TutorialTutorialA step-by-step walkthrough. The steps are the part that ages.See every one →SAP Developer Center
Set up a self-contained development environment for CAP Node.js
A CAP development environment that carries its own dependencies, so the machine it runs on stops being part of the setup.
Where it sits
Explains
Local developmentCAPLocal developmentRunning the whole stack on a laptop against real bindings — the service, the UI and the routing in front of it — without deploying to see a change.
Who is behind it
SAPauthor
Properties
About this work
Published on
For local-development
Applies in
Group by29 of 29 pieces
Piece, what it offersStill applies
Fullstack CAP Application with HANA Cloud (Decoupled Architecture) [Part-1]Fullstack CAP Application with HANA Cloud (Decoupled Architecture) [Part-1]The first of six, and it does the thing the later parts depend on: build the Incident Management application against SQLite on a laptop, with no cloud database in sight. The series is called decoupled because the front end and the back end are deployed separately, and this part is entirely the back end.sanjucs, published 2026-05-06
Fullstack CAP Application with HANA Cloud (Decoupled Architecture) [Part-1]
Database connectors changed in @sap/cds 10.1.0, 2026-09-07. Affects A recipe, Runnable code.
Establishing connectivity between a local CAP runtime and on-premise systemsEstablishing connectivity between a local CAP runtime and on-premise systemsReaching S/4HANA, an on-premise HANA or any HTTP service from a CAP process running on your laptop — the case where the connectivity proxy the platform provides is not there and the tunnel has to be arranged.vLeonkev, published 2025-10-15
Creating a Hybrid CAP (Node.js) Profile with PostgreSQL on BTP from Business Application StudioCreating a Hybrid CAP (Node.js) Profile with PostgreSQL on BTP from Business Application StudioHybrid testing is documented for HANA; this is the same profile against a PostgreSQL instance on BTP, driven from a BAS dev space rather than a laptop. Proposed under editor support because of where it runs, but the subject is the binding: what cds bind writes, and what has to be true of the service instance and the tunnel for a local process to reach it.valentincadart, published 2025-10-02
Creating a Hybrid CAP (Node.js) Profile with PostgreSQL on BTP from Business Application Studio
Database connectors changed in @sap/cds 10.1.0, 2026-09-07. Affects Runnable code.
CAP with Local App Previews – Tips for Smooth DevelopmentCAP with Local App Previews – Tips for Smooth DevelopmentUI5's virtual endpoints remove the sandbox files a local preview used to need, and this is what that means for a CAP project specifically. Tips from trying it rather than an announcement of it.MioYasutake, published 2025-08-16
How to Call a Remote OData API from Your Local CAP Java ProjectHow to Call a Remote OData API from Your Local CAP Java ProjectThe Business Accelerator Hub sandbox called from a CAP Java project on a laptop, with a concrete finish line — a localhost URL that returns business partners. Everything needed to get there is listed, Maven and JDK versions included.Umezuki, published 2025-08-11
How to fix npm error notarget @sap/hdi-deploy when you create a CAP app in BASHow to fix npm error notarget @sap/hdi-deploy when you create a CAP app in BASA specific npm failure when creating a CAP app from a template, and the post now opens with its own July 2025 update saying the version has been published so this instance is gone. It stays useful because the cause — a dependency pointing at a version nobody published yet — recurs, and the unblocking steps are general.Ryota_Ito, published 2025-07-28
Remote Debugging of SAP CAPM App - NodejsRemote Debugging of SAP CAPM App - NodejsDebugging a CAP Node.js application that is not on your machine, built up from cds init and a custom action so there is something to breakpoint. The part people need is at the end; the beginning is there so the end is reproducible.darshanv23, published 2025-06-05
SAP CAP Lessons Learned: SQLite is single threaded, HANA is notSAP CAP Lessons Learned: SQLite is single threaded, HANA is notA page long, and one of the more useful pages here: the local database serialises what the deployed one runs in parallel, so concurrency bugs are invisible until they are not. Filed by the author as something the tutorials do not make clear.LucasMagriniRigo, published 2025-01-22
