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Agent Chat Troubleshooting

Start with the logs. Both are in the panel's ... menu:

  • Show Log (ABAP FS Agents output channel): agent start, connection, file requests and MCP hand-over, plus the agent's own error output.
  • Show Protocol Traffic (ABAP FS Agents Traffic): every ACP message, after you turn on abapfs.acp.logTraffic. It contains prompts and file contents, so be careful when sharing it.

The panel doesn't appear

  • Check that abapfs.acp.enabled is on. It's on by default, so look for a user or workspace setting that turned it off.
  • Look in the secondary side bar (right side). If it's closed, use View → Appearance → Secondary Side Bar, or run ABAP FS Agents: Open Chat.

Agent fails to connect

"Failed to connect" right away, or the agent exits immediately

  • Run the agent's command in a terminal, for example npx -y @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp@latest. A working ACP agent starts and then waits silently for input; stop it with Ctrl+C. Any error you see there is the real problem.
  • npx not found: install Node.js, then restart VS Code so it picks up the new PATH.
  • Network or registry errors from npm: configure npm for your proxy or internal registry, or install the agent globally and use its command instead of npx.

Connecting takes very long the first time

The first start of a built-in agent downloads it from npm. Later starts are faster.

The agent connects but every prompt fails with an authentication error

The agent isn't logged in to its AI provider. Log in the way that agent expects, for example by running the agent's CLI once in a terminal, or set its API key in the agent's env in abapfs.acp.agents. Then use Restart.

It worked before, now it doesn't

With @latest, a new agent version may have changed its command-line flags. Check the agent's release notes, or pin a known-good version in abapfs.acp.agents.

Agent doesn't see ABAP FS tools

  1. Is abapfs.acp.provideMcpServer on? It's off by default. Turn it on, then start a New Chat: the tools are passed when a session is created.
  2. Did the MCP server start? Show Log should contain Passing ABAP FS MCP server to agent over HTTP or ... through the stdio bridge. If it says ABAP FS MCP server is not running; continuing without it, run ABAP FS: Start MCP Server and look at the ABAP FS output channel. The usual cause is that port 4847 is already in use; change abapfs.mcpServer.port.
  3. Is a SAP system connected? Connect with ABAP FS: Connect to an ABAP system before starting the agent.
  4. Does the agent ignore client-provided MCP servers? Some agents accept the mcpServers list from the client and then don't use it. If the log shows the server was passed but the agent still has no abapfs_* tools, add ABAP FS to the agent's own MCP config instead, and turn provideMcpServer off. See Manual setup.
  5. Stdio bridge errors: the agent starts the bridge itself, so its messages, which start with abap-fs mcp bridge:, end up wherever that agent logs its MCP servers. 401 means the API key doesn't match abapfs.mcpServer.apiKey, and ECONNREFUSED means the MCP server isn't running.

The agent sees every tool twice

ABAP FS is configured both through provideMcpServer and in the agent's own MCP config. Remove one of them.

Edits fail with "file does not exist"

The agent used its built-in edit tool, which checks the local disk. SAP objects only exist virtually, so that check fails. Tell the agent to use replace_string_in_abap_object, or add that to your agent's instructions file (for example CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md in the working directory).

Shell commands, grep or glob find no SAP objects

Expected: SAP systems are not on disk. Ask the agent to use abapfs_search_objects and abapfs_search_object_source instead.

Edits don't show Keep / Undo

  • Check that abapfs.editReview.enabled is on.
  • Only ABAP objects are tracked, not local files.
  • Edits are tracked when they go through replace_string_in_abap_object or the agent's own file tools in Agent Chat. Edits an external MCP client makes with its own tools outside ABAP FS can't be seen.

History is empty or a chat can't be reopened

  • History is shown only while an agent is connected, and only that agent's conversations.
  • The agent has to support listing sessions. Reopening needs load or resume support. Some agents keep history only for the same working directory, so keep abapfs.acp.defaultWorkingDirectory stable.

Permission prompts keep appearing

Choose the agent's Always allow option where it offers one, or set abapfs.acp.autoApprovePermissions to allowAll. That approves everything, including shell commands.

Reporting a problem

Include the ABAP FS Agents log, the agent name and version, and your VS Code and ABAP FS versions. Remove system names, users and any other sensitive data first.