ServiceNow Connection

The ServiceNow connection type enables automations to interact with a ServiceNow instance — creating and updating incidents, querying the CMDB, triggering flows, and reading catalog request status. It supports both Basic Authentication and OAuth 2.0 client credentials, so you can choose the method that fits your organization's security policy.

Connection Details

Property	Value
Type ID	SERVICENOW
Category	Enterprise Applications
Testable	Yes

Friendly Example

What you enter	Example
Connection name	ServiceNow - Incident Desk
Used for	Auto-creating P2 incidents when a monitoring alert fires and closing them once resolved
Main details to collect	Instance URL, integration username, password (or OAuth client ID and secret)
Best person to provide it	ServiceNow administrator

After it is saved, workflow builders select ServiceNow - Incident Desk in a node instead of re-entering credentials each time.

Mandatory Fields

Field	What It Means	Example
instanceUrl	Full HTTPS URL of your ServiceNow instance	https://dev12345.service-now.com
username	Username of the integration service account	qinfinite_svc
password	Password for the service account. Encrypted at rest.	S3cur3P@ss!

Advanced Fields

Field	What It Means	Example
clientId	OAuth 2.0 Client ID from the ServiceNow OAuth provider record	a1b2c3d4e5f6...
clientSecret	OAuth 2.0 Client Secret. Encrypted at rest.	xK9mN3...
apiVersion	REST API version to target	v1
timeoutSeconds	Maximum seconds to wait for a ServiceNow response before the connector raises a timeout error	30

OAuth vs Basic Auth

If both clientId/clientSecret and username/password are provided, the connector uses OAuth 2.0 and falls back to Basic only if the token exchange fails. For production environments, OAuth is recommended because tokens can be revoked without changing the service account password.

Setup Instructions

1. Identify your instance URL. Log in to ServiceNow and copy the hostname from your browser address bar — it takes the form https://<instance-name>.service-now.com. For personal developer instances, the name starts with dev.

2. Create a dedicated integration user. In ServiceNow, navigate to User Administration > Users > New. Set a descriptive username (e.g., qinfinite_svc), uncheck Password needs reset, and assign the roles itil and rest_api_explorer. Avoid using a personal administrator account for integrations.

3. Verify REST API access. Log in as the new user and open https://<instance>.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident?sysparm_limit=1 in a browser. A JSON response confirms REST access is working.

4. (Optional) Create an OAuth provider for OAuth 2.0 flow. Go to System OAuth > Application Registry > New > Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients. Fill in a descriptive name, note the auto-generated Client ID, set a Client Secret, and save. Grant the integration user access to this OAuth application.

5. Save the connection in Global Configurator. Enter the instance URL and credentials, then click Test Connection to confirm end-to-end connectivity before saving.

Least-Privilege Roles

Restrict the integration user to only the tables your automations need. Use ServiceNow ACLs to deny write access to tables that should be read-only from the automation side.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
401 Unauthorized on every request	Wrong username or password, or the service account is locked	Reset the service account password in ServiceNow User Administration and update the connection
403 Forbidden when accessing a specific table	Integration user lacks the required role or ACL access	Assign the itil role (or a custom role with table-level read/write) to the service account
OAuth token exchange returns invalid_client	Client ID or Client Secret is incorrect, or the OAuth application is inactive	Double-check the OAuth Application Registry record in ServiceNow and regenerate the client secret if needed
Test Connection times out	ServiceNow instance is hibernating (PDI instances sleep after inactivity)	Open the instance in a browser to wake it, then re-test the connection