CAP for nodejs安全的暴露接口练习CAP for nodejs安全的暴露接口练习Starting from the risk-management sample, the walkthrough adds an open ExternalAPI service beside the existing RiskService, then moves every security annotation into a separate service-auth.cds file: @requires: authenticated-user on one entity, role-scoped @restrict grants for RiskViewer and RiskManager on another. It tests the unprotected action locally with cds watch, calling it from Postman with the session cookie read out of SAP Business Application Studio's preview tab. It then deploys to BTP and reads Risks with a client-credentials OAuth token fetched from a service key of the cpapp-auth instance, after changing that entity's READ grant from RiskViewer to authenticated-user, which the post, citing capire's CDS-based Authorization page, describes as a grant for a technical user integrating systems rather than for access from a front end.ArthurYang, published 2024-12-10
XSUAA Local TestingXSUAA Local TestingAdding XSUAA to a CAP project two ways, and then the part that is usually missing: getting the authorisation to behave on a laptop rather than only after deployment. The default authentication mechanism is the easy half; testing it without a landscape is the reason this exists.ManasaManu, published 2024-10-17
XSUAA Local Testing
Authorization has changed twice since this was published, most recently in CAP Java 3.7.1, 2025-01-30. Affects A recipe, Runnable code.
Avoid design time CAP server restarts when maintaining local data filesAvoid design time CAP server restarts when maintaining local data filescds watch restarting on every file change is the feature; this is the case where it is not. Editing a CSV seed file mid-edit restarts the server against half-finished data, and the post is about suppressing that without giving up the watch loop. A small friction most people work around silently rather than fix.published 2024-04-26
Avoid design time CAP server restarts when maintaining local data files
Local development changed in @sap/cds-dk 7.9.1, 2024-05-02. Affects Runnable code.
Develop CAP Project with Lazyvim in DockerDevelop CAP Project with Lazyvim in DockerA Docker image running Lazyvim with language server support for CDS, TypeScript and JSON, so a CAP project can be developed with an editing experience comparable to VS Code without leaving the keyboard. Narrow by intent, and the useful general point underneath it is that CAP's editor support reaches anything that speaks LSP.published 2024-03-28
cds-launchpad-plugin supercharged & ready for the future - CAP Plugin, UI5 Tooling support & Async Launchpadcds-launchpad-plugin supercharged & ready for the future - CAP Plugin, UI5 Tooling support & Async LaunchpadThe maintainer on a set of changes rather than on the plugin's original purpose, which is indexing every SAPUI5 project in a workspace into one sandbox launchpad so all of them can be tested together. What moved: it became a CAP plugin, gained UI5 Tooling support, and moved to the async launchpad — each framed as keeping pace with where SAPUI5 itself is going rather than as a feature.published 2023-12-11
CAP PostgreSql setup local debugging using Docker - Part 2CAP PostgreSql setup local debugging using Docker - Part 2PostgreSQL in a container so the local loop matches the deployed one — the thing SQLite quietly stops you doing. Short, and it assumes the project from part one already runs.ramonlee5, published 2023-11-22
CAP PostgreSql setup local debugging using Docker - Part 2
Database connectors has changed twice since this was published, most recently in @sap/cds 10.1.0, 2026-09-07. Affects A recipe.
SAP Tech Bytes: Using the SAP Approuter at dev time - a full-stack journey with UI5 and CAPSAP Tech Bytes: Using the SAP Approuter at dev time - a full-stack journey with UI5 and CAPGetting UI5 Tooling and the CAP server onto one port under one command, using cds-plugin-ui5 — which the post presents as the thing that removes the proxy and destination configuration a full-stack dev setup otherwise needs. Part one of a journey that goes on to put the approuter in front at development time.published 2023-10-13
SAP Tech Bytes: Using the SAP Approuter at dev time - a full-stack journey with UI5 and CAP
cds-plugin-ui5 has been through 11 major lines since this was published, most recently 0.15 (2025-11), 0.16 (2025-12), 0.17 (2026-03). Affects Runnable code.
