---

name: sap-hana-tools description: > SAP HANA developer tooling and CLI skill. Use when working with hdbsql CLI, managing HDI containers, using HANA Database Explorer, or automating HANA operations. If the user mentions hdbsql, HDI container management, HANA Cloud Central, or HANA client tools, use this skill. Extends sap-hana-cloud with operational tooling focus. license: MIT metadata: author: SAP Skills Community version: "1.0.0" last_verified: "2026-03-24"

SAP HANA Developer Tools & CLI

Related Skills

• sap-hana-cloud — HANA Cloud database development (SQL, HDI, multi-model)
• sap-devops-cicd — HANA artifact deployment in CI/CD pipelines
• sap-cap-advanced — CAP projects with HANA Cloud persistence

Quick Start

Key tools:

Tool	Purpose	Install
hdbsql	Interactive SQL client	SAP HANA Client package
hdbuserstore	Secure credential store	SAP HANA Client package
@sap/hdi-deploy	HDI container deployer	npm install @sap/hdi-deploy
HANA Database Explorer	Web-based SQL editor	BTP cockpit → HANA Cloud
HANA Cloud Central	Instance management	BTP cockpit
@sap/hana-client	Node.js HANA driver	npm install @sap/hana-client

Connect with hdbsql:

# Store credentials securely
hdbuserstore SET HANACLOUD <host>:443 <user> <password>

# Connect and run query
hdbsql -U HANACLOUD "SELECT * FROM M_DATABASE"

# Connect directly
hdbsql -n <host>:443 -u <user> -p <password> -encrypt

Core Concepts

HDI Container Lifecycle (CLI)

# HDI deploy from command line (CI/CD)
npx @sap/hdi-deploy \
  --service-replacements '{"hdi-container":"my-hdi-service-key"}' \
  --deploy '["src/**"]' \
  --undeploy '["src/old_table.hdbtable"]'

# Environment variables for HDI deploy
export HDI_DEPLOY_OPTIONS='{"auto_undeploy":false,"treat_warnings_as_errors":true}'

Connection Methods

Method	Use Case	Security
hdbuserstore	Persistent, scripted access	Encrypted local store
Direct params	One-off queries	Password on command line (avoid in prod)
JWT token	BTP app auth	Short-lived, OAuth 2.0
X.509 certificate	Service-to-service	Mutual TLS
Service key (JSON)	BTP service binding	From BTP cockpit

hdbsql Output Formats

# CSV output (for data export)
hdbsql -U HANACLOUD -o output.csv -c "," -a "SELECT * FROM MY_TABLE"

# JSON output (pipe to jq)
hdbsql -U HANACLOUD -j "SELECT TOP 10 * FROM M_SQL_PLAN_CACHE ORDER BY total_execution_time DESC"

# Aligned column output (human-readable)
hdbsql -U HANACLOUD -A "SELECT * FROM M_SERVICE_MEMORY"

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: HANA Health Check Script

#!/bin/bash
# hana_health_check.sh — Daily HANA Cloud health report

STORE_KEY="HANACLOUD"

echo "=== HANA Cloud Health Check $(date) ==="

echo -e "\n--- Database Info ---"
hdbsql -U $STORE_KEY -j "SELECT DATABASE_NAME, VERSION, USAGE FROM M_DATABASE"

echo -e "\n--- Memory Usage ---"
hdbsql -U $STORE_KEY -A "
  SELECT HOST,
         ROUND(USED_PHYSICAL_MEMORY/1024/1024/1024, 2) AS USED_GB,
         ROUND(FREE_PHYSICAL_MEMORY/1024/1024/1024, 2) AS FREE_GB,
         ROUND(USED_PHYSICAL_MEMORY * 100.0 / (USED_PHYSICAL_MEMORY + FREE_PHYSICAL_MEMORY), 1) AS USED_PCT
  FROM M_HOST_RESOURCE_UTILIZATION"

echo -e "\n--- Top 5 Expensive Queries (Last 24h) ---"
hdbsql -U $STORE_KEY -A "
  SELECT TOP 5
    SUBSTRING(STATEMENT_STRING, 1, 80) AS QUERY,
    ROUND(DURATION_MICROSEC/1000000, 2) AS DURATION_SEC,
    RECORDS AS ROWS_AFFECTED
  FROM M_EXPENSIVE_STATEMENTS
  WHERE START_TIME > ADD_SECONDS(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, -86400)
  ORDER BY DURATION_MICROSEC DESC"

echo -e "\n--- Active Connections ---"
hdbsql -U $STORE_KEY -A "
  SELECT CONNECTION_STATUS, COUNT(*) AS CNT
  FROM M_CONNECTIONS
  GROUP BY CONNECTION_STATUS"

echo -e "\n--- Table Growth (Top 10 by size) ---"
hdbsql -U $STORE_KEY -A "
  SELECT TOP 10
    SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME,
    ROUND(TABLE_SIZE/1024/1024, 2) AS SIZE_MB,
    RECORD_COUNT
  FROM M_CS_TABLES
  ORDER BY TABLE_SIZE DESC"

