sap-sac-custom-widget

name: sap-sac-custom-widget description: "SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) Custom Widget development. Use when building custom visualizations, extending SAC with Web Components, or creating Widget Add-Ons. Covers JSON metadata, JavaScript Web Components, lifecycle functions, data binding with feeds, styling/builder panels, property/event/method definitions, third-party library integration, hosting, security, performance, and debugging. Includes Widget Add-On feature (QRC Q4 2023+) and templates for widgets, charts, and KPI cards."

license: GPL-3.0 metadata: maintainer: "Eduard Jiglau" maintainer_email: "hello@sap-ai-skills.com" website: "https://sap-ai-skills.com" version: "2.3.2" last_verified: 2026-06-12 sac_version: "2026.8" errors_prevented: 25+ official_docs: - "https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_ANALYTICS_CLOUD/0ac8c6754ff84605a4372468d002f2bf/75311f67527c41638ceb89af9cd8af3e.html" - "https://help.sap.com/doc/c813a28922b54e50bd2a307b099787dc/release/en-US/CustomWidgetDevGuide_en.pdf" samples_repo: "https://github.com/SAP-samples/analytics-cloud-datasphere-community-content/tree/main/SAC_Custom_Widgets" keywords: [sap analytics cloud, sac custom widget, web component sac, json metadata widget, widget lifecycle functions, onCustomWidgetBeforeUpdate, onCustomWidgetAfterUpdate, onCustomWidgetResize, onCustomWidgetDestroy, sac data binding, dataBindings feeds, styling panel widget, builder panel widget, sac echarts integration, sac d3js integration, third party library sac, widget hosting sac, integrity hash widget, sha256 integrity, widget security cors, sac widget debugging, sac analytics designer widget, optimized story experience widget, sac widget api, widget add-on, sac script api widget, shadow dom web component, sac tooltip customization, plot area addon] allowed-tools:

• Read
• Bash
• WebFetch

SAP Analytics Cloud Custom Widget Development

Related Skills

• sap-sac-scripting: Use when custom widgets interact with SAC scripting, widgets, or story/application APIs
• sap-sac-planning: Use when widgets participate in planning workflows or planning table interactions
• sapui5: Use for Web Component/UI5 frontend implementation patterns and browser-side quality
• sap-dependency-security: Use when adding third-party charting or build dependencies to widget projects

Table of Contents

• Overview
• AI-Assisted Generation
• Browser Design Runtime
• CSS and Styling Compliance
• Plugin Components
• Quick Start
• Community Sample Widgets
• Key Concepts
• Common Errors & Solutions
• Bundled Resources

Overview

This skill enables development of custom widgets for SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC). Custom widgets are Web Components that extend SAC stories and applications with custom visualizations, interactive elements, and specialized functionality.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Building custom visualizations not available in standard SAC
• Generating prompt-driven widget ideas, branded widget packages, or composite-ready widget designs
• Integrating third-party charting libraries (ECharts, D3.js, Chart.js)
• Creating interactive input components for SAC applications
• Implementing specialized data displays or KPI widgets
• Extending Analytics Designer applications with custom functionality
• Troubleshooting custom widget loading or data binding issues

Requirements:

• SAC tenant with Optimized Story Experience or Analytics Designer
• JavaScript/Web Components knowledge
• External hosting (GitHub Pages, AWS S3, Azure) OR SAC-hosted resources (QRC Q2 2023+)

AI-Assisted Generation

For prompt-driven widget creation, first suggest 2-3 data-aware widget options, then generate the selected complete package. Keep AI-generated code SAC-compatible, preserve data-binding order, and validate/repair before import. See references/ai-assisted-composite-generation.md for output contracts, RAG context patterns, brand styling, and composite caveats.

Browser Design Runtime

Generated widget packages should include templates/design-runtime/ as a no-build, file-first browser preview scaffold. Use it to mock custom-widget essentials outside SAP, adjust properties/design tokens/sample data/viewports, compare multiple widgets, and export an agent iteration payload. See references/browser-design-runtime.md for runtime boundaries and configuration/export contracts.

CSS and Styling Compliance

Style custom widgets inside their Web Component/Shadow DOM boundary. Do not rely on SAC optimized story theme CSS, SAP shell selectors, or global story CSS to style widget internals. For generated packages, confirm the hosting mode before splitting CSS/HTML into separate files, because SAC ZIP upload packages support component JavaScript and PNG/JPG icons only. See references/css-and-styling-compliance.md for SAP Help-backed allowed/restricted styling rules.

Plugin Components

This plugin provides specialized agents, commands, and validation hooks for comprehensive widget development support.

