Appearance

GitHub Copilot in Eclipse: Installation, Setup, and Usage for ABAP Developers ​

This guide walks ABAP developers through installing, configuring, and using GitHub Copilot in Eclipse IDE with ABAP Development Tools (ADT).

Table of Contents ​

Purpose ​

This guide is designed for ABAP developers who are taking their first steps with AI-assisted development. It covers installation, authentication, and first usage of GitHub Copilot inside Eclipse.

By the end of this guide you will:

  • Have the GitHub Copilot plugin installed in Eclipse
  • Be signed in with your MSG GitHub account (Business or Enterprise)
  • Know how to open Copilot Chat and use Ask mode to explore ABAP code

Audience ​

ABAP developers who want to start using GitHub Copilot in their daily workflow. This guide assumes you are comfortable writing ABAP code and navigating Eclipse/ADT — no prior experience with GitHub Copilot or AI assistants is needed.

Prerequisites ​

Install GitHub Copilot Plugin ​

  1. Open Eclipse → Help → Eclipse Marketplace
  2. Search for "GitHub Copilot"
  3. Click Install on the official GitHub Copilot plugin

Eclipse Marketplace

GitHub Copilot Plugin Install

After installation, restart Eclipse when prompted.

Sign In ​

Once the plugin is installed, a new Copilot menu item appears in Eclipse.

  1. Go to Copilot → Sign in to GitHub
  2. A popup appears with a one-time device code — click Copy Code and Open
  3. A browser window opens to GitHub login. The code is in your clipboard.

Sign In Popup

Device Code

GitHub Login

Select the GitHub account linked to your Copilot license:

License VersionAccount SuffixNotes
Business (standalone)Firstname-Lastname_msgcpRequires initial SSO login (see below)
EnterpriseFirstname-Lastname_msggroupMore premium request tokens per month (1000 vs 300)

Switching between Copilot variants

For Business version users: You must log in at least once via the SSO link before the *_msgcp account becomes visible.

  1. Paste the device code (Ctrl+V) in the GitHub dialog
  2. Authorize the GitHub Copilot plugin

Device Code Entry

Authorization

First Steps: Using Copilot Chat ​

TIP

In Eclipse with ADT, the file currently open in the editor is added to Copilot Chat automatically. If you need context from multiple files, attach them manually at the start of the conversation using the attach button in the chat panel.

Ask Mode — "Explain this code" ​

Goal: Learn to use Ask mode to understand existing code.

Steps:

  1. Open Copilot Chat via Copilot → Open Chat
  2. Open a Z* class in ADT — double-click from the Project Explorer, or use Ctrl+Shift+A to search by object name. The opened file is automatically added to the chat context.

Search Class

  1. You can enrich the context by opening additional ABAP objects in the editor (e.g. related classes, interfaces, or data dictionary objects). Once open, they can be attached via the attach button in the chat panel — useful when Copilot needs to understand dependencies or cross-class relationships.

Add Class to context

  1. In the chat, select Ask mode and choose your preferred model. See the configuration guide for available models and recommendations.
  2. In the chat input, type /Explain followed by your prompt, then send.

Prompt to use:

Explain this ABAP class to me as if I'm new to the project.

- What is its responsibility?
- Which public methods are the entry points and what do they do?
- What SAP APIs or standard classes does it use?
- Are there any patterns or conventions I should follow when extending it?
  1. (Optional) If you only need to understand a specific method rather than the whole class, replace the prompt in step 5 with: /Explain the <method_name> method Copilot will scope its explanation to that method only.

Prompt Best Practices ​

For more detailed guidance on prompting and advanced Copilot features, see the Copilot Configuration Guide.

Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Copyright © MSG Systems Romania AI Labs