Pattern 2: Node.js HANA Client

const hana = require('@sap/hana-client');

class HANAConnection {
  constructor(serviceKey) {
    this.connParams = {
      host: serviceKey.host,
      port: serviceKey.port,
      uid: serviceKey.user,
      pwd: serviceKey.password,
      encrypt: true,
      sslValidateCertificate: true
    };
  }

  async query(sql, params = []) {
    const conn = hana.createConnection();
    try {
      await new Promise((resolve, reject) =>
        conn.connect(this.connParams, (err) => err ? reject(err) : resolve())
      );
      return await new Promise((resolve, reject) =>
        conn.exec(sql, params, (err, result) => err ? reject(err) : resolve(result))
      );
    } finally {
      conn.disconnect();
    }
  }

  async streamLargeResult(sql, params, onRow) {
    const conn = hana.createConnection();
    await new Promise((resolve, reject) =>
      conn.connect(this.connParams, (err) => err ? reject(err) : resolve())
    );
    const stmt = conn.prepare(sql);
    const rs = stmt.execQuery(params);
    while (rs.next()) {
      await onRow(rs.getValues());
    }
    rs.close();
    stmt.drop();
    conn.disconnect();
  }
}

// Usage
const db = new HANAConnection(JSON.parse(process.env.HANA_SERVICE_KEY));
const results = await db.query(
  'SELECT * FROM ORDERS WHERE CUSTOMER_ID = ? AND ORDER_DATE > ?',
  ['CUST001', '2026-01-01']
);

Pattern 3: HDI Container Management Script

#!/bin/bash
# Manage HDI containers for multi-tenant scenario

SERVICE_INSTANCE="my-hdi-shared"

# List all HDI containers
cf service-keys $SERVICE_INSTANCE | grep -E "^name"

# Create tenant-specific container
create_tenant_container() {
  local TENANT_ID=$1
  local CONTAINER_NAME="hdi-${TENANT_ID}"

  cf create-service-key $SERVICE_INSTANCE $CONTAINER_NAME \
    -c "{\"permissions\":\"development\"}"

  # Get connection details
  cf service-key $SERVICE_INSTANCE $CONTAINER_NAME | tail -n +2 > /tmp/${CONTAINER_NAME}.json

  # Deploy schema to new container
  HDI_SERVICE_KEY=$(cat /tmp/${CONTAINER_NAME}.json)
  npx @sap/hdi-deploy --service-replacements "[{\"key\":\"hdi-container\",\"service\":\"$HDI_SERVICE_KEY\"}]"
}

# Delete tenant container
delete_tenant_container() {
  local TENANT_ID=$1
  cf delete-service-key $SERVICE_INSTANCE "hdi-${TENANT_ID}" -f
}

Pattern 4: Performance Analysis Queries

-- Find slow queries in plan cache
SELECT TOP 20
  STATEMENT_HASH,
  EXECUTION_COUNT,
  ROUND(TOTAL_EXECUTION_TIME/1000000, 2) AS TOTAL_SEC,
  ROUND(AVG_EXECUTION_TIME/1000000, 2) AS AVG_SEC,
  ROUND(MAX_EXECUTION_TIME/1000000, 2) AS MAX_SEC,
  TOTAL_LOCK_WAIT_COUNT,
  SUBSTR(STATEMENT_STRING, 1, 100) AS QUERY_PREVIEW
FROM M_SQL_PLAN_CACHE
WHERE EXECUTION_COUNT > 10
ORDER BY AVG_EXECUTION_TIME DESC;

-- Table column memory consumption
SELECT SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME,
       ROUND(MEMORY_SIZE_IN_TOTAL/1024/1024, 2) AS TOTAL_MB,
       ROUND(PERSISTENT_MEMORY_SIZE_IN_TOTAL/1024/1024, 2) AS DISK_MB,
       LOADED AS IS_LOADED
FROM M_CS_COLUMNS
WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = 'MY_SCHEMA'
ORDER BY MEMORY_SIZE_IN_TOTAL DESC;

