Interact with ServiceNow records

This guide demonstrates how to implement self-service actions that interact with any ServiceNow record and delete ServiceNow incidents directly from Port using synced webhooks.

Use cases

• Provide developers and managers with safe, self-serve CRUD operations on ServiceNow records.
• Automate table record creation, updates, or removal as part of CI/CD or maintenance workflows.

Prerequisites

• Complete the onboarding process.
• Access to your ServiceNow account with permissions to manage records in relevant tables.

Implementation

To enable interaction with ServiceNow from Port, we will configure four self-service actions:

1. Create a ServiceNow record
2. Update a ServiceNow record
3. Delete a ServiceNow record
4. Delete a ServiceNow incident

These actions use Port’s synced webhooks to communicate with ServiceNow’s REST API and rely on Port's secret manager to securely store authentication credentials.

Add Port secrets

To add a secret to your portal:

1. Click on the ... button in the top right corner of your Port application.

2. Click on Credentials.

3. Click on the Secrets tab.

4. Click on + Secret and add the following secrets:

   • SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL - The ServiceNow instance URL. For example https://example-id.service-now.com.

   • SERVICENOW_API_TOKEN: A base64 encoded string of your servicenow instance credentials generated as:

     echo -n "your-instance-username:your-instance-password" | base64

Set up self-service action

The following steps will walk you through configuring each self-service action, starting with creating a record, then updating, and finally deleting it from ServiceNow.

Create a ServiceNow record

1. Head to the self-service page.

2. Click on the + New Action button.

3. Click on the {...} Edit JSON button.

4. Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into the editor.

   Create a ServiceNow record (Click to expand)

   {
       "identifier": "create_servicenow_record",
       "title": "Create ServiceNow Record",
       "icon": "Servicenow",
       "description": "Create a new record in a specified table in ServiceNow using a JSON payload",
       "trigger": {
           "type": "self-service",
           "operation": "CREATE",
           "userInputs": {
           "properties": {
               "table_name": {
               "icon": "DefaultProperty",
               "type": "string",
               "title": "Table Name",
               "description": "Name of the table in ServiceNow"
               },
               "request_body": {
               "type": "object",
               "title": "Request Body ",
               "description": "JSON payload for the new record. The payload must follow the table schema in ServiceNow"
               }
           },
           "required": [
               "request_body",
               "table_name"
           ],
           "order": [
               "table_name",
               "request_body"
           ]
           }
       },
       "invocationMethod": {
           "type": "WEBHOOK",
           "url": "{{.secrets.SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL}}/api/now/table/{{.inputs.table_name}}",
           "agent": false,
           "synchronized": true,
           "method": "POST",
           "headers": {
           "RUN_ID": "{{ .run.id }}",
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
           "Accept": "application/json",
           "Authorization": "Basic {{.secrets.SERVICENOW_API_TOKEN}}"
           },
           "body": {
           "{{ spreadValue() }}": "{{ .inputs.request_body }}"
           }
       },
       "requiredApproval": false
   }

5. Click Save.

Now you should see the Create ServiceNow Record action in the self-service page. 🎉

Update a ServiceNow record

1. Head to the self-service page.

2. Click on the + New Action button.

3. Click on the {...} Edit JSON button.

4. Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into the editor.

   Update a ServiceNow record (Click to expand)

   {
       "identifier": "update_service_now_record",
       "title": "Update ServiceNow Record",
       "icon": "Servicenow",
       "description": "Update an existing record in a specified table in ServiceNow based on system ID and a JSON payload",
       "trigger": {
           "type": "self-service",
           "operation": "DAY-2",
           "userInputs": {
           "properties": {
               "table_name": {
               "type": "string",
               "title": "Table Name",
               "description": "Name of the table in ServiceNow"
               },
               "request_body": {
               "type": "object",
               "title": "Request Body ",
               "description": "JSON payload containing the fields and values to update in the record. Must follow the table schema in ServiceNow"
               },
               "system_id": {
               "type": "string",
               "title": "System ID",
               "description": "Globally Unique ID (GUID) of the record in ServiceNow"
               }
           },
           "required": [
               "table_name",
               "request_body",
               "system_id"
           ],
           "order": [
               "table_name",
               "system_id",
               "request_body"
           ]
           }
       },
       "invocationMethod": {
           "type": "WEBHOOK",
           "url": "{{.secrets.SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL}}/api/now/table/{{.inputs.table_name}}/{{.inputs.system_id}}",
           "agent": false,
           "synchronized": true,
           "method": "PATCH",
           "headers": {
           "RUN_ID": "{{ .run.id }}",
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
           "Accept": "application/json",
           "Authorization": "Basic {{.secrets.SERVICENOW_API_TOKEN}}"
           },
           "body": {
           "{{ spreadValue() }}": "{{ .inputs.request_body }}"
           }
       },
       "requiredApproval": false
   }

5. Click Save.

Now you should see the Update ServiceNow Record action in the self-service page. 🎉

Delete a ServiceNow record

1. Head to the self-service page.

2. Click on the + New Action button.

3. Click on the {...} Edit JSON button.

4. Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into the editor.

