ServiceNow

The ServiceNow integration connects Rootly with your ServiceNow instance bidirectionally. Rootly can create and update ServiceNow incidents through workflow actions, ServiceNow can send incident events to Rootly as alerts using Business Rules, and Rootly can sync your ServiceNow CMDB into its catalogs. With the ServiceNow integration, you can:

Automatically create ServiceNow incidents from Rootly incidents
Update ServiceNow incident priority, state, and custom fields as incidents evolve
Receive ServiceNow incident events as Rootly alerts to trigger on-call paging
Sync ServiceNow CMDB configuration items into Rootly services, teams, and custom catalogs

Before You Begin

Before setting up the integration, make sure you have:

A Rootly account with admin permission to manage integrations
A ServiceNow instance with admin access
Permission to create OAuth Application Registry entries in ServiceNow

Rootly recommends installing with a dedicated ServiceNow service account so the integration does not break if an individual user leaves your organization.

Installation

Open the ServiceNow integration in Rootly

Log into Rootly as an Admin and navigate to Configurations > Integrations > ServiceNow. Click Setup.

Create an OAuth Application in ServiceNow

Log into your ServiceNow instance as an Admin and navigate to System OAuth > Application Registry.

Click New, then select Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients.

Selecting the OAuth API endpoint type in ServiceNow

Fill in the following fields and click Submit:

ServiceNow Field	Value
`Name`	`Rootly`
`Redirect URL`	`https://rootly.com/auth/service_now/callback`

ServiceNow OAuth application registration form

Copy credentials from ServiceNow to Rootly

Open the application you just created in ServiceNow and copy the Client ID and Client Secret.

ServiceNow client ID and client secret fields

When copying the Client Secret, you may need to unmask it by clicking the lock icon. Masked values sometimes do not copy correctly in ServiceNow.

Paste the Client ID, Client Secret, and your ServiceNow instance URL into the Rootly setup modal and click Connect.

Authorize Rootly in ServiceNow

You will be redirected to ServiceNow to authorize the connection. Click Allow.

After authorization, the Create a ServiceNow Incident and Update a ServiceNow Incident workflow actions are available in your Genius workflows.

Ingest ServiceNow Events

To receive ServiceNow incident events as Rootly alerts, configure a Business Rule in ServiceNow to send events to Rootly’s webhook endpoint.

Get your webhook URL and secret from Rootly

In Rootly, open the ServiceNow integration settings. Copy the Webhook URL and Secret values shown on the integration page.

Create a Business Rule in ServiceNow

In ServiceNow, navigate to System Definition > Business Rules.

There are multiple Business Rules pages in ServiceNow. Make sure you select the one under System Definition.

Click New and fill in:

Field	Value
`Name`	Any descriptive name (for example, `Send to Rootly`)
`Table`	`Incident [incident]`
`Advanced`	Check this
`When`	`After`
`Insert`	Check to receive events when incidents are created
`Update`	Check to receive events when incidents are updated
`Delete`	Check to receive events when incidents are deleted

Navigate to the Advanced tab and replace the script with the following:

(function executeRule(current, previous /*null when async*/ ) {
    try {
        var r = new sn_ws.RESTMessageV2();
        r.setEndpoint("<insert webhook public URL>");
        r.setHttpMethod("post");
        r.setRequestHeader("secret", "<secret>");

        var usr = new GlideRecord('sys_user');
        usr.get('sys_id', current.getValue("caller_id"));
        var reported_by_email = usr.getValue('email');

        var number = current.getValue("number");
        var opened_at = current.getValue("opened_at");
        var impact = current.getValue("impact");
        var urgency = current.getValue("urgency");
        var short_description = current.getValue("short_description");
        var description = current.getValue("description");
        var category = current.getValue("category");
        var priority = current.getValue("priority");
        var sys_id = current.getValue("sys_id");
        var subcategory = current.getValue("subcategory");
        var state = current.getValue("state");