-- Index advisor suggestions
SELECT * FROM M_CS_INDEXES_ADVISOR
WHERE SCHEMA_NAME = 'MY_SCHEMA'
ORDER BY ESTIMATED_BENEFIT DESC;

-- Check delta merge status
SELECT SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME, PART_ID,
       RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_DELTA AS DELTA_ROWS,
       RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_MAIN AS MAIN_ROWS,
       ROUND(RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_DELTA * 100.0 /
         NULLIF(RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_MAIN + RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_DELTA, 0), 1) AS DELTA_PCT
FROM M_CS_TABLES
WHERE RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_DELTA > 100000
ORDER BY RAW_RECORD_COUNT_IN_DELTA DESC;

Pattern 5: Python HANA Client (hdbcli)

from hdbcli import dbapi
import json

def connect_from_service_key(key_path):
    """Connect using BTP service key JSON."""
    with open(key_path) as f:
        key = json.load(f)
    return dbapi.connect(
        address=key["host"],
        port=key["port"],
        user=key["user"],
        password=key["password"],
        encrypt=True
    )

def export_to_csv(conn, sql, output_path):
    """Export query results to CSV."""
    import csv
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    cursor.execute(sql)
    columns = [desc[0] for desc in cursor.description]
    with open(output_path, 'w', newline='') as f:
        writer = csv.writer(f)
        writer.writerow(columns)
        while True:
            rows = cursor.fetchmany(10000)
            if not rows:
                break
            writer.writerows(rows)
    cursor.close()

def bulk_insert(conn, table_name, data, batch_size=5000):
    """Efficient bulk insert with parameterized batches."""
    if not data:
        return
    columns = list(data[0].keys())
    placeholders = ','.join(['?' for _ in columns])
    sql = f"INSERT INTO {table_name} ({','.join(columns)}) VALUES ({placeholders})"

    cursor = conn.cursor()
    for i in range(0, len(data), batch_size):
        batch = data[i:i+batch_size]
        params = [tuple(row[c] for c in columns) for row in batch]
        cursor.executemany(sql, params)
    conn.commit()
    cursor.close()

Error Catalog

Error	Message	Root Cause	Fix
hdbsql: -10709	Connection failed	Wrong host/port or network issue	Check host:443 (HANA Cloud always uses 443)
hdbsql: -10104	Invalid credentials	Wrong user/password	Reset password; check hdbuserstore entry
hdbsql: -10	Encryption required	Missing -encrypt flag	Add -encrypt or encrypt=true
hdi-deploy: 403	Insufficient privilege	Missing HDI admin role	Grant HDI container admin to technical user
hdi-deploy: Build failed	Artifact compilation error	Invalid HDB artifact syntax	Check .hdbcds/.hdbprocedure syntax
npm: @sap/hana-client	Install failed (native module)	Missing C++ build tools	Install node-gyp prereqs; use prebuild binary
SQLCODE -131	Transaction rolled back	Lock timeout during bulk insert	Reduce batch size; check for concurrent access
SQLCODE -10001	SQL syntax error	HANA SQL ≠ ANSI SQL	Check HANA-specific syntax (e.g., TOP N not LIMIT N)

Performance Tips

1. Use hdbuserstore — Avoid passwords in scripts; hdbuserstore is encrypted and reusable
2. Batch size for hdbsql — Use -B (batch mode) for non-interactive execution in CI/CD
3. Parameterized queries — Always use ? placeholders; prevents SQL injection and enables plan reuse
4. Connection pooling — In Node.js/Python apps, reuse connections; don't connect per query
5. hdbsql -j for JSON — JSON output is parse-friendly for automation scripts
6. HDI deploy incremental — Only deploy changed files; use --deploy with specific file paths
7. Export large datasets — Use hdbsql -o with CSV format for data export instead of SELECT in app code

Gotchas

• HANA Cloud port: Always 443 (not 30015/30013 like on-premise)
• hdbsql LIMIT: HANA uses SELECT TOP N not LIMIT N (though recent versions support both)
• Node.js driver versions: @sap/hana-client (native, faster) vs hdb (pure JS, slower but no native deps)
• hdbuserstore scope: Keys are per-OS-user; CI/CD needs its own userstore setup
• SSL certificates: HANA Cloud uses DigiCert root CA; ensure it's in your trust store
• Time zone: HANA Cloud always runs in UTC; convert in queries with UTCTOLOCAL()