ServiceNow SDK CLI

Use the ServiceNow SDK command-line interface (CLI) to manage changes between a local application and the application on an instance.

From the command-line tool on your system, enter now-sdk to start the CLI and return a list of available commands or now-sdk [command] to begin using the ServiceNow SDK.

Note: If you use npx to install the ServiceNow SDK in application rather than globally, you must use npx @servicenow/sdk [command] rather than now-sdk [command] with the ServiceNow SDK CLI.

The CLI includes the following commands and global options:

Parent Topic:ServiceNow SDK reference

auth

Authenticate to an instance and store, update, or view user credentials for accessing an instance on your system.

The auth command has parameters for adding credentials, deleting credentials, listing credentials, and setting credentials to use by default. To use non-interactive authentication in CI/CD pipelines, see the install command.

For more information, see Authenticating to a ServiceNow instance with the ServiceNow SDK.

add

Store credentials in the device keychain or credential manager on your system.

The auth command has the following structure with the --add parameter:

npx @servicenow/sdk auth [--add <instance url>] [--type <auth method>] [--alias <alias>]

Note: Using the npx command installs the ServiceNow SDK in your application directory instead of globally.

For example:

npx @servicenow/sdk auth --add https://myinstance.service-now.com --type oauth --alias devuser1

delete

Remove credentials in the device keychain or credential manager on your system.

The auth command has the following structure with the --delete parameter:

now-sdk auth [--delete <alias or all>]

For example:

now-sdk auth --delete devuser1

list

View credentials saved in the device keychain or credential manager on your system. Passwords and authentication codesaren't returned.

The auth command has the following structure with the --list parameter:

now-sdk auth [--list]

For example:

now-sdk auth --list

use

Set the credentials to be used by commands by default.

The auth command has the following structure with the --use parameter:

now-sdk auth [--use <alias>]

For example:

now-sdk auth --use devuser1

init

Create an application or convert an existing application to support development in source code. The application is added in the current directory.

To create an application, you can run the init command without any optional parameters (now-sdk init). To convert an existing application, you must include the --from parameter to provide the sys_id of an application on an instance or a path to a local directory that contains an application.

After initializing an application, you must install the required third-party dependencies using your preferred package manager before building the application. For example, if you use Node Package Manager (npm), run npm install.

The init command has the following structure:

npx @servicenow/sdk init [--from <sys_id or path>] [--appName <name>] [--packageName <name>] [--scopeName <name>] [--auth <alias>] \[--template &lt;template&gt;\]

Note: Using the npx command installs the ServiceNow SDK in your application directory instead of globally.

For example:

npx @servicenow/sdk init --from dbce0f6a3b3fda107b45b5d355e45af6 --appName Example App --packageName example-app --scopeName x_snc_example --auth devuser1 --template base

For more information, see Create an application with the ServiceNow SDK or Convert an application with the ServiceNow SDK.

build

Compile source files and output build artifacts. Third-party library dependencies are converted into XML files that can be installed with the application.

The build command has the following structure:

now-sdk build <source> \[--frozenKeys &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--errorOnConflict &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--skipClean &lt;flag&gt;\]

For example:

now-sdk build /path/to/package --frozenKeys true --errorOnConflict true --skipClean true

For more information, see Build and install an application with the ServiceNow SDK.

install

Package the build artifacts and install or update an application on an instance. Before using the install command, you must use the build command to generate an installable package.

The install command has the following structure:

now-sdk install [--source <package path>] [--reinstall <flag>] [--auth <alias>] [--open-browser <flag>] [--info <flag>] \[--demoData &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--skip-flow-activation &lt;flag&gt;\]

For example:

now-sdk install --source /path/to/package --reinstall false --auth devuser1 --open-browser true --info true --demoData false --skip-flow-activation true

For more information, see Build and install an application with the ServiceNow SDK.

dependencies

Download application dependencies and TypeScript definitions from an instance to enable IntelliSense and code validation for an application.

The dependencies command downloads dependencies and TypeScript definitions for scripts and ServiceNow Fluent code:

• For scripts, this command downloads TypeScript definitions for all Glide APIs and scans the modules and scripts in your application and generates type definitions for the script includes that they use. Type definitions are added in the @types/servicenow directory. After downloading script dependencies, you must update your tsconfig.json file to include the type definitions.
• For ServiceNow Fluent, this command downloads the dependencies listed in an application's now.config.json file and generates TypeScript definitions for them in the @types/servicenow/fluent directory.

