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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. In your Port application, click on your profile picture .

  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.