   Delete a ServiceNow record (Click to expand)

   {
       "identifier": "delete_service_now_record",
       "title": "Delete ServiceNow Record",
       "icon": "Servicenow",
       "description": "Delete a record based on system ID from a specified table in ServiceNow",
       "trigger": {
           "type": "self-service",
           "operation": "DELETE",
           "userInputs": {
           "properties": {
               "table_name": {
               "icon": "DefaultProperty",
               "type": "string",
               "title": "Table Name",
               "description": "Name of the table in ServiceNow"
               },
               "system_id": {
               "type": "string",
               "title": "System ID",
               "description": "Globally Unique ID (GUID) of the record in ServiceNow"
               }
           },
           "required": [
               "system_id",
               "table_name"
           ],
           "order": [
               "table_name",
               "system_id"
           ]
           }
       },
       "invocationMethod": {
           "type": "WEBHOOK",
           "url": "{{.secrets.SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL}}/api/now/table/{{.inputs.table_name}}/{{.inputs.system_id}}",
           "agent": false,
           "synchronized": true,
           "method": "DELETE",
           "headers": {
           "RUN_ID": "{{ .run.id }}",
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
           "Accept": "application/json",
           "Authorization": "Basic {{.secrets.SERVICENOW_API_TOKEN}}"
           },
           "body": {}
       },
       "requiredApproval": false
   }

5. Click Save.

Now you should see the Delete ServiceNow Record action in the self-service page. 🎉

Delete a ServiceNow incident

1. Head to the self-service page.

2. Click on the + New Action button.

3. Click on the {...} Edit JSON button.

4. Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into the editor.

   Delete ServiceNow Incident (Click to expand)

   {
       "identifier": "delect_servicenow_incident",
       "title": "Delect ServiceNow Incident",
       "icon": "Servicenow",
       "description": "Deletes an incident from the ServiceNow incident table using a unique system ID",
       "trigger": {
           "type": "self-service",
           "operation": "DELETE",
           "userInputs": {
           "properties": {},
           "required": [],
           "order": []
           },
           "blueprintIdentifier": "servicenowIncident"
       },
       "invocationMethod": {
           "type": "WEBHOOK",
           "url": "{{.secrets.SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL}}/api/now/table/incident/{{.entity.identifier}}",
           "agent": false,
           "synchronized": true,
           "method": "DELETE",
           "headers": {
           "RUN_ID": "{{ .run.id }}",
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
           "Accept": "application/json",
           "Authorization": "Basic {{.secrets.SERVICENOW_API_TOKEN}}"
           },
           "body": {}
       },
       "requiredApproval": false
   }

5. Click Save.

Now you should see the Delect ServiceNow Incident action in the self-service page. 🎉

Create an automation to remove entity from Port

Once the incident is deleted from ServiceNow, we want to automatically remove the corresponding entity in Port. To achieve this behaviour:

1. Head to the automations page.

2. Click on the + Automation button.

3. Copy and paste the following JSON configuration into the editor.

   Delete ServiceNow incident in Port automation (Click to expand)

   {
       "identifier": "servicenow_incident_delete_sync_status",
       "title": "Remove Deleted Incident from Port",
       "description": "Removes the deleted entity in Port when after it is deleted from ServiceNow",
       "trigger": {
           "type": "automation",
           "event": {
           "type": "RUN_UPDATED",
           "actionIdentifier": "delect_servicenow_incident"
           },
           "condition": {
           "type": "JQ",
           "expressions": [
               ".diff.after.status == \"SUCCESS\""
           ],
           "combinator": "and"
           }
       },
       "invocationMethod": {
           "type": "WEBHOOK",
           "url": "https://api.port.io/v1/blueprints/{{.event.diff.after.blueprint.identifier}}/entities/{{.event.diff.after.entity.identifier}}",
           "agent": false,
           "synchronized": true,
           "method": "DELETE",
           "headers": {
           "RUN_ID": "{{.event.diff.after.id}}",
           "Content-Type": "application/json",
           "Accept": "application/json"
           },
           "body": {}
       },
       "publish": true
   }

4. Click Save.

Now, whenever a user runs the Delete ServiceNow Incident action:

1. The incident is deleted directly from ServiceNow via webhook.
2. The corresponding entity in Port is automatically removed, keeping your catalog clean and consistent.