Agents

Commands

Validation Hooks

Automatic quality checks triggered on Write/Edit operations:

• widget.json: Required fields, tag naming, property types, data binding config
• widget.js: Lifecycle functions, Shadow DOM, propertiesChanged dispatch
• Performance: Resize debouncing, chart disposal, XSS prevention
• Context Reminders: Template suggestions, command recommendations

Templates

Ready-to-use scaffolds in templates/ directory:

• basic-widget.js - Minimal Web Component with all lifecycle functions
• data-bound-chart.js - ECharts widget with data binding
• styling-panel.js - Runtime customization panel
• design-runtime/ - Browser preview and design iteration runtime
• widget.json-minimal - Bare-minimum metadata
• widget.json-complete - Full-featured metadata with all options

Quick Start

Minimal Custom Widget Structure

A custom widget requires two files:

1. widget.json (Metadata)

{
  "id": "com.company.mywidget",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "name": "My Custom Widget",
  "description": "A simple custom widget",
  "vendor": "Company Name",
  "license": "MIT",
  "icon": "",
  "webcomponents": [
    {
      "kind": "main",
      "tag": "my-custom-widget",
      "url": "https://your-host.com/widget.js",
      "integrity": "",
      "ignoreIntegrity": true
    }
  ],
  "properties": {
    "title": {
      "type": "string",
      "default": "My Widget"
    }
  },
  "methods": {},
  "events": {}
}

2. widget.js (Web Component)

(function() {
  const template = document.createElement("template");
  template.innerHTML = `
    <style>
      :host {
        display: block;
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
      }
      .container {
        padding: 16px;
        font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
      }
    </style>
    <div class="container">
      <h3 id="title">My Widget</h3>
      <div id="content"></div>
    </div>
  `;

  class MyCustomWidget extends HTMLElement {
    constructor() {
      super();
      this._shadowRoot = this.attachShadow({ mode: "open" });
      this._shadowRoot.appendChild(template.content.cloneNode(true));
      this._props = {};
    }

    connectedCallback() {
      // Called when element is added to DOM
    }

    onCustomWidgetBeforeUpdate(changedProperties) {
      // Called BEFORE properties are updated
      this._props = { ...this._props, ...changedProperties };
    }

    onCustomWidgetAfterUpdate(changedProperties) {
      // Called AFTER properties are updated - render here
      if (changedProperties.title !== undefined) {
        this._shadowRoot.getElementById("title").textContent = changedProperties.title;
      }
    }

    onCustomWidgetResize() {
      // Called when widget is resized
    }

    onCustomWidgetDestroy() {
      // Cleanup when widget is removed
    }

    // Property getter/setter (required for SAC framework)
    get title() {
      return this._props.title;
    }
    set title(value) {
      this._props.title = value;
      this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("propertiesChanged", {
        detail: { properties: { title: value } }
      }));
    }
  }

  customElements.define("my-custom-widget", MyCustomWidget);
})();

⚠️ Production Note: The ignoreIntegrity: true setting above is development only. For production deployments, generate a SHA256 integrity hash and set ignoreIntegrity: false.

Community Sample Widgets

SAP provides 15+ ready-to-use custom widget samples:

Repository: SAP-samples/SAC_Custom_Widgets

Requirements: Optimized View Mode (OVM) enabled, data binding support

Note: Check third-party library licenses before production use.

Key Concepts

Lifecycle Functions

Essential functions called by SAC framework:

• onCustomWidgetBeforeUpdate(changedProperties) - Pre-update hook
• onCustomWidgetAfterUpdate(changedProperties) - Post-update (render here)
• onCustomWidgetResize() - Handle resize events
• onCustomWidgetDestroy() - Cleanup resources

Data Binding

Configure in widget.json to receive SAC model data:

{
  "dataBindings": {
    "myDataBinding": {
      "feeds": [
        {
          "id": "dimensions",
          "description": "Dimensions",
          "type": "dimension"
        },
        {
          "id": "measures",
          "description": "Measures",
          "type": "mainStructureMember"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Access data in JavaScript:

// Get data binding
const dataBinding = this.dataBindings.getDataBinding("myDataBinding");

// Access result set
const data = this.myDataBinding.data;
const metadata = this.myDataBinding.metadata;

// Iterate over rows
for (let i = 0; i < this.myDataBinding.data.length; i++) {
  const row = this.myDataBinding.data[i];
  const dimensionValue = row.dimensions_0 ? row.dimensions_0.label : "";
  const measureValue = row.measures_0 ? row.measures_0.raw : 0;
}

Hosting Options

1. SAC-Hosted (Recommended, QRC Q2 2023+)

• Upload files directly to SAC > Files > Public Files
• Use SAC/browser URL paths with / separators, for example "/Public/widget.js" or "widget.js"; do not use local Windows backslashes in manifest URLs
• Set "integrity": "" and "ignoreIntegrity": true

2. GitHub Pages

• Create repository with widget files
• Enable GitHub Pages in Settings
• Use URL: https://username.github.io/repo/widget.js

3. External Web Server

• AWS S3, Azure Blob, or any HTTPS server
• Must include CORS headers: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *

Security: Integrity Hash

For production, generate a SHA256 integrity value with Node.js for Windows/macOS/Linux:

# Generate integrity hash for widget.js
node -e "const fs=require('node:fs');const crypto=require('node:crypto');const file=process.argv[1]||'widget.js';console.log('sha256-'+crypto.createHash('sha256').update(fs.readFileSync(file)).digest('base64'));" widget.js

