Formats ABAP Managed Database Procedure (AMDP / SQLScript) source code by using the AMDP Pretty Printer core engine (Java)

extension in action

Requirements

Requirement	Details
VS Code	1.85.0 or newer
Java	21 or newer on your `PATH` (or configure the path manually – see Settings)

Features

Document formatter – registered for all file types; use VS Code's built-in Format Document action (Shift+Alt+F on Windows/Linux, ⇧⌥F on macOS).
Explicit command – Format with the AMDP Pretty Printer available via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).
Keyboard shortcut – Ctrl+Alt+Shift+0 triggers formatting in any focused editor.
Configurable line-break rule – control exactly when line breaks are inserted after commas (see Settings).
Bundled JAR – a ready-to-use fat-JAR is included in the extension; no separate installation step is required.

Usage

Open any AMDP / SQLScript file.
Format it using one of the following methods:
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+0.
- Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Format with the AMDP Pretty Printer.
- Use VS Code's standard Format Document command (Shift+Alt+F). If multiple formatters are installed, VS Code will ask you to select one – choose AMDP Pretty Printer.

Settings

All settings are under the amdp-pretty-printer namespace and can be configured in your settings.json or via File → Preferences → Settings.

`amdp-pretty-printer.lbRule`

Controls when a line break is inserted after a comma.

Value	Behaviour
`0`	Always insert a line break after a comma
`1`	Never insert a line break after a comma
`2`	Depends on the closing bracket
`3`	Depends on the closing bracket and sub-functions
`4` (default)	Depends on the closing bracket, sub-functions, and keywords

Type: number · Default: 4

`amdp-pretty-printer.javaPath`

Path to the Java 21+ executable used to run the formatter JAR.
Set this if java is not on your system PATH or if you want to use a specific JRE/JDK installation.

You must escape the '' with '\'

Type: string · Default: "java"

Example:

"amdp-pretty-printer.javaPath": "C:\\Program Files\\Java\\jdk-21\\bin\\java.exe"

You can also use the JRE that is shipped with Eclipse. Just search in the Eclipse plugins folder for the java.exe.

The path depends on your Eclipse version.

Example:

"amdp-pretty-printer.javaPath": "C:\\eclipse\\plugins\\org.eclipse.justj.openjdk.hotspot.jre.full.win32.x86_64_21.0.10.v20260205-0638\\jre\\bin\\java.exe"

`amdp-pretty-printer.trace`

Passes the --trace flag to the formatter process, which causes it to write additional diagnostic output to stderr. Useful for debugging unexpected formatting results.

Type: boolean · Default: false

How It Works

The extension spawns the AMDP Pretty Printer fat-JAR as a child process and communicates with it via stdin / stdout:

The full document text is written to the process's stdin.
The formatted text is read back from stdout.
If the output differs from the input, VS Code's text-editing API replaces the entire document content.

The process is given a 30-second timeout. If the JAR does not respond within that window the child process is killed and an error message is shown.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Failed to start Java process" / ENOENT	Java is not on your `PATH`. Set `amdp-pretty-printer.javaPath` to the full path of your `java` executable.
"Timed out after 30 s"	The input is unusually large or Java startup is slow. Enable `amdp-pretty-printer.trace` and check the output for hints.
Formatter is not triggered by `Shift+Alt+F`	VS Code may be using a different default formatter. Open the Command Palette and run Format Document With…, then select AMDP Pretty Printer.