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CTS transport workflow

Goal​

Take a change from "I want to start working" all the way to "a released transport request is sitting in the import queue". This guide shows the canonical path using adt cts plus the object-level commands that implicitly attach objects to the transport.

Prerequisites​

Steps​

1. Create a transport​

adt cts tr create -d "Customer entity — initial" --no-interactive

Expected output:

Created transport DEVK900001 — "Customer entity — initial" (type K, target LOCAL)

Grab the ID and keep it in an env var to keep commands short:

export TR=DEVK900001

--no-interactive requires -d; drop it to let adt prompt you. Pass --type W for customising requests or --target <SID> to route at creation.

2. Attach objects by using -t on write operations​

Every write / create / delete subcommand takes -t/--transport. Each call creates a task under $TR (or appends to an existing task you own) and records the object in it:

adt class create ZCL_CUSTOMER "Customer service" ZMYPKG -t $TR
adt class write  ZCL_CUSTOMER zcl_customer.clas.abap -t $TR --activate

adt ddl create ZI_CUSTOMER "Customer view" ZMYPKG -t $TR
adt ddl write  ZI_CUSTOMER zi_customer.ddls.asddls -t $TR --activate

3. Inspect what's in the transport​

adt cts tr get $TR --objects

This shows the header, tasks, and every object locked into the request. Use --json for scripts.

4. Run checks before release​

Release fails if any object is syntactically broken or unactivated. Pre-flight with:

adt check -t $TR             # syntax check all objects in transport
adt aunit -t $TR             # run unit tests of objects in transport

See AUnit with coverage for report formats.

5. Release​

adt cts tr release $TR --release-all -y

--release-all releases every task first, then the transport itself. -y skips the confirmation.

Expected output:

Releasing task DEVK900002 ... done
Releasing task DEVK900003 ... done
Releasing transport DEVK900001 ... done

6. Hand off / deploy​

On the target system, import the released request as files (useful for archive or gCTS staging):

adt import transport $TR ./release --format abapgit

or, more commonly, it flows through the normal STMS import queue — no CLI needed on the target system.

Troubleshooting​

ErrorCauseFix
TK430: Not possible to create transport (no target system)Package not assigned to a transport layerUse ZMYPKG with proper layer, or pass --target <SID> explicitly
TK135: Transport is already releasedAlready released; can't add more objectsCreate a new transport (step 1)
Object locked by PPLENKOV in another transportObject sitting in a different requestRelease or delete the other transport, or adt unlock <uri>
Release-failed: syntax errorsStep 4 not runRun adt check -t $TR, fix, activate, retry release

Role separation​

In regulated environments developers create + attach, a release manager releases. The CLI split:

RoleCommands
Developeradt cts tr create, adt class/ddl/... write -t $TR, adt check, adt aunit
Release manageradt cts tr get $TR --objects, adt cts tr release $TR
Deploymentadt import transport $TR (or STMS)

Grant the release manager only the S_TRANSPRT ACTVT=43 (release) authorisation.

See also​