# Update JSON
"integrity": "sha256-abc123...",
"ignoreIntegrity": false

On macOS/Linux or Git Bash, OpenSSL is also acceptable; prefix the output with sha256- before adding it to the manifest:

openssl dgst -sha256 -binary widget.js | openssl base64 -A

Common Errors & Solutions

Debugging

Browser DevTools

1. Open Chrome DevTools (F12)
2. Sources tab: Find widget.js, set breakpoints
3. Console tab: View console.log output
4. Network tab: Check if files load (200 status)

Debug Pattern

onCustomWidgetAfterUpdate(changedProperties) {
  console.log("Widget updated:", changedProperties);
  console.log("Current props:", this._props);
  console.log("Data binding:", this.myDataBinding && this.myDataBinding.data);
  this._render();
}

Widget Add-Ons (QRC Q4 2023+)

Widget Add-Ons extend built-in SAC widgets without building from scratch.

Use Cases:

• Customize chart tooltips
• Add visual elements to plot areas
• Override built-in styling

Supported Charts: Bar/Column, Stacked Bar/Column, Line, Stacked Area, Numeric Point

Key Differences:

• Only main and builder components (no styling)
• Must specify extension target (tooltip, plotArea, numericPoint)
• SAC provides chart context data via methods

See references/widget-addon-guide.md for complete implementation.

Bundled Resources

Templates (Ready-to-Use Code)

• templates/basic-widget.js - Minimal Web Component scaffold (~60 lines)
• templates/data-bound-chart.js - ECharts widget with SAC data binding (~120 lines)
• templates/styling-panel.js - Styling panel for runtime customization (~150 lines)
• templates/design-runtime/ - No-build browser preview, design-token controls, scenario switching, and agent iteration export
• templates/widget.json-minimal - Bare-minimum metadata (~25 lines)
• templates/widget.json-complete - Full-featured metadata (~100 lines)

Reference Documentation

1. references/json-schema-reference.md - Complete JSON schema documentation
2. references/widget-templates.md - Additional widget template patterns (6 templates)
3. references/echarts-integration.md - ECharts library integration guide
4. references/widget-addon-guide.md - Widget Add-On development (QRC Q4 2023+)
5. references/best-practices-guide.md - Performance, security, and development guidelines
6. references/advanced-topics.md - Custom types, script API types, installation
7. references/integration-and-migration.md - Script integration, content transport
8. references/script-api-reference.md - DataSource, Selection, MemberInfo APIs
9. references/ai-assisted-composite-generation.md - Prompt-driven generation, RAG, brand styling, validation, and composite-ready output guidance
10. references/browser-design-runtime.md - Non-SAP browser preview runtime, sidecar config, and agent iteration export
11. references/css-and-styling-compliance.md - SAP Help-backed CSS, theme, Shadow DOM, and packaging guidance for generated widgets

Official Documentation Links

Primary References (for skill updates):

• Custom Widget Developer Guide
• Developer Guide PDF
• Widget API PDF (2025)

Sample Widgets:

• SAP Samples Repository
• SAP Custom Widget GitHub

Version History

v2.1.0 (2026-06-12)

• Refreshed to SAC Q2 2026 (version 2026.8)
• No custom-widget framework changes in QRC1/QRC2 2026; lifecycle functions and JSON schema unchanged
• Documented previously missing root-level properties: eula, imports, supportsMobile, supportsExport, supportsLinkedAnalysisFilterOnSelection, supportsViewportLoading, supportsBookmark, types
• Documented webcomponent type property for ES module loading
• Documented includeInBookmarks per-property flag, boolean[]/integer[] types
• Added serializeCustomWidgetToImage() and customWidgetRenderComplete to advanced topics
• Confirmed: all four lifecycle functions unchanged, feed types unchanged, templates valid

v2.0.0 (2025-12-27)

• Added 3 specialized agents: widget-architect, widget-debugger, widget-api-assistant
• Added 3 slash commands: /widget-validate, /widget-generate, /widget-lint
• Added validation hooks for automatic quality checks on Write/Edit
• Added 5 docs-audited templates in templates/ directory
• Enhanced plugin structure to match comprehensive plugin pattern
• Updated last verified date

v1.2.0 (2025-11-26)

• Updated SAC version reference to 2025.21
• Optimized SKILL.md length from 563 to ~200 lines
• Added Table of Contents to all 8 reference files
• Improved progressive disclosure architecture

v1.1.0 (2025-11-22)

• Added Widget Add-On feature documentation (QRC Q4 2023+)
• Added best practices guide (performance, security, development)
• Added advanced topics (custom types, script API types, installation)
• Enhanced description with additional keywords
• Increased error prevention coverage to 25+

v1.0.0 (2025-11-22)

• Initial release
• Complete JSON metadata reference
• Lifecycle functions documentation
• Data binding guide
• Styling panel implementation
• Hosting options (SAC-hosted, GitHub, external)
• Security (integrity hash, CORS)
• Common errors and debugging

SAC Version: 2026.8