. It exposes 122 ADT operations as MCP tools (81 in "focused" mode). Our adt-mcp package currently exposes 17 tools.

This issue tracks the gap analysis and proposes a prioritised roadmap to onboard the most impactful features into our TypeScript-native toolset.

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Current State: adt-mcp (17 tools)

Tool	Description
discovery	Discover available ADT services
system_info	System / session information
search_objects	Search ABAP objects by name pattern
get_object	Retrieve object metadata
get_source	Read source code (any object type)
update_source	Write/update source code
activate_object	Activate a single object
check_syntax	Syntax check
run_unit_tests	Execute ABAP Unit tests
get_test_classes	List test classes of an object
list_package_objects	List package contents
atc_run	Run ATC checks
cts_list_transports	List transports
cts_get_transport	Get transport details
cts_create_transport	Create transport (stub — not implemented)
cts_release_transport	Release transport (stub — not implemented)
cts_delete_transport	Delete transport

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Gap Analysis vs. vibing-steampunk

🔍 1. Search & Grep

vsp exposes powerful in-system content search. We have only name-pattern search.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
GrepObjects	Regex search across a list of ADT URIs with context lines	High
GrepPackages	Regex search across a package (and subpackages)	High
GrepObject	Regex search within a single object	Medium

Impact: Lets AI agents do code-level discovery without reading every file individually. ADT endpoint: /sap/bc/adt/repository/informationsystem/search.

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📖 2. Extended Read Operations

We have generic get_source but are missing several dedicated readers for non-source objects and data.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
GetTableContents	Read table data with SQL WHERE filter + column selection + row limit	High
RunQuery	Execute freestyle ABAP SQL queries	High
GetTable	Read DDIC table / structure definition	High
GetFunction	Read function module source + signature	Medium
GetFunctionGroup	Read function group overview	Medium
GetTransaction	Read transaction metadata	Low
GetTypeInfo	Read ABAP type definition	Low

Impact: GetTableContents and RunQuery alone dramatically improve debugging and data exploration workflows for AI agents.

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🧭 3. Code Intelligence & Navigation

vsp exposes full ADT code-intelligence endpoints. We expose none of these.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
FindDefinition	Navigate to definition of a symbol at position	High
FindReferences	Find all usages (where-used) for a symbol	High
GetCallersOf	Call hierarchy — upward traversal	High
GetCalleesOf	Call hierarchy — downward traversal	High
GetObjectStructure	Object explorer tree (methods, attributes, hierarchy)	Medium
GetTypeHierarchy	Super/sub-types of a class or interface	Medium
CodeCompletion	Code completion suggestions at a position	Low

Impact: This is the single biggest capability gap for AI-assisted development. Finding usages and definitions allows agents to understand context without manual search.

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✍️ 4. Object Lifecycle — Create & Delete

We have update_source but do not expose object creation or deletion via MCP.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
CreateObject	Create ABAP objects (PROG, CLAS, INTF, FUGR, FUGR/FF, DEVC, DDLS, BDEF, SRVD, SRVB)	High
DeleteObject	Delete an ABAP object	High
CreatePackage	Create a local () or transportable package	Medium
CreateTable	Create a DDIC table from JSON definition	Low

Impact: Without create/delete, AI agents cannot scaffold new development objects end-to-end.

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🔄 5. Object Management — Clone, Rename, Move

Higher-level refactoring operations.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
CloneObject	Copy object to a new name (PROG, CLAS, INTF)	Medium
RenameObject	Rename an object (creates copy)	Medium
MoveObject	Move object to a different package	Medium

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✅ 6. Quality & Activation Improvements

We have single-object activate and syntax check. Missing batch and formatting.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
ActivatePackage	Batch-activate all inactive objects in a package	High
PrettyPrint	Format ABAP source code via SAP pretty printer	Medium
SetPrettyPrinterSettings	Configure pretty printer (indent, keyword case…)	Low
GetPrettyPrinterSettings	Read current pretty printer settings	Low

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🚀 7. Transport Management — Completions

Our CTS tools have stub implementations.

Feature	Status in adt-mcp	Priority
cts_create_transport	Stub — backend not implemented	High
cts_release_transport	Stub — backend not implemented	High
Transport object assignment	Not exposed	Medium
Transport owner/reassign	Not exposed	Low

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🔒 8. Locking API Exposure

Object locking is done implicitly inside update_source but not exposed as dedicated MCP tools, which limits fine-grained AI workflows.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
LockObject	Acquire an edit lock (returns lock handle)	Medium
UnlockObject	Release a lock handle	Medium

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🌐 9. RAP / OData / CDS Pipeline Support

vsp has comprehensive end-to-end RAP support (CDS, BDEF, SRVD, SRVB), including service binding publish/unpublish.

vsp tool / capability	Description	Priority
CDS / DDLS source read via get_source	Partial — object type routing needed	Medium
BDEF / SRVD / SRVB create + write	End-to-end RAP scaffolding	Medium
PublishServiceBinding	Activate and publish OData service	Medium
UnpublishServiceBinding	Unpublish an OData endpoint	Low

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🧪 10. Execute Arbitrary ABAP Code

vsp implements ExecuteABAP — wraps user code in a temporary unit test and runs it.

