Batch API

The Batch API provides endpoints to send a single request containing multiple REST API calls, and returns a stream of response payloads.

This REST API enables integrators to:

Decrease the amount of time required to send API requests by batching them together, and reduce overhead by narrowing authentication, session setup, and round-trip traffic to a single step.
Create more efficient code for client-side integrations.
Mix batch item formats and include them in single batch request. For example, one batch can include a Bases64-encoded request in XML format to send to one endpoint and a Base64 encoded request in JSON format to send to a different endpoint.
Receive a stream of response payloads in return.
Apply existing ACLs to each API call in the batch.

You can include any API available on the instance in a Batch API call. For performance reasons, avoid including long-running requests and requests that retrieve large amounts of data.

Important: The Batch API has the same performance characteristics as individual API requests but avoids the overhead of multiple client-server requests. The Batch API is not intended for parallel transaction processing and long-running API requests may cause the API request to exceed the maximum transaction time and return a failure.

Size and processing limits

Payloads adhere to these size limits:

Each item in the request: 5 MB. You can change this default by updating the glide.rest.batch.max.inputSize system property. Maximum value: 10 MB.
Each item in the response: 10 MB. You can change this default by updating the glide.rest.batch.max.outputSize system property or adding the X-BATCHREQUEST-MAX-OUTPUT-SIZE header to your request. The X-BATCHREQUEST-MAX-OUTPUT-SIZE header value cannot exceed the value of the system property.

Note: If a request runs longer than 30 seconds, the REST Batch API request timeout transaction quota rule ends the transaction. Increasing the value of this transaction quota rule may result in performance issues.

When a batch request reaches a size or processing limit, the system cancels the transaction and returns unprocessed requests in the unserviced JSON array in the response.

Parent Topic:REST API reference

Batch - POST /now/batch

Sends multiple REST API requests in a single call.

You can include any API available on the instance in a Batch API call. For performance reasons, avoid including long-running requests and requests that retrieve large amounts of data.

URL format

Versioned URL: /api/now/{api_version}/batch

Supported request parameters

Name	Description
api\_version	Version of the endpoint to access. For example, `v1` or `v2`.Data type: String

Name	Description
None

Name	Description
batch\_request\_id	ID that identifies the batch of requests.Data type: String
rest\_requests	Required. List of request objects to include in the batch request. Data type: Array ``` "rest_requests":[ { "body": "String", "exclude_response_headers": Boolean, "headers":[Array], "id": "String", "method": "String", "url": "String" } ] </td></tr><tr><td> rest\_requests.body </td><td> Base64-encoded body of the request. Only applies to methods that require a body, for example POST. Before encoding, the body can be in any format. For example, XML or JSON. Data type: String </td></tr><tr><td> rest\_requests.exclude\_response\_headers </td><td> Flag that indicates whether to exclude response headers from the response.Valid values: - true: Response headers are not included in the response. - false: Response headers are included in the response. Data type: Boolean Default: false </td></tr><tr><td> rest\_requests.headers </td><td> List of request header objects to send to the endpoint.Data type: Array ``` "headers":[ { "name":"String", "value":"String" } ]
rest\_requests.headers.name	Name of the header.Data type: String
rest\_requests.headers.value	Value of the header.Data type: String
rest\_requests.id	Required. ID for each item in the batch.Data type: String
rest\_requests.method	Required. Method to call for the associated endpoint.Data type: String
rest\_requests.url	Required. Relative path of the endpoint to send the request to. Includes the query parameters. Data type: String

Headers

The following request and response headers apply to this HTTP action only, or apply to this action in a distinct way. For a list of general headers used in the REST API, see Supported REST API headers.

Header	Description
Accept	Data format of the response body. Supported types: application/json or multipart/mixed.To stream multipart responses, set the glide.rest.serialize.disable_response_stream_buffering system property to true. For more information, see Available system properties.
Content-Type	Data format of the request body. Only supports application/json.
X-BATCHREQUEST-MAX-OUTPUT-SIZE	Size limit for each item in the batch response. Add this header to provide a lower size limit than the default set by the glide.rest.batch.max.outputSize system property. You cannot set a value higher than the value in the system property. Default: 10 MB.

Header	Description
None

Status codes

The following status codes apply to this HTTP action. For a list of possible status codes used in the REST API, see REST API HTTP response codes.

Status code	Description
200	Successful. The request was successfully processed.
401	Unauthorized. The user credentials are incorrect or have not been passed.
500	Internal server error. An unexpected error occurred while processing the request. The response contains additional information about the error.

