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Quickstart

Get ARC-1 talking to your SAP system in five minutes. Zero install, Basic Auth, and a JSON config for your MCP client of choice — Claude Code or GitHub Copilot (VS Code / Eclipse). Using Claude Desktop? See Install in Claude.

If this path doesn't match you — SSO-only SAP, Docker, BTP, a team server — skip straight to:

  • Local development — full local dev (npx / npm / Docker / git-clone), .env patterns, SSO cookie extractor
  • Deployment — multi-user / production (Docker, BTP Cloud Foundry, BTP ABAP)

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 22+
  • Network access to a SAP system (dev/sandbox ideally)
  • A SAP user + password with ADT authorizations

That's it. No global install, no config files.

1. Verify ARC-1 can reach your SAP

npx arc-1@latest --url https://your-sap-host:44300 \
                 --user YOUR_USER --password YOUR_PASS \
                 --client 100 \
                 --insecure true   # only for self-signed dev certs; omit on trusted TLS

You should see a startup line like:

INFO: auth: MCP=[none] SAP=basic (shared)
INFO: ARC-1 MCP server running on stdio

Hit Ctrl+C to stop. If this failed, check TLS, the client number, and that the user can log into SE80 via the web GUI.

--insecure needs an explicit value

Pass --insecure true (or --insecure=true), not a bare --insecure. The flag takes a value; --insecure on its own is parsed as off, so a self-signed cert still fails with fetch failed. The same applies to the other boolean flags (--allow-writes true, etc.) and to the SAP_INSECURE=true environment variable.

If direct ADT HTTP(S) is not reachable

ARC-1 normally connects to SAP's ADT HTTP(S) endpoint. For local systems where Eclipse ADT works through RFC/SAProuter but raw HTTP(S) routing to the ICM port is blocked, run a local ADT-to-RFC bridge and point SAP_URL at the bridge instead. One open-source option is enricoandreoli/adt-rfc-bridge:

# After starting the bridge on port 8410
SAP_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8410 \
SAP_USER=YOUR_USER SAP_PASSWORD=YOUR_PASS SAP_CLIENT=100 \
ARC1_MAX_CONCURRENT=1 \
npx arc-1@latest

This is a local development workaround, not needed for normal deployments. Details and caveats: Authentication Overview -> Local ADT-to-RFC Bridge.

2. Wire it into your MCP client

ARC-1 speaks stdio, so every client launches the same npx arc-1@latest subprocess — only the config file and the top-level key differ. Pick yours below; all three start read-only, and enabling writes covers the opt-in flags.

Create .mcp.json in your project root (commit it to share with your team) — or ~/.claude.json for user scope. Claude Code uses the mcpServers shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sap": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "arc-1@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SAP_URL": "https://your-sap-host:44300",
        "SAP_USER": "YOUR_USER",
        "SAP_PASSWORD": "YOUR_PASS",
        "SAP_CLIENT": "100"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or add it from the CLI: claude mcp add sap --env SAP_URL=… --env SAP_USER=… --env SAP_PASSWORD=… --env SAP_CLIENT=100 -- npx -y arc-1@latest. Keep secrets out of a committed .mcp.json — use user scope or shell env vars.

Want the SAP skills, or using Claude Desktop?

The Claude Code plugin bundles this server and the 18 SAP skills (RAP, CDS, ABAP Unit, clean-core, UI5) in one install. For that — and for Claude Desktop (.mcpb or direct JSON) — see Install in Claude.

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace (or run MCP: Open User Configuration from the Command Palette for a global setup). VS Code uses servers — not mcpServers:

{
  "servers": {
    "sap": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "arc-1@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SAP_URL": "https://your-sap-host:44300",
        "SAP_USER": "YOUR_USER",
        "SAP_PASSWORD": "YOUR_PASS",
        "SAP_CLIENT": "100"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open Copilot Chat, switch the mode selector to Agent, and the SAP* tools appear in the tools picker (🛠). Manage servers any time with MCP: List Servers.

Requires Eclipse 2024-03 or later with the latest GitHub Copilot plug-in. Click the GitHub Copilot status-bar icon → Edit Preferences → expand GitHub Copilot → MCP, paste the config, then Apply and Close — it takes effect immediately. Eclipse uses the same servers shape as VS Code:

{
  "servers": {
    "sap": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "arc-1@latest"],
      "env": {
        "SAP_URL": "https://your-sap-host:44300",
        "SAP_USER": "YOUR_USER",
        "SAP_PASSWORD": "YOUR_PASS",
        "SAP_CLIENT": "100"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open Copilot Chat in Agent mode; the SAP* tools become available.

What you just got — read-only by default

Capability Result
Writes Off
Freestyle SQL Off
Named table preview Off
Transports / Git writes Off
Package scope $TMP if you later enable writes

Those four are the minimum. Any ARC-1 setting can live in this env block — TLS, request language, caching, rate limits, authentication, and more. For every supported variable, with its default and precedence, see the Configuration Reference (connection variables under SAP connection).

Cursor, Gemini CLI, Goose, and other stdio clients use the same shape — see local-development.md.

Enabling writes, SQL, and data preview

Everything above is read-only. Each capability is a separate positive opt-in — add only the flags you need to the same env block, on any client. For full local development on a dev/sandbox system you are comfortable modifying:

"SAP_ALLOW_WRITES": "true",
"SAP_ALLOW_DATA_PREVIEW": "true",
"SAP_ALLOW_FREE_SQL": "true",
"SAP_ALLOW_TRANSPORT_WRITES": "true",
"SAP_ALLOWED_PACKAGES": "*"
Capability Result
Writes On
Free SQL On
Named table preview On
Transports On
Package scope * (all packages)

Want just table preview + SQL while staying read-only? Add only SAP_ALLOW_DATA_PREVIEW and SAP_ALLOW_FREE_SQL. Full model in authorization.md; each flag's default and precedence is in the Configuration Reference.

3. Try a read

In your MCP client (Claude Code, or Copilot in Agent mode), ask:

Using the SAP tools, show me the source of report RSPO0041.

The assistant should call SAPRead and return the ABAP source.

Next steps