A stuck transport blocks everything scheduled behind it in the same queue, so it's worth treating as the first thing you fix in a morning, not the last. Start with the return code — it tells you which of a small number of actual problems you have.
Read the return code before you touch anything
- RC0 — success, nothing to do.
- RC4 — warnings only; usually fine, but worth a glance at the log if the transport affects something critical.
- RC8 — errors, most often objects that imported but didn't activate. Go to
SE80and check the objects in the transport. - RC12 — a severe error during import; read the full log, don't just retry blind.
- RC18 — the transport was aborted or not found; check that the data and cofile actually made it to the target's transport directory.
Stuck "in process" and the queue won't move
First check whether the background job that actually runs imports (RDDIMPDP) is still active on the target — if it died, nothing moves no matter how many times you re-trigger from STMS. Then check the transport buffer:
tp showbuffer <SID>If the buffer looks out of sync with what STMS shows, reset it the safe way rather than touching files under /usr/sap/trans by hand:
tp cleanbuffer <SID>Authorization failures during import
These get missed because people check the developer's dialog-user authorizations and stop there. The import itself runs under the RFC background user or <sid>adm, which needs S_TRANSPRT and S_CTS_ADMI — check that user's roles, not the developer's.
Objects import but won't activate
Almost always a sequencing problem: a data element imported before its domain, or a structure before a table it depends on. Run a mass activation in SE80 first — it often resolves the dependency order on its own. If it doesn't, re-export the missing prerequisite object into a follow-up transport.
Two OS-level commands worth knowing by heart
# Connection test between systems
R3trans -d
# Check the import queue for a target SID from the command line
tp connect R3<DBSID> <SID>Don't confuse transport routes with SAP Router
STMS transport routes control which systems a change object can move between; SAP Router is a completely separate network-level relay that lets SAP support and remote systems reach your landscape through a firewall. The two get mixed up constantly because both involve the word "routing." If you're troubleshooting connectivity rather than a change failing to import, you're looking for the latter — see SAP Router Installation step by step.
FAQ
What does RC8 mean in a SAP transport log?
RC8 means the import completed with errors — most commonly that one or more objects imported into the target system but failed to activate. Check SE80 for the specific objects named in the transport log.
Why is my transport stuck in the import queue?
Usually one of two things: the RDDIMPDP background job that actually processes imports has stopped running on the target, or the transport buffer is out of sync with what STMS is showing. Check the job first, then the buffer with tp showbuffer.
How do I check the SAP transport buffer from the command line?
Run tp showbuffer <SID> as the system's administrator user. To reset a buffer that's out of sync, use tp cleanbuffer <SID> rather than editing files under /usr/sap/trans directly.
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