Talk given as part of the Satellite meeting on Soft X-ray Instruments SQS and SCS, the European XFEL Users meeting 2017. Topics include: pump-probe laser at European XFEL (laser system; burst mode operation; sample heating); SCS optical delivery (instrument laser hutch; frequency conversion, nHG, OPA, THz; laser in-coupling LIN; THz in-coupling); temporal diagnostics (pulse arrival monitor; X-ray – optical cross-correlator).