SAP HANA Developer CLI (hana-cli)

Related Skills

• sap-cap-capire: Use for CAP database development, HDI container management, and CDS syntax comparison
• sap-btp-cloud-platform: Use for HANA Cloud operations, BTP integration, and cloud instance management
• sap-abap-cds: Use for comparing CDS syntax between CAP and ABAP or understanding HANA CDS features
• sap-datasphere: Use when working with SAP Datasphere integration or data warehousing scenarios

A developer-centric command-line interface for SAP HANA database development, particularly useful in non-SAP tooling environments like VS Code.

Repository: https://github.com/SAP-samples/hana-developer-cli-tool-example npm Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/hana-cli Current Version: 3.202405.1 (April 2024) Node.js Requirement: ≥20.19.0

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Core Command Categories
• Output Formats
• Connection Configuration
• Common Workflows
• Bundled Resources

Quick Start

Installation

# Install globally via npm (recommended)
npm install -g hana-cli

# Verify installation
hana-cli version

First Connection

# Interactive connection setup
hana-cli connect

# Or specify connection directly
hana-cli connect -n "hostname:port" -u DBUSER -p PASSWORD --save

# Using service key (HANA Cloud)
hana-cli connectViaServiceKey

MCP Integration (AI-Driven Database Operations)

Overview

The hana-mcp-server integration enables natural language database operations through Claude's Model Context Protocol. Use conversational queries alongside traditional CLI commands for a complete development workflow.

Setup

1. Environment Variables

Required configuration (add to ~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or project .env):

export HANA_HOST="your-hana-host.hanacloud.ondemand.com"
export HANA_PORT="443"
export HANA_USER="DBADMIN"
export HANA_PASSWORD="your-password"
export HANA_ENCRYPT="true"  # Optional, defaults to true
export HANA_DATABASE=""     # Optional, for MDC tenant
export HANA_CONNECTION_TYPE="single-container"  # Optional

2. Connection Types

• single-container (default): Standard HANA databases
• mdc-system: Multi-tenant system database
• mdc-tenant: Specific tenant in multi-tenant environment

When to Use: CLI vs MCP

Example Natural Language Queries

Schema & Table Discovery

• "Show me all schemas in this HANA database"
• "List all tables in the SYSTEM schema"
• "What tables exist in the MY_APP schema?"
• "Show me all views in the PUBLIC schema"

Table Structure & Metadata

• "Describe the structure of the USERS table"
• "What columns does the ORDERS table have?"
• "Show me the data types for MY_TABLE"
• "What is the primary key of the CUSTOMERS table?"

Data Sampling & Inspection

• "Sample 5 rows from the PRODUCTS table"
• "Show me the first 10 records from SALES_DATA"
• "Get sample data from ORDER_ITEMS table"
• "Display a few rows from MY_TABLE"

Query Execution

• "How many rows are in the CUSTOMERS table?"
• "Show me distinct values in the STATUS column of ORDERS"
• "What is the maximum value in the PRICE column of PRODUCTS?"
• "Find all records in USERS where country is 'USA'"

System Performance & Monitoring

• "Check the HANA database status"
• "Show me system performance metrics"
• "What is the current database version?"

MCP Tools Available

The hana-mcp-server provides these MCP tools:

• list_schemas: Enumerate all schemas
• list_tables: Show tables in a schema
• describe_table: Get table structure and metadata
• query: Execute SQL queries from natural language
• sample_data: Retrieve sample rows
• system_info: Database status and performance

Example: MCP + CLI Workflow

# 1. Use MCP to explore (natural language)
"Show me all tables in the PRODUCTS schema"

# 2. Use MCP to understand structure
"Describe the PRODUCTS.INVENTORY table"

# 3. Use CLI for format conversion (precise output)
hana-cli inspectTable -t INVENTORY -s PRODUCTS -o cds

# 4. Use CLI for HDI operations
hana-cli createContainer -c MY_CONTAINER

Core Command Categories

Database Object Inspection

Query Execution

HDI Container Management

Cloud & BTP Operations

Output Formats

The --output / -o option supports 17+ formats:

Connection Configuration

Connection credentials are searched in priority order:

1. default-env-admin.json (with --admin flag)
2. .cdsrc-private.json (via cds bind)
3. .env file with VCAP_SERVICES
4. File specified via --conn parameter
5. default-env.json in current/parent directories
6. ~/.hana-cli/default.json

For connection templates, see templates/default-env.json.

