> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cloudthinker.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ServiceNow

> Connect ServiceNow ITSM to CloudThinker for incident, change request, problem, and CMDB management

Connect your ServiceNow ITSM platform to enable CloudThinker agents to manage incidents, change requests, problems, and CMDB configuration items. ServiceNow authenticates with a **username and password** for a dedicated service account.

***

## Supported platforms

| Platform            | Support                              |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **ServiceNow**      | Xanadu, Yokohama, and newer releases |
| **ServiceNow ITSM** | All editions                         |
| **ServiceNow ITOM** | All editions                         |

<Info>
  ServiceNow supports N and N-1 releases. CloudThinker uses the ServiceNow REST API, which is stable across all recent releases.
</Info>

***

## Prerequisites

* A **ServiceNow instance** running Xanadu or a newer release.
* For developer instances: admin credentials.
* For enterprise instances: a dedicated service account with the `itil`, `cmdb_read`, and `rest_api_explorer` roles.

***

## Setup

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Developer instance">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Find your instance URL">
        Your developer instance URL follows the format:

        ```
        https://devXXXXX.service-now.com
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Add the connection in CloudThinker">
        Navigate to **Connections → ServiceNow** and enter:

        * **Instance URL**: your developer instance URL
        * **Username**: your admin username
        * **Password**: your admin password

        Click **Connect**. CloudThinker verifies the credentials and shows a **Connected** status.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Enterprise instance">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Create a dedicated user">
        In ServiceNow, navigate to **User Administration → Users** and create a new user:

        * **User ID**: `cloudthinker`
        * **Password**: a strong, unique password
        * **Active**: checked
      </Step>

      <Step title="Assign roles">
        Assign the following roles to the user:

        * `itil` — for incident, change, and problem management
        * `cmdb_read` — for CMDB read access
        * `rest_api_explorer` — for API access
      </Step>

      <Step title="Find your instance URL">
        Your ServiceNow instance URL follows the format:

        ```
        https://your-instance.service-now.com
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Add the connection in CloudThinker">
        Navigate to **Connections → ServiceNow** and enter:

        * **Instance URL**: your ServiceNow instance URL
        * **Username**: `cloudthinker`
        * **Password**: the password you set

        Click **Connect**. CloudThinker verifies the credentials and shows a **Connected** status.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Connection details

| Field                         | Description                  | Example                                 |
| ----------------------------- | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **SERVICENOW\_INSTANCE\_URL** | Your ServiceNow instance URL | `https://your-instance.service-now.com` |
| **SERVICENOW\_USERNAME**      | ServiceNow username          | `cloudthinker`                          |
| **SERVICENOW\_PASSWORD**      | ServiceNow password          | —                                       |

***

## Required permissions

### Developer instance

No additional configuration needed — the default admin user has full access.

### Enterprise instance

| Role                | Access                                                                |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `itil`              | Full CRUD on incidents, changes, problems, and other ITSM task tables |
| `cmdb_read`         | Read-only access to CMDB configuration items                          |
| `rest_api_explorer` | REST API access                                                       |

<Tip>
  Follow least privilege: for read-only use cases, create a custom role with only read permissions on the required tables instead of the full `itil` role.
</Tip>

***

## Agent capabilities

Once connected, agents can query and act on ServiceNow data.

| Capability                  | Description                                            |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Incident management**     | Create, update, and resolve incidents                  |
| **Change requests**         | Create and review change requests with risk assessment |
| **Problem management**      | Track and analyze problem records                      |
| **CMDB queries**            | Query configuration items and dependencies             |
| **User & group lookup**     | Find users, groups, and their assignments              |
| **Natural language search** | Search across any ServiceNow table                     |

### Verify the connection

```text theme={null}
@alex list all open P1 incidents in ServiceNow and show their priority and status
```

### Example prompts

```text theme={null}
@alex list all open P1 incidents and #report on any patterns across services
@alex review pending change requests and assess risk
@alex query the CMDB for all production servers and their dependencies
```

***

## Troubleshooting

<Accordion title="Connection refused">
  The ServiceNow instance URL is incorrect or the instance is in maintenance mode. Verify the URL is accessible and that no IP restrictions are blocking CloudThinker.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Authentication failed">
  The username or password is incorrect, or the user account is locked. Verify credentials and ensure the user has `rest_api_explorer` or equivalent API access role.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Permission denied on table">
  The user lacks the required roles for the table being accessed. Check ACL rules and ensure `cmdb_read` is assigned for CMDB access.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Rate limiting">
  ServiceNow may throttle API requests under heavy load. Reduce concurrent operations if you see 429 errors, and contact your ServiceNow admin to review rate limit settings.
</Accordion>

***

## Security

* **Least privilege** — grant only the permissions the agents need for your use case; start read-only and widen later.
* **Read-only by default** — use read-only credentials unless you want agents to make changes through this connection.
* **Rotate credentials** — rotate keys and tokens on your normal schedule; CloudThinker picks up the new value when you update the connection.
* **Revoke on offboarding** — remove the credential at the provider when you delete a connection or a teammate leaves.

- **Dedicated service account** — create a dedicated ServiceNow user for CloudThinker rather than using a shared admin account.
- **IP restrictions** — consider limiting API access to CloudThinker IPs in ServiceNow's access control settings.

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="PagerDuty Connection" icon="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/aLd-ttc-SCW-aFky/images/icons/pagerduty.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=aLd-ttc-SCW-aFky&q=85&s=cdc34a966d5d46da70c3bc509a2a7492" href="/guide/connections/pagerduty" width="24" height="24" data-path="images/icons/pagerduty.svg">
    Incident management and on-call
  </Card>

  <Card title="Elasticsearch Connection" icon="https://mintcdn.com/cloudthinker/aLd-ttc-SCW-aFky/images/icons/elasticsearch.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=aLd-ttc-SCW-aFky&q=85&s=c7389cfcd0bc8d303aeeb68bd19199ca" href="/guide/connections/elasticsearch" width="24" height="24" data-path="images/icons/elasticsearch.svg">
    Correlate logs with ServiceNow incidents
  </Card>
</CardGroup>