CAP Typescript + Fiori Typescript + live reload Initial app setupCAP Typescript + Fiori Typescript + live reload Initial app setupA full-stack TypeScript starting point recorded as it was arrived at — the terminal commands and the configuration files, in order, for the CAP side, the conversion to TypeScript, and then the Fiori side. The author is explicit that it takes a while to go through, which is the honest framing for a setup that has this many steps.Christophe_SW, published 2023-06-18
CAP Typescript + Fiori Typescript + live reload Initial app setup
TypeScript patterns changed in @cap-js/cds-typer 0.5.0, 2023-07-25. Affects Runnable code.
Surviving and Thriving with the SAP Cloud Application Programming Model: Local development hurdlesSurviving and Thriving with the SAP Cloud Application Programming Model: Local development hurdlesThree hurdles in running a CAP application locally: services mocked with cds run --with-mocks return no data across OData associations until the ON clause is hand-written into the imported CDS, an on-premise API reached through the SAP Cloud Connector times out because its proxy is part of destinations and connectivity and reachable only from inside SAP BTP, and a Fiori frontend served from the HTML5 Application Repository needs the HTML5 Repo Mock to reach a local backend at all. It closes with the launch configurations the author uses for debugging cds watch locally and attaching to a running Cloud Foundry instance.maxstreifeneder, published 2023-02-02
BTP CAP : How to Connect to Remote Services Locally in CAP ApplicationBTP CAP : How to Connect to Remote Services Locally in CAP ApplicationThe same problem four years earlier: a CAP application that consumes a remote service, running locally against the real thing rather than against a mock.showkath_naseem, published 2022-12-12
加速开发和部署的CAP CDS和Fiori一些实用命令加速开发和部署的CAP CDS和Fiori一些实用命令In Chinese. A command reference rather than a walkthrough — cds import, cds compile, cds deploy --to sqlite, cds add hana, cds add xsuaa — grouped by what they are for. The kind of page that is more useful than a tutorial once you already know what you are doing.TiaXu, published 2022-10-21
加速开发和部署的CAP CDS和Fiori一些实用命令
Generators has changed twice since this was published, most recently in @sap/cds-dk 10.0.3, 2026-07-02. Affects A recipe, Runnable code.
A Fiori Launchpad Sandbox for all your CAP-based projects - OverviewA Fiori Launchpad Sandbox for all your CAP-based projects - OverviewWhere cds-launchpad-plugin came from, told as a learning exercise: the author wanted a real problem to teach himself TypeScript on, and picked the thing he kept redoing in every CAP project — a launchpad to see all the UI applications in one place. The origin post for an entry whose 2023 update is also indexed here.published 2022-03-14
A Fiori Launchpad Sandbox for all your CAP-based projects – Sample project setupA Fiori Launchpad Sandbox for all your CAP-based projects – Sample project setupThe hands-on half published the same day as the overview: the launchpad module wired into the CAP sample repository, step by step from a global cds-dk install. Same-day pairs like this are worth keeping together — the overview argues, this one is the thing you follow.published 2022-03-14
Use Tasks in Visual Studio Code to start a cds service, an approuter and launch a browser in one goUse Tasks in Visual Studio Code to start a cds service, an approuter and launch a browser in one gocds watch serves the service and the app folder but not the approuter, so anything needing a JWT means a second terminal started by hand. This replaces that with a VS Code task definition — the tasks.json is in the post — so the whole local stack comes up on one command.pieterjanssens, published 2021-04-09
Use Tasks in Visual Studio Code to start a cds service, an approuter and launch a browser in one go
Local development has changed twice since this was published, most recently in @sap/cds-dk 7.9.1, 2024-05-02. Affects Runnable code.