        var obj = {
            "number": number,
            "reported_by_email": reported_by_email,
            "opened_at": opened_at,
            "impact": impact,
            "urgency": urgency,
            "short_description": short_description,
            "description": description,
            "category": category,
            "priority": priority,
            "sys_id": sys_id,
            "subcategory": subcategory,
            "state": state
        };

        var body = JSON.stringify(obj);
        r.setRequestBody(body);

        var response = r.execute();
        var httpStatus = response.getStatusCode();
    } catch (ex) {
        var message = ex.message;
        gs.error("Error message: " + message);
    }

    gs.info("Webhook target HTTP status response: " + httpStatus);

})(current, previous);

Replace <insert webhook public URL> and <secret> with the values from the Rootly ServiceNow integration page.

Click Submit.

How Alerts Are Mapped

Each ServiceNow event received creates a Rootly alert with the following fields:

Rootly Alert Field	ServiceNow Source
Summary	`short_description`, then `description`, then `number`
External ID	`sys_id`
External URL	`url` (if provided in payload)

Alert labels:

Label	ServiceNow Field
`id`	`sys_id`
`number`	`number`
`impact`	`impact`
`urgency`	`urgency`
`category`	`category`
`subcategory`	`subcategory`
`state`	`state`

Using ServiceNow as an Alert Source

If your org uses Rootly On-Call, ServiceNow alerts can be used to page on-call users. Once the Business Rule is configured, alerts from ServiceNow will appear in your Rootly alert feed and can trigger on-call notifications through alert workflows.

Workflow Actions

The ServiceNow integration provides workflow actions for creating and updating ServiceNow incidents from Rootly. If you are unfamiliar with how Genius workflows work, visit the Workflows documentation first.

Create a ServiceNow Incident

This action creates a new record in the ServiceNow Incident table (for example, INC0010001) and links it to the Rootly incident.

Field	Description	Required
Name	Display name for this workflow action
Title	Maps to `short_description` in ServiceNow. Supports Liquid	Yes
Description	Maps to `description` in ServiceNow. Supports Liquid
Priority	Maps to `urgency`. Auto mirrors the incident severity
Status	Maps to `state`. Auto mirrors the incident status
Acts As User	Name or email of the ServiceNow user to set as caller when resolving. Only active when status is Resolved (6)
Custom Fields Mapping	JSON of additional ServiceNow fields. Merged directly into the incident payload. Supports Liquid

Priority mapping (Auto)

Rootly Severity	ServiceNow Urgency
Critical	High (1)
High	High (1)
Medium	Medium (2)
Low	Low (3)

Status mapping (Auto)

Rootly Status	ServiceNow State
Started	New (1)
Mitigated	In Progress (2)
Resolved	Resolved (6)

Available states: New (1), In Progress (2), On Hold (3), Resolved (6), Closed (7), Canceled (8).

Acts As User triggers a ServiceNow user lookup by first name, last name, or email. When matched, Rootly sets caller_id, close_code, and close_notes automatically. It only applies when the state is set to Resolved (6).

Create a ServiceNow Incident workflow action configuration form

Update a ServiceNow Incident

This action updates an existing record in the ServiceNow Incident table.

When a Create a ServiceNow Incident action runs, Rootly stores the resulting sys_id and incident number on the incident record. Reference them in subsequent update actions using Liquid variables.

Field	Description	Required
Name	Display name for this workflow action
Incident ID	ServiceNow `sys_id` of the incident to update. Supports Liquid	Yes
Title	Updated `short_description`. Supports Liquid
Description	Updated `description`. Supports Liquid
Priority	Updated urgency level
Status	Updated incident state
Acts As User	Name or email of the caller to set when resolving
Custom Fields Mapping	Updated custom field values as JSON. Supports Liquid

Update a ServiceNow Incident workflow action configuration form

Common Custom Field Examples

Work notes (internal) — visible only to ServiceNow agents, not customers.