To download all script and ServiceNow Fluent dependencies for an application, you can use the dependencies command with no parameters. If needed, provide the application directory and authentication alias too.

The dependencies command has the following structure:

now-sdk dependencies [--directory <package path>] [--auth <alias>]\[--type-defs-only &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--fluent-only &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--add &lt;table&gt; &lt;sys\_ids or names&gt;\] \[--scope &lt;name&gt;\]

--add <table_name> <sys_id1> <sys_id2> <sys_id3>

--add sys_security_acl "*"

For example:

now-sdk dependencies --directory /path/to/package --auth devuser1 --add sys\_ui\_view fa776f6d97700100f309124eda2975bc --scope global

For more information, see Downloading dependencies with the ServiceNow SDK.

transform

Download application metadata (XML) from the instance and transform the metadata into ServiceNow Fluent source code to synchronize the application changes on the instance into your local application.

After initializing an application, you can run the transform command without any parameters to transform new application metadata from the instance into source code in the src/fluent/generated directory and synchronize changes to metadata into source code in the src/fluent directory. To transform metadata that existed when the application was initialized into source code, use the --from parameter to provide the path to a local directory or file that contains XML. If metadata exists in the local application as both XML and source code, the XML version takes precedence when installed on the instance.

The transform command has the following structure:

now-sdk transform [--from <path>] [--directory <package path>] [--preview <flag>] [--auth <alias>] \[--format &lt;flag&gt;\] \[--table &lt;name&gt;\]

For example:

now-sdk transform --from metadata/update --directory /path/to/package --preview true --auth devuser1 --format true --table sys\_security\_acl

For more information, see Convert an application with the ServiceNow SDK or Build and install an application with the ServiceNow SDK.

move

Transform application metadata (XML) in the global scope from an instance into ServiceNow Fluent source code in a local global application.

To customize the global metadata, the global application in which you want to move metadata must already be installed on the instance.

The move command has the following structure:

now-sdk move [--ids <sys_ids>] [--source <package path>] [--auth <alias>]

For example:

now-sdk move --ids 9f4e7402317d470da09ac34c0693d02d,c4e34f348b1843899ca5efb2a31666f0,5057309fccef409cb30692c86a9aaac6 --auth devuser1

download

Download all application metadata (XML) from an application on an instance to compare with the metadata in your local application.

Updates to JavaScript modules aren't included when downloading application metadata from your instance.​

The download command has the following structure:

now-sdk download <directory> [--source <package path>] [--incremental <flag>]

For example:

now-sdk download /path/to/directory --source /path/to/package --incremental true

clean

Remove the build artifacts that were output with the previous build.

The clean command has the following structure:

now-sdk clean <source>

For example:

now-sdk clean /path/to/package

pack

Package the build artifacts that were output with the previous build into an installable ZIP file.

The pack command has the following structure:

now-sdk pack <source> \[--skip-package-inventory &lt;flag&gt;\]

For example:

now-sdk pack /path/to/package --skip-package-inventory true

explain

View documentation and examples for a ServiceNow Fluent API.

The explain command has the following structure:

now-sdk explain <topic> \[--list &lt;keyword&gt;\] \[--format &lt;output type&gt;\] \[--peek &lt;flag&gt;\]

For example:

now-sdk explain uipage-api --format raw

query

Runs a read-only REST Table API query on an instance to return a filtered list of records.

The query command can help with referring to instance data while writing ServiceNow Fluent code, such as looking up sys_ids, inspecting table schemas, checking existing records, and reading choice values. You can use this command with the explain command to provide an AI agent with instance data.

The query command has the following structure:

now-sdk query <table> --query <encoded query> [--limit <number>] [--offset <number>] [--fields <field list>] [--display-value <value>] [--exclude-reference-link <flag>] [--no-count <flag>] [--timeout <time>] [--view <view>] [--query-category <category>] [--query-no-domain <flag>] [--auth <alias>] [--output <format>]

For example:

now-sdk query incident --query 'active=true^priority<=2' --limit 50 --fields 'number,short_description,priority' --auth devuser1 --output json

For more information, see Table API.