BASEnvSync

BASEnvSync (extension for SAP BAS / SAP Build Code)

Transfer configuration files from one BAS workspace to another BAS workspace. Image was created with AI.

About The Project

TL;DR: Exports and imports SAP Business Application Studio environment settings

If you're a developer working with SAP Business Application Studio ("BAS"), chances are you are using its terminal a lot. Having worked with Linux, OS X and macOS for decades, I developed a habit of tweaking the terminal shell to my taste. Carefully crafted, heavily customized Bash prompts displaying Git branch status, execution times, autocomplete, command history, custom aliases, etc:

> Imagine recreating prompts like this manually every time you create a new Dev Space...

If all this resonates with you, then this VSCode extension might just be for you as well.

Many years ago, when working in multiple SAP Business Application Studio developer spaces simultaneously, I had quite the struggle to make sure all my spaces more or less had the same developer experience / look and feel.

Not only terminal settings, but also global gitignore settings, git credentials, everything had to be set up again, which, as you probably have experienced yourself, was extremely time-consuming... Not to mention the "standard" BAS / VSCode settings, color scheme, keymaps, etc.

To mitigate that, I wrote a small shell script which allowed me to transfer these settings and configurations from one Dev Space to another, and in addition it transferred BAS' settings.json, keymap.json and an overview of any additional VSCode extensions you may have installed (see this deprecated repo).

However, one day that script failed to work properly. It turned out, after an update of the underlying platform of BAS -- Eclipse Theia -- it no longer stored the settings.json file directly on the file system anymore. Instead, it is now stored somewhere inside the user profile, and I was not able to easily access it anymore.

Luckily, BAS now lets you export / import your profile which contains all the user settings, and the installed extensions!

Nevertheless, I still needed to find a way to transfer other Dev Space settings, such as .bashrc, .bash_aliases, git settings, et al.

This VSCode extension lets you export your environment settings from one Dev Space, and lets you import those settings in another Dev Space.

How It Works

• First, you need to install the BASEnvSync VSCode extension.

• After installation, you have two new options in the BAS Command Palette:

  

• Because the exporting of the BAS profile (see next part) includes all the installed extensions, there is no need to reinstall the extension on the new Dev Space! Simply run the import and off you go!

The next part will outline how to export and import your profile and settings.

1) Exporting / importing BAS profile

Because this script does not export the BAS' settings.json file, you must export / import your BAS profile first:

From the source Dev Space:

• Click the "cogwheel" icon in the lower left, and select Profiles > Export Profile...
• Follow the steps to export your BAS profile, and save it to your local harddisk. Just make sure the BASEnvSync extension is included in the profile export 😎

From the target Dev Space:

• Drag the downloaded <profile-name>.code-profile file into the Explorer.
• Click the "cogwheel" icon in the lower left, and select Profiles > Import Profile...
• Follow the steps to import your BAS profile, and reload BAS

2) Exporting settings from source Dev Space

• Open the Command Palette, and execute Export BAS environment settings

• A file bas-env.zip will be created which you then download to your local hard disk.

  NB: If you run SAP BAS / SAP Build Code from a browser (as most of us would), you cannot save the file to your local hard disk directly. Choose a path inside your project folder to save the file. I would recommend choosing the root of your project folder. From there, right-click the bas-env.zip file from the Project Explorer and from the context menu, choose Download.to store the file locally.

  However, if you run SAP BAS / SAP Build Code inside VS Code via the Remote Development Extension, you will get the standard VS Code 'Save As' dialog which lets you save to your local harddisk directly.

  This ZIP file will contain -- if available in your Dev Space -- the following items:

  • ~/.bashrc
  • ~/.bash_aliases
  • ~/.profile
  • ~/.npmrc
  • ~/.gitignore
  • ~/.gitconfig
  • ~/.git-credentials
  • ~/.inputrc
  • ~/.scripts (folder)

  NB: In most cases, you will notice the ~/.scripts folder is skipped; I created that folder containing some shell scripts to enhance Bash (history, autocomplete, etc)

Importing settings to target Dev Space

• Open the Command Palette, and execute Import BAS environment settings

• After 1-2 seconds, a new tab will open which allows you to upload the bas-env.zip file (the file you have downloaded earlier) by clicking the Select ZIP file to Upload button:

  

• When the initial upload of the bas-env.zip file was successful, click the Transfer configuration to BAS button:

  

• After the settings have been loaded, open a new terminal and examine the applied changes.

Roadmap

• Proper error handling
• Instead of a hard-coded list of files and folders to export, provide possibility of making this more flexible (config file? commandline arguments?)

Known issues

See the open issues for a list of known issues (and proposed features).

If you have any suggestions of bugs, please let me know. I might even find the time to fix / implement 😎

Contributing

Contributions are what make the open source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

1. Fork the Project
2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Contact

Robin van het Hof - @qualiture