{
  "work_notes": "{{ incident.events[0].event_raw }}"
}

Comments (customer-visible)

{
  "comments": "{{ incident.events[0].event_raw }}"
}

Major incident

{
  "assignment_group": "3De45d9ebc3b333200fe02c9bb34efc434",
  "major_incident_state": "proposed"
}

Major incident state changes may require specific ACL permissions in ServiceNow. See the ServiceNow community for details.

Add Configuration Items (CIs) to an Incident

Adding configuration items to a ServiceNow incident requires multiple API calls (one per CI). Use Rootly’s HTTP Client workflow action with the ServiceNow Batch API to consolidate them into a single request.

HTTP Client workflow action configured for the ServiceNow Batch API

Endpoint

POST https://<instance-domain>.com/api/now/v1/batch

Headers

{
  "Accept": "application/json",
  "Content-Type": "application/json",
  "Authorization": "Basic {{ secrets.service_now_key_encoded }}"
}

Store your Base64-encoded username:password as a Rootly Secret to keep credentials out of plain-text workflow configurations.

Body Each individual Table API call must have its body Base64-encoded. The following Liquid template dynamically generates one batch entry per service associated with the incident:

{
  "batch_request_id": "1",
  "rest_requests": [
{% for service in genius_workflow_run.newly_added_services %}
{% assign task_value = incident.service_now_incident_id %}
{% assign ci_item_value = service | get: 'service_now_ci_sys_id' %}
{% assign body_string = '{ "task": "' | append: task_value | append: '", "ci_item": "' | append: ci_item_value | append: '" }' %}
    {
      "id": "1{{ forloop.index }}",
      "headers": [{ "name": "Content-Type", "value": "application/json" }],
      "url": "/api/now/table/task_ci",
      "method": "POST",
      "body": "{{ body_string | base64_encode }}"
    }{% unless forloop.last %},{% endunless %}
{% endfor %}
  ]
}

To use this template, each ServiceNow CI’s sys_id must be linked to the equivalent Rootly service using the service_now_ci_sys_id field.

Succeed On Status — set to 200. The ServiceNow Batch API returns 200 (not 201) on success.

Sync CMDB Catalogs

Catalog sync makes ServiceNow the source of truth for your Rootly catalogs. Rootly reads the CMDB classes you select and turns them into Rootly services, teams, and custom catalogs, then keeps them current on a daily schedule.

Catalog sync requires the Rootly Catalog. If the Sync ServiceNow CMDB catalogs toggle does not appear in your integration settings, contact Rootly support to enable it for your organization.

Enable Catalog Sync

Turn on catalog sync from the ServiceNow integration settings and choose the classes to sync.

Open the ServiceNow Integration Settings

In Rootly, navigate to Configurations > Integrations > ServiceNow and click Settings.

Turn On Catalog Sync

Enable Sync ServiceNow CMDB catalogs.

toggle

Sync CMDB configuration items from ServiceNow to Rootly. While this is on, ServiceNow owns the synced records and their synced properties in Rootly.

Select the CMDB CI Classes

Pick one or more classes in CMDB CI classes. Rootly lists the classes it can read from your instance, plus the group classes described below. At least one class is required.

multi-select

required

The ServiceNow tables to sync. Each class maps to a Rootly service, team, or custom catalog according to the class mapping.

Save

Click Save. Rootly starts the first sync immediately and shows a Syncing ServiceNow CMDB progress modal. When it completes, Rootly redirects you to the catalogs page.

Synced services, teams, catalogs, and entities show a Synced from ServiceNow badge. The badge links back to the integration settings.

Rootly also starts a sync whenever you change the selected classes. After that, it syncs every 24 hours. The integration settings show when the last sync finished.

How Classes Map to Rootly

Each selected class syncs into a different Rootly resource.