Common Workflows

Inspect and Convert Table to CDS

# Inspect table structure
hana-cli inspectTable -s MYSCHEMA -t MYTABLE

# Convert to CDS format
hana-cli inspectTable -s MYSCHEMA -t MYTABLE -o cds

Mass Convert Schema Objects

# Convert all objects in schema to CDS
hana-cli massConvert -s MYSCHEMA

Execute Query with Export

# Run query and export to JSON
hana-cli querySimple -q "SELECT * FROM MYTABLE" -o json

# Export to Excel file
hana-cli querySimple -q "SELECT * FROM MYTABLE" -o excel -f ./output -n report

Manage HDI Containers

# List all containers
hana-cli containers

# Create new container
hana-cli createContainer -c MY_CONTAINER -g MY_GROUP

# Create container users
hana-cli createContainerUsers -c MY_CONTAINER

UI Commands

Many commands have browser-based UI alternatives (suffix UI):

• tablesUI - Browse tables visually
• containersUI - Manage containers in browser
• massConvertUI - Visual mass conversion
• querySimpleUI - Query builder interface
• systemInfoUI - System dashboard

Key Features

• Multi-database support: HANA, PostgreSQL, SQLite backends
• Format conversion: 17+ output formats including CDS, EDMX, OpenAPI
• HDI management: Full container lifecycle management
• Cloud integration: SAP BTP CLI and HANA Cloud support
• Interactive prompts: Missing parameters prompted automatically
• Service key auth: Secure cloud authentication

Detailed References

For comprehensive documentation:

• All 91 Commands: See references/command-reference.md
• Connection & Security: See references/connection-security.md
• HDI Management: See references/hdi-management.md
• Output Formats: See references/output-formats.md
• Cloud Operations: See references/cloud-operations.md
• Database Inspection: See references/db-inspection.md
• Mass Operations: See references/mass-operations.md
• System Administration: See references/system-admin.md
• Web UI Interface: See references/web-ui.md
• Troubleshooting Guide: See references/troubleshooting.md
• Development Environment: See references/development-environment.md
• ABAP Programming Patterns: See references/abap-programming.md

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

# Check current connection status
hana-cli status

# Test with explicit credentials
hana-cli connect -n "host:443" -u USER -p PASS --encrypt true

# Use SSL trust store
hana-cli connect --trustStore /path/to/certificate.pem

Permission Errors

# Diagnose privilege errors
hana-cli privilegeError

# View current user info
hana-cli inspectUser

Version Compatibility

• Node.js: Requires ≥20.19.0
• @sap/cds: Uses 9.4.4
• @sap/cds-dk: Requires ≥8.9 for cds bind

Bundled Resources

Reference Documentation

• references/command-reference.md - Complete command reference with all options
• references/abap-programming.md - ABAP-specific programming patterns
• references/quick-start.md - Quick start guide and examples

Scripts

• scripts/hana-setup.sh - HANA development environment setup script
• scripts/migration-helper.sh - Migration helper script for existing projects

Resources

• GitHub: https://github.com/SAP-samples/hana-developer-cli-tool-example
• Intro Video: https://youtu.be/dvVQfi9Qgog
• Cloud Shells Demo: https://youtu.be/L7QyVLvAIIQ
• SAP HANA Cloud: https://help.sap.com/docs/hana-cloud
• SAP CAP: https://cap.cloud.sap/docs/

Last Updated: 2025-11-26 | Version: 1.1.0