Question Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow in Technology Q&A

ADT Code Completion is Slow

cafeteria_fraiche — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:06:12 GMT

Hello all,

I just started working with Eclipse + ADT and noticed that the code completion is really quite slow. It takes ~ 300ms for the next keyword to show up.

Coming from SE38 this is a HUGE step down, performance-wise and also with regards to the user experience, since in SE38 the next keyword was suggested instantly.

With Eclipse I program twice as slow now, compared to SE38 simply because of the massive wait times I have to endure and because I have gotten used to the snappy-ness of SE38 causing me to press tab before the code-completion pop up had a chance to show up.

Since I can only barely type 'field-symbol' in the time it would otherwise take for the suggestion to pop up, I wonder, is there a quick fix (pun intended) for this, to reduce the pop up times?

I realize, Eclipse does provide this funtionallity, but only for languages such as C++ or Java.

Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow

RaquelSouza96 — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 06:41:15 GMT

Good Nigth
My Name is Raquel Souza
I'm from Brazil

Yes, this is a common issue in Eclipse with ADT (ABAP Development Tools). SE38 is much faster because it is a native SAP GUI tool, while Eclipse processes more information and depends on specific settings.

Here are some solutions to improve code completion performance in Eclipse with ADT: ### 1.
Adjust Auto Complete Display Time Eclipse allows you to configure the code completion activation time.
To adjust this:
1. Go to Window > Preferences.
2. Navigate to Abap Development > Editors > Source Code Editors > Code Completion.
3. Adjust the Completion Delay to a lower value, such as 50 ms.
4. Uncheck unnecessary options that may be hogging the resource.
### 2. Increase Eclipse Memory If Eclipse is running low on memory,
it may affect performance.
To increase memory:
1. Open the `eclipse.ini` file in the Eclipse installation folder.
2. Modify or add these lines: ``` -Xms512m -Xmx2048m ``` This will increase the memory allocation and may improve performance.

Good luck !

I hope I

GenAI was used to help generate this content.

Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow

cafeteria_fraiche — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:49:00 GMT

AI slop.

Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow

Hyuk_Oh — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:46:11 GMT

Wrong Answer. AI generated answers should be banned.

Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow

Sandra_Rossi — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 06:45:25 GMT

@Hyuk_Oh GenAI is not banned if you mention it, as it's the case here "GenAI was used to help generate this content." (it would be good to see it clearly, at the top of the answer for instance). For more information, see https://community.sap.com/t5/help/faqpage/title/qa_answer.

Re: ADT Code Completion is Slow

cafeteria_fraiche — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 09:06:13 GMT

@Hyuk_Ohif you are looking for the right answer.
My second post
https://community.sap.com/t5/technology-q-a/adt-code-completion-is-still-slow/qaq-p/14326598
received a comment by @uenal stating that the reason eclipse code completion is slow is because eclipse is bloated and that they are not planning to do anything about it.