ServiceNow class	Rootly resource
Service (`cmdb_ci_service`) and Business Application (`cmdb_ci_business_app`)	Services. The CI’s support group becomes the owning team.
Group (`sys_user_group`) and Group (CMDB CI) (`cmdb_ci_group`)	Teams. The group’s name and description sync to the team.
Group Members (`sys_user_grmember`)	Team members. Select this class to also sync the members of synced groups. Each ServiceNow member is matched by email to a user in your Rootly organization.
Any other CMDB CI class	A custom catalog named after the class label, with one entity per CI. The support group on each CI also syncs to a team.

Only operational CIs sync, in other words, CIs whose operational_status is Operational. For Group, only active groups sync. For every synced service, team, and entity, Rootly sets the name and description from the ServiceNow record and adds these properties, marked as managed by ServiceNow. Rootly adds a property only when the record has a value for it.

Property	ServiceNow source	Applies to
Description	`short_description`, then `description`	All classes
Support Group	`support_group`, as a link to the synced team	CMDB CI classes
Operational Status	`operational_status`	CMDB CI classes
ServiceNow URL	A link to the record in your ServiceNow instance	All classes

Teams from Group (sys_user_group) receive only Description and ServiceNow URL, because that table has no support group or operational status. Group Members adds no properties. It only manages team membership.

Matching Existing Records

Rootly keys each synced record on the ServiceNow sys_id, so renames in ServiceNow update the same Rootly record. When a CI has no linked record yet, Rootly adopts an existing unlinked service, team, catalog, or entity with the same name before creating a new one. If a name is already taken by a different record, Rootly appends a numeric suffix, for example Payments (2). Services imported by an earlier CMDB-to-services sync keep their ServiceNow link, so enabling catalog sync updates them in place.

Removals and Cleanup

After a sync completes with no errors, Rootly cleans up records for CIs that ServiceNow no longer returns, because the CI was deleted or is no longer operational:

Records that catalog sync created are removed.
Records that catalog sync adopted are unlinked from ServiceNow and kept as regular Rootly records.

A sync that records any error skips cleanup for that run, so a transient failure never removes records. Deselecting a class in CMDB CI classes stops syncing it. Custom catalogs and their entities from that class stay in Rootly and become editable. Teams that no longer come from any selected class are removed or unlinked on the next completed sync, as are services when the other service class is still selected.

Removing a CI in ServiceNow, or changing its operational status, removes the matching record from Rootly on the next completed sync if catalog sync created it. Rootly cannot restore a removed record. Records that existed before the sync adopted them are unlinked instead.

Team Members

When Group Members is selected, Rootly adds and removes team members to match ServiceNow group membership. Rootly matches each member’s email in ServiceNow to any user in your Rootly organization. Rootly only manages the members it added: members you add manually stay on the team. A member whose email does not match a Rootly user appears on the sync errors page, and the rest of the group still syncs. If Rootly cannot read group membership from ServiceNow, it leaves existing members untouched. Deselect Group Members to stop managing members. Existing members stay on their teams.

Protected Records

While catalog sync is on, Rootly protects what ServiceNow owns:

Synced services, teams, catalogs, and entities cannot be deleted in Rootly.
Properties managed by ServiceNow cannot be edited in Rootly. Add your own properties to a synced catalog and edit them as usual.
Owner teams that the sync assigned to a service follow the CI’s support group. Owner teams you add manually stay.

Rootly shows a tooltip explaining why a control is disabled. Turning off catalog sync lifts the protection and keeps the records.

Run a Sync Manually

Use Sync now in the integration settings to sync without waiting for the daily schedule. Rootly first checks the catalogs it is about to write into.

Click Sync Now

In the ServiceNow integration settings, click Sync now.

Resolve Required Properties

If a target catalog has a required property that ServiceNow does not populate, Rootly shows the Required properties detected modal. For each class, choose one option:

option

Rootly marks the listed properties as optional and syncs the class. You need permission to edit catalog properties.

option

Rootly removes the class from CMDB CI classes and syncs the remaining classes.