SAP Cloud Application Programming Model（CAP）：概要およびデモ - Part 1SAP Cloud Application Programming Model（CAP）：概要およびデモ - Part 1Introduces SAP Cloud Application Programming Model as an open, opinionated framework that shoulders OData plumbing and database-specific code so a domain is modelled once in CDS, then builds a small bookshop project to show it: @sap/cds-dk's cds init scaffolds the project, cds watch serves it locally with live reload against an in-memory SQLite database, and a CatalogService projects a CDS domain model seeded from CSV files. The result is read as an OData service in the browser and exercised further through a Postman collection, with the optional @sap/vscode-cds extension noted for CDS syntax highlighting and completion in VS Code.rasai, published 2020-12-31
Running CAP Node Applications in SAP Business Application StudioRunning CAP Node Applications in SAP Business Application StudioThe Run Configurations tool, which is where binding and mocking live in BAS rather than in a terminal. Three things it does: several named configurations per application in a tree, dependencies bound to real service instances, and OData dependencies mocked. The author notes the configurations are standard launch entries underneath, which is the detail that lets you leave the tool behind if you want to.liat_b, published 2020-10-22
Use SCP CF Destination service in NodeJs locallyUse SCP CF Destination service in NodeJs locallyReading a destination from a laptop, where the environment variable the destination service normally provides does not exist. A small gap with a real cost, since the alternative is deploying to test every change to a remote call.WouterLemaire, published 2020-05-28
Use SCP CF Destination service in NodeJs locally
Destinations changed in @sap-cloud-sdk/connectivity 4.0.0, 2025-03-04. Affects Runnable code.
Develop SAP CAP apps inside a VS Code Docker ContainerDevelop SAP CAP apps inside a VS Code Docker ContainerA VS Code dev container configuration with everything a CAP project needs already in it, published as a repository rather than as instructions. The 2020 half of a pair whose other half, four years later, does the same for Lazyvim — the same author solving the same problem twice as his editor changed.published 2020-02-20
Develop SAP CAP apps inside a VS Code Docker Container
Local development has changed twice since this was published, most recently in @sap/cds-dk 7.9.1, 2024-05-02. Affects Runnable code.
Set up VS Code on Chrome OS for local Application Programming Model developmentSet up VS Code on Chrome OS for local Application Programming Model developmentA CAP development environment on a Chromebook, written from preference rather than constraint — the author sets out why Chrome OS is his primary machine before showing the setup. Carries its own updates section noting what has changed since, which for a 2018 post about an operating system is most of it. The interest now is that local CAP development was portable this early.published 2018-10-16
Set up VS Code on Chrome OS for local Application Programming Model development
Local development has changed twice since this was published, most recently in @sap/cds-dk 7.9.1, 2024-05-02. Affects Runnable code.
Create a Simple CAP Application and Explore the DefaultsCreate a Simple CAP Application and Explore the DefaultsThe shortest way in: a project from the wizard, then a look at what CAP assumed on your behalf. The defaults are the subject rather than the application — which is the right first lesson in a framework whose whole argument is convention over configuration.SAP
Get an introduction to the cds REPLGet an introduction to the cds REPLcds repl as a way to ask the running model questions directly, which is the fastest route from a suspicion about a query to knowing.SAP
Details
Graph
Local developmentcapability, core and community
SAP Developer Centerpublishing source
SAP Developer Centergraphql
Source
Type
tutorial
Published on
Host
developers.sap.com
Discovered via
First seen
History
- explains → applies_to on capability:local-development (cap)Door scope proposed from the title and summary, so a door page lists the piece only where it holds (docs/concepts/content-on-doors.md).
- Entered the atlasDiscovered via SAP Developer Center · graphql.
For your agent
- Ref
content:sap-tutorial-cap-self-contained-dev-env- JSON
- /content/sap-tutorial-cap-self-contained-dev-env.json
- MCP
- Connecting an agent