activate_workflow

Activate a ServiceNow workflow to automate business processes by triggering its execution with a specified workflow ID.

Instructions

Activate a workflow in ServiceNow

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`workflow_id`	Yes	Workflow ID or sys_id

Implementation Reference

src/servicenow_mcp/tools/workflow_tools.py:592-646 (handler)

Core handler function that executes the tool: unwraps params, authenticates, PATCHes the wf_workflow table to set active=true, returns workflow details or error.

def activate_workflow(
    auth_manager: AuthManager,
    server_config: ServerConfig,
    params: Dict[str, Any],
) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """
    Activate a workflow in ServiceNow.
    
    Args:
        auth_manager: Authentication manager
        server_config: Server configuration
        params: Parameters for activating a workflow
        
    Returns:
        Dict[str, Any]: Activated workflow details
    """
    # Unwrap parameters if needed
    params = _unwrap_params(params, ActivateWorkflowParams)
    
    # Get the correct auth_manager and server_config
    try:
        auth_manager, server_config = _get_auth_and_config(auth_manager, server_config)
    except ValueError as e:
        logger.error(f"Error getting auth and config: {e}")
        return {"error": str(e)}
    
    workflow_id = params.get("workflow_id")
    if not workflow_id:
        return {"error": "Workflow ID is required"}
    
    # Prepare data for the API request
    data = {
        "active": "true",
    }
    
    # Make the API request
    try:
        headers = auth_manager.get_headers()
        url = f"{server_config.instance_url}/api/now/table/wf_workflow/{workflow_id}"
        
        response = requests.patch(url, headers=headers, json=data)
        response.raise_for_status()
        
        result = response.json()
        return {
            "workflow": result.get("result", {}),
            "message": "Workflow activated successfully",
        }
    except requests.RequestException as e:
        logger.error(f"Error activating workflow: {e}")
        return {"error": str(e)}
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Unexpected error activating workflow: {e}")
        return {"error": str(e)}

src/servicenow_mcp/tools/workflow_tools.py:76-80 (schema)

Pydantic model defining input parameters: requires workflow_id (str). Used for validation in the handler.

class ActivateWorkflowParams(BaseModel):
    """Parameters for activating a workflow."""
    
    workflow_id: str = Field(..., description="Workflow ID or sys_id")

src/servicenow_mcp/utils/tool_utils.py:578-584 (registration)
MCP tool registration in get_tool_definitions(): maps 'activate_workflow' to its handler, schema, description, etc.
```
"activate_workflow": (
    activate_workflow_tool,
    ActivateWorkflowParams,
    str,
    "Activate a workflow in ServiceNow",
    "str",  # Tool returns simple message
),
```

src/servicenow_mcp/tools/__init__.py:78-91 (registration)

Imports and exposes activate_workflow from workflow_tools.py for use across the tools module.

from servicenow_mcp.tools.workflow_tools import (
    activate_workflow,
    add_workflow_activity,
    create_workflow,
    deactivate_workflow,
    delete_workflow_activity,
    get_workflow_activities,
    get_workflow_details,
    list_workflow_versions,
    list_workflows,
    reorder_workflow_activities,
    update_workflow,
    update_workflow_activity,
)

src/servicenow_mcp/tools/workflow_tools.py:126-136 (helper)

Helper function to normalize input params to dict, used at the start of activate_workflow.

def _unwrap_params(params: Any, param_class: Type[T]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """
    Unwrap parameters if they're wrapped in a Pydantic model.
    This helps handle cases where the parameters are passed as a model instead of a dict.
    """
    if isinstance(params, dict):
        return params
    if isinstance(params, param_class):
        return params.dict(exclude_none=True)
    return params

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