Feature	Description	Priority
execute_abap	Run ad-hoc ABAP snippets via unit test wrapper	Medium

Security note: Must be opt-in via explicit config flag, with risk-level controls (harmless / dangerous / critical).

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🖥️ 11. System & Feature Introspection

vsp tool	Description	Priority
GetInstalledComponents	List installed software components with versions	Medium
GetFeatures	Probe system for available features (abapGit, RAP, AMDP, UI5, CTS)	Medium

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🔮 12. Debugging (Experimental / Long-term)

vsp implements debugging via a custom ABAP WebSocket handler (ZADT_VSP) that must be installed on the SAP system. This is complex and experimental even in vsp.

vsp tool	Description	Priority
SetBreakpoint / GetBreakpoints / DeleteBreakpoint	Breakpoint management	Low
DebuggerListen / DebuggerAttach	Attach to debugger session	Low
DebuggerStep / DebuggerGetStack / DebuggerGetVariables	Interactive step-debug	Low
AMDPDebugger*	HANA/SQLScript AMDP debugging	Low

Note: This requires a custom ABAP package (ZADT_VSP) installed on the SAP system. The standard ADT debugger is highly session-stateful and complex to operate over HTTP. Recommend tracking separately once core features are complete.

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🎨 13. UI5 / BSP (Partial, Future)

vsp exposes read-only UI5/BSP operations. Write operations are blocked by ADT's read-only filestore (requires a different API).

vsp tool	Description	Priority
UI5ListApps	List BSP/Fiori applications	Low
UI5GetApp	Get app details	Low
UI5GetFile	Read a UI5 file	Low

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🌿 14. abapGit Integration

vsp has abapGit detection and export tooling. We have some abapGit serialization in adt-plugin-abapgit.

vsp tool / feature	Description	Priority
GetGitTypes	List objects eligible for abapGit export	Medium
GitExport	Export package in abapGit format	Medium
InstallAbapGit	Install abapGit on the SAP system	Low

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Priority Summary

🔴 High Priority (most value for AI-assisted development)

• #H1 grep_objects / grep_packages — in-system regex search
• #H2 get_table_contents / run_query — table data and SQL access
• #H3 get_table — DDIC table/structure definition reader
• #H4 find_definition + find_references — code navigation (where-used, go-to-def)
• #H5 get_callers_of + get_callees_of — call hierarchy traversal
• #H6 create_object + delete_object — full object lifecycle
• #H7 activate_package — batch activation of inactive objects
• #H8 Complete cts_create_transport and cts_release_transport backend implementations

🟡 Medium Priority (significant quality-of-life improvements)

• #M1 get_function + get_function_group — function module reader
• #M2 get_object_structure + get_type_hierarchy — structural navigation
• #M3 lock_object / unlock_object — explicit lock API
• #M4 clone_object / rename_object / move_object — refactoring
• #M5 pretty_print — ABAP code formatting
• #M6 create_package — create development packages
• #M7 execute_abap — run arbitrary ABAP snippets (opt-in, gated)
• #M8 get_installed_components + get_features — system introspection
• #M9 RAP pipeline: publish_service_binding + CDS/BDEF/SRVD/SRVB create
• #M10 git_export / get_git_types — abapGit MCP exposure

🟢 Low Priority (specialized or experimental)

• #L1 code_completion at position
• #L2 Pretty printer settings (get/set)
• #L3 get_transaction / get_type_info
• #L4 create_table (DDIC from JSON)
• #L5 Debugging tools (SetBreakpoint, DebuggerListen, …) — requires ZADT_VSP on SAP
• #L6 AMDP debugging — experimental, requires HANA
• #L7 UI5 / BSP read tools
• #L8 Transport refinements (owner, reassign)

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Implementation Notes

Architecture Alignment

• All new tools should follow the existing pattern in packages/adt-mcp/src/lib/tools/: one file per tool, registerXxxTool(server, ctx) export, zod schema for inputs
• New ADT client calls should go through adt-contracts (speci descriptors) and adt-client for full type safety
• Heavy write operations should follow the lock → write → unlock → activate cycle already established in adk

Safety / Gating

• Destructive operations (delete_object, execute_abap, create_table) must be gated behind explicit opt-in config flags, matching the safety philosophy in vsp
• SQL / run_query should be opt-in (read-only by default)

Phasing

Recommend tackling in this order:

1. Grep + Table Data (#H1, #H2, #H3) — high value, lower complexity
2. Code Navigation (#H4, #H5) — high value, ADT endpoints are well-known
3. Object Lifecycle (#H6, #H7) — enables full scaffolding
4. Transport completions (#H8) — removes existing stubs
5. Medium priority items as bandwidth allows

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References

• vibing-steampunk README
• vsp MCP server implementation
• DeepWiki: vibing-steampunk
• DeepWiki: abapify/adt-cli
• Our existing MCP tools: packages/adt-mcp/src/lib/tools/

[kilo-code-bot]

This issue appears to be a duplicate of #98.

feat(adt-mcp): Bridge MCP tool gap vs AWS ABAP Accelerator – source read/write, activation, unit tests, syntax check, package objects (#98)

Similarity score: 91%

This comment was generated by Kilo Auto-Triage.