Click Confirm and sync. If every class is skipped, nothing syncs.

Watch the Progress Modal

The Syncing ServiceNow CMDB modal shows the percentage complete. When the sync finishes, Rootly redirects to the catalogs page. If the sync recorded errors, Rootly redirects to the sync errors page instead.

Sync Errors

A problem with one CI does not stop the sync. Rootly records the failure and continues with the next record. When a sync has errors, the integration settings show a View sync errors button, and the Synced from ServiceNow badge shows a warning icon. The ServiceNow Sync Errors page lists each error with the entity, its class, the operation that failed, the error message, and when it occurred. Search the list to find a specific record, and click Sync again after fixing the cause. Each new full sync clears the previous errors.

Troubleshooting

The catalog sync toggle is missing from the integration settings

Catalog sync requires the Rootly Catalog and must be enabled for your organization. Contact Rootly support to turn it on.

Sync completed but a class has no records in Rootly

For CMDB CI classes, Rootly only syncs CIs whose operational_status is Operational. For Group, Rootly only syncs active groups. Check the status of the records in ServiceNow. Also confirm the OAuth application’s user has read access to the table. A table Rootly cannot read appears on the sync errors page.

Team members are not syncing

Members sync only when Group Members is selected in CMDB CI classes, and only for teams that came from Group or Group (CMDB CI) in the same sync. Each member’s email in ServiceNow must match a user in your Rootly organization. Unmatched emails appear on the sync errors page.

Sync status shows failed

A failed sync usually means Rootly could not authenticate to ServiceNow, for example an expired OAuth token that could not be refreshed. Rootly does not remove any records when a sync fails. Reconnect the integration if needed, then click Sync now.

Uninstall

To remove the ServiceNow integration, navigate to Configurations > Integrations > ServiceNow > Delete. Removing the integration stops catalog sync. Records synced from ServiceNow stay in Rootly as regular records and no longer update.

Getting Started

Alerts

On-Call

Incident Response

Retrospectives

Status Pages

Communications

Rootly AI

Workflows & Automation

Analytics

Configuration

Integrations

Administration

Resources & Help

Before You Begin

Installation

Ingest ServiceNow Events

How Alerts Are Mapped

Using ServiceNow as an Alert Source

Workflow Actions

Create a ServiceNow Incident

Update a ServiceNow Incident

Common Custom Field Examples

Add Configuration Items (CIs) to an Incident

Sync CMDB Catalogs

Enable Catalog Sync

How Classes Map to Rootly

Matching Existing Records

Removals and Cleanup

Team Members

Protected Records

Run a Sync Manually

Sync Errors

Troubleshooting

Uninstall

​Before You Begin

​Installation

​Ingest ServiceNow Events

​How Alerts Are Mapped

​Using ServiceNow as an Alert Source

​Workflow Actions

​Create a ServiceNow Incident

​Update a ServiceNow Incident

​Common Custom Field Examples

​Add Configuration Items (CIs) to an Incident

​Sync CMDB Catalogs

​Enable Catalog Sync

​How Classes Map to Rootly

​Matching Existing Records

​Removals and Cleanup

​Team Members

​Protected Records

​Run a Sync Manually

​Sync Errors

​Troubleshooting

​Uninstall

​Related Resources

Before You Begin

Installation

Ingest ServiceNow Events

How Alerts Are Mapped

Using ServiceNow as an Alert Source

Workflow Actions

Create a ServiceNow Incident

Update a ServiceNow Incident

Common Custom Field Examples

Add Configuration Items (CIs) to an Incident

Sync CMDB Catalogs

Enable Catalog Sync

How Classes Map to Rootly

Matching Existing Records

Removals and Cleanup

Team Members

Protected Records

Run a Sync Manually

Sync Errors

Troubleshooting

Uninstall

Related Resources