Response body parameters (JSON)

Name	Description
batch\_request\_id	ID of the batch that matches the batch_request_id parameter in the request.Data type: String
serviced\_requests	List of response objects from the batch request. Data type: Array ``` "serviced_requests":[ { "body": "String", "error_message": "String", "execution_time": Number, "headers": [Array], "id": "String", "redirect_url: "String", "status_code": Number, "status_text": "String" } ] </td></tr><tr><td> serviced\_requests.body </td><td> Base64 encoded body of the response. To get the value of the body, Base64 decode the content of this parameter.Data type: String </td></tr><tr><td> serviced\_requests.error\_message </td><td> If present, the error messages.Data type: String </td></tr><tr><td> serviced\_requests.execution\_time </td><td> Time it took to execute the batch item request.Data type: Number Unit: Milliseconds </td></tr><tr><td> serviced\_requests.headers </td><td> Headers for the batch item.Data type: Array ``` "headers":[ { "name":"String", "value":"String" } ]
serviced\_requests.headers.name	Name of the header.Data type: String
serviced\_requests.headers.value	Value of the header.Data type: String
serviced\_requests.id	ID of the batch item that matches the rest_requests.id parameter in the request.Data type: String
serviced\_requests.redirect\_url	If present, the redirect URL.Data type: String
serviced\_requests.status\_code	Status code for the batch item.Data type: Number
serviced\_requests.status\_text	Text of the status code for the batch item.Data type: String
unserviced\_requests	IDs of the requests that were not processed because the batch request reached a size or processing limit. Data type: Array

cURL request

This batch request sends two GET requests to the instance and one POST request to the incident table. The body of the POST request is Base64 encoded.

curl "https://instance.servicenow.com/api/now/v1/batch" \
--request POST \
--header "Accept:application/json" \
--header "Content-Type:application/json" \
--user "username":"password"\
--data "{
   \"batch_request_id\":\"1\",
   \"rest_requests\":[
      {
         \"id\":\"11\",
         \"headers\":[
            {
               \"name\":\"Content-Type\",
               \"value\":\"application/xml\"
            },
            {
               \"name\":\"Accept\",
               \"value\":\"application/xml\"
            }
         ],
         \"url\":\"/api/global/user_role_inheritance\",
         \"method\":\"GET\"
      },
      {
         \"id\":\"12\",
         \"exclude_response_headers\":true,
         \"headers\":[
            {
               \"name\":\"Content-Type\",
               \"value\":\"application/json\"
            },
            {
               \"name\":\"Accept\",
               \"value\":\"application/json\"
            }
         ],
         \"url\":\"/api/now/table/incident?sysparm_limit=1\",
         \"method\":\"GET\"
      },
      {
         \"id\":\"13\",
         \"exclude_response_headers\":true,
         \"headers\":[
            {
               \"name\":\"Content-Type\",
               \"value\":\"application/json\"
            },
            {
               \"name\":\"Accept\",
               \"value\":\"application/json\"
            }
         ],
         \"url\": \"/api/now/table/incident\",
         \"method\":\"POST\",
         \"body\": \"eyd1cmdlbmN5JzonMScsICdzaG9ydF9kZXNjcmlwdGlvbic6J015IGNvbXB1dGVyIG
          Jyb2tlJywgJ2NvbW1lbnRzJzonRWxldmF0aW5nIHVyZ2VuY3ksIHRoaXMgaXMgYSBibG9ja2luZyBpc3N1ZSd9\"
      }
   ]
}" \

