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

Scenario Recommended Tool Why

Exploratory queries, ad-hoc analysis MCP Natural language, no syntax needed

Automation scripts, CI/CD pipelines CLI Scriptable, consistent output

Learning database structure MCP Conversational discovery

Generating CDS/EDMX/OpenAPI output CLI Supports 17+ formats

Complex multi-step workflows CLI Fine-grained control

Quick data sampling and inspection MCP Faster for one-off queries

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

Command Aliases Purpose

inspectTable

it , table

Inspect table structure

inspectView

Inspect view definition

inspectProcedure

Inspect stored procedure

inspectFunction

Inspect function definition

tables

List all tables in schema

views

List all views in schema

procedures

List stored procedures

functions

List functions

Query Execution

Command Aliases Purpose

querySimple

qs

Execute SQL query

callProcedure

cp

Execute stored procedure

hdbsql

Direct SQL execution

HDI Container Management

Command Aliases Purpose

containers

cont

List HDI containers

createContainer

Create new container

dropContainer

Remove container

activateHDI

Enable HDI service

adminHDI

Administer HDI privileges

Cloud & BTP Operations

Command Aliases Purpose

hanaCloudInstances

List HANA Cloud instances

hanaCloudStart

Start cloud instance

hanaCloudStop

Stop cloud instance

btp

Configure BTP CLI

btpInfo

Display BTP target info

Output Formats

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

Format Use Case

tbl

Human-readable table (default)

json

JSON data

yaml

YAML format

csv

CSV export

excel

Excel file

cds

CAP CDS definitions

hdbcds

HANA CDS format

hdbtable

HDB Table definitions

sql

SQL DDL statements

edmx

OData EDMX metadata

openapi

OpenAPI/Swagger spec

graphql

GraphQL schema

Connection Configuration

Connection credentials are searched in priority order:

• default-env-admin.json (with --admin flag)

• .cdsrc-private.json (via cds bind )

• .env file with VCAP_SERVICES

• File specified via --conn parameter

• default-env.json in current/parent directories

• ~/.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