{
    "batch_request_id": "1",
    "serviced_requests": [
        {
            "id": "11",
            "body": "PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiBlbmNvZGluZz0iVVRGLTgiPz48cmVzcG9uc2U+PHJlc3VsdD48dX
            Nlcl9uYW1lLz48L3Jlc3VsdD48L3Jlc3BvbnNlPg==",
            "status_code": 200,
            "status_text": "OK",
            "headers": [
                {
                    "name": "Pragma",
                    "value": "no-store,no-cache"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Expires",
                    "value": "0"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Content-Length",
                    "value": "88"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Content-Type",
                    "value": "application/xml; charset=UTF-8"
                },
                {
                    "name": "Cache-control",
                    "value": "no-cache,no-store,must-revalidate,max-age=-1"
                }
            ],
            "execution_time": 5
        },
        {
            "id": "12",
            "body": "eyJyZXN1bHQiOlt7InBhcmVudCI6IiIsIm1hZGVfc2xhIjoidHJ1ZSIsImNhdXNlZF9
            ieSI6IiIsIndhdGNoX2xpc3QiOiIiLCJ1cG9uX3JlamVjdCI6ImNhbmNlbCIsInN5c191cGRhdGV
            kX29uIjoiMjAxNi0xMi0xNCAwMjo0Njo0NCIsImNoaWxkX2luY2lkZW50cyI6IjAiLCJob2xkX3J
            lYXNvbiI6IiIsInRhc2tfZWZmZWN0aXZlX251bWJlciI6IklOQzAwMDAwNjAiLCJhcHByb3ZhbF9
            oaXN0b3J5IjoiIiwibnVtYmVyIjoiSU5DMDAwMDA2MCIsInJlc29sdmVkX2J5Ijp7ImxpbmsiOiJ
            odHRwczovL2s4czAwNjc5Nzgtbm9kZTEudGh1bmRlci5sYWIzLnNlcnZpY2Utbm93LmNvbS9hcGk
            vbm93L3RhYmxlL3N5c191c2VyLzUxMzcxNTNjYzYxMTIyN2MwMDBiYmQxYmQ4Y2QyMDA3IiwidmF
            sdWUiOiI1MTM3MTUzY2M2MTEyMjdjMDAwYmJkMWJkOGNkMjAwNyJ9LCJzeXNfdXBkYXRlZF9ieSI
            6ImVtcGxveWVlIiwib3BlbmVkX2J5Ijp7ImxpbmsiOiJodHRwczovL2s4czAwNjc5Nzgtbm9kZTE
            udGh1bmRlci5sYWIzLnNlcnZpY2Utbm93LmNvbS9hcGkvbm93L3RhYmxlL3N5c191c2VyLzY4MWN
            jYWY5YzBhODAxNjQwMGI5OGEwNjgxOGQ1N2M3IiwidmFsdWUiOiI2ODFjY2FmOWMwYTgwMTY0MDB
            iOThhMDY4MThkNTdjNyJ9LCJ1c2VyX2lucHV0IjoiIiwic3lzX2NyZWF0ZWRfb24iOiIyMDE2LTE
            yLTEyIDE1OjE5OjU3Iiwic3lzX2RvbWFpbiI6eyJsaW5rIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9rOHMwMDY3OTc4LW5
            vZGUxLnRodW5kZXIubGFiMy5zZXJ2aWNlLW5vdy5jb20vYXBpL25vdy90YWJsZS9zeXNfdXNlcl9
            ncm91cC9nbG9iYWwiLCJ2YWx1ZSI6Imdsb2JhbCJ9LCJzdGF0ZSI6IjciLCJyb3V0ZV9yZWFzb24
            iOiIiLCJzeXNfY3JlYXRlZF9ieSI6ImVtcGxveWVlIiwia25vd2xlZGdlIjoiZmFsc2UiLCJvcmR
            lciI6IiIsImNhbGVuZGFyX3N0YyI6IjEwMjE5NyIsImNsb3NlZF9hdCI6IjIwMTYtMTItMTQgMDI",
            "status_code": 200,
            "status_text": "OK",
            "headers": [],
            "execution_time": 8
        },
        {
            "id": "13",
            "body": "eyJyZXN1bHQiOnsicGFyZW50IjoiIiwibWFkZV9zbGEiOiJ0cnVlIiwiY2F1c2VkX2J
            5IjoiIiwid2F0Y2hfbGlzdCI6IiIsInVwb25fcmVqZWN0IjoiY2FuY2VsIiwic3lzX3VwZGF0ZWR
            fb24iOiIyMDIwLTA1LTEyIDAxOjQ0OjM1IiwiY2hpbGRfaW5jaWRlbnRzIjoiMCIsImhvbGRfcmV
            hc29uIjoiIiwidGFza19lZmZlY3RpdmVfbnVtYmVyIjoiSU5DMDAxMDAwNCIsImFwcHJvdmFsX2h
            pc3RvcnkiOiIiLCJudW1iZXIiOiJJTkMwMDEwMDA0IiwicmVzb2x2ZWRfYnkiOiIiLCJzeXNfdXB
            kYXRlZF9ieSI6ImFkbWluIiwib3BlbmVkX2J5Ijp7ImxpbmsiOiJodHRwczovL2s4czAwNjc5Nzg
            tbm9kZTEudGh1bmRlci5sYWIzLnNlcnZpY2Utbm93LmNvbS9hcGkvbm93L3RhYmxlL3N5c191c2V
            yLzY4MTZmNzljYzBhODAxNjQwMWM1YTMzYmUwNGJlNDQxIiwidmFsdWUiOiI2ODE2Zjc5Y2MwYTg
            wMTY0MDFjNWEzM2JlMDRiZTQ0MSJ9LCJ1c2VyX2lucHV0IjoiIiwic3lzX2NyZWF0ZWRfb24iOiI
            yMDIwLTA1LTEyIDAxOjQ0OjM1Iiwic3lzX2RvbWFpbiI6eyJsaW5rIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9rOHMwMDY
            3OTc4LW5vZGUxLnRodW5kZXIubGFiMy5zZXJ2aWNlLW5vdy5jb20vYXBpL25vdy90YWJsZS9zeXN
            fdXNlcl9ncm91cC9nbG9iYWwiLCJ2YWx1ZSI6Imdsb2JhbCJ9LCJzdGF0ZSI6IjEiLCJyb3V0ZV9
            yZWFzb24iOiIiLCJzeXNfY3JlYXRlZF9ieSI6ImFkbWluIiwia25vd2xlZGdlIjoiZmFsc2UiLCJ",
            "status_code": 201,
            "status_text": "Created",
            "headers": [],
            "execution_time": 2638
        }
    ],
    "unserviced_requests": []
}