ServiceNow MCP Server

Table API · CMDB · Update Sets · Aggregation · Resources · OAuth 2.1+PKCE · Streamable HTTP · Claude Code Plugin · 4 Skills

What This Does

This MCP server lets AI assistants interact directly with a ServiceNow instance. Instead of copy-pasting between ServiceNow and your AI tool, Claude can query incidents, create records, explore CMDB relationships, and manage update sets through natural conversation.

Built with FastMCP 3.1 for decorator-based tool definitions, MCP resources, and dual transport support.

Native vs Community

ServiceNow shipped a native MCP Server in Zurich (2025). Here's when to use each:

Use native if you're on Zurich+ with Now Assist and need AI Control Tower governance. Use this if you're on an older version, don't have the entitlement, need custom table access, or want to use any AI model.

Getting Started

1. Get a ServiceNow Instance

Sign up for a free Personal Developer Instance (PDI) — it comes pre-loaded with demo data. Wake it from the developer portal if it's hibernating.

2. Install

# From PyPI (recommended)
pip install mcp-server-servicenow

# Or run directly with uvx (no install needed)
uvx mcp-server-servicenow --help

3. Configure Your MCP Client

Copy .mcp.json.example to .mcp.json and fill in your credentials, or use the Claude Code CLI:

claude mcp add servicenow -- uvx mcp-server-servicenow \
  --instance-url https://your-instance.service-now.com \
  --auth-type basic --username admin --password your-password

4. Verify

Ask Claude: "List the 5 most recent incidents" — if it returns data, you're connected.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jschuller/mcp-server-servicenow.git
cd mcp-server-servicenow
pip install -e .

# Run with stdio (Claude Desktop / Claude Code)
mcp-server-servicenow \
  --instance-url https://your-instance.service-now.com \
  --auth-type basic \
  --username admin \
  --password your-password

# Or run with HTTP (remote access / Cloud Run)
mcp-server-servicenow \
  --transport streamable-http \
  --port 8080 \
  --instance-url https://your-instance.service-now.com \
  --auth-type basic \
  --username admin \
  --password your-password

Available Tools

Table API (6 tools)

CMDB (5 tools)

System (3 tools)

Update Sets (5 tools)

Resources

MCP Resources provide read-only context that LLM clients can fetch without tool calls — reducing latency and token overhead.

Architecture

graph TD
    CC["MCP Client"]
    subgraph SERVER["FastMCP 3.1"]
        TT["table_tools (6)"]
        CT["cmdb_tools (5)"]
        ST["system_tools (3)"]
        UT["update_set_tools (5)"]
        RS["resources (5)"]
        SNR["make_sn_request"]
    end
    subgraph AUTH["Auth + HTTP"]
        AM["auth_manager"]
        AR["api_request"]
    end
    SN["ServiceNow Instance"]

    CC -->|"stdio / Streamable HTTP"| SERVER
    TT --> SNR
    CT --> SNR
    ST --> SNR
    UT --> SNR
    RS --> SNR
    SNR --> AR
    AM -.->|"credentials"| AR
    AR -->|"REST API"| SN

Configuration

Add to your MCP client config — copy the snippet for your tool:

claude mcp add servicenow -- uvx mcp-server-servicenow \
  --instance-url https://your-instance.service-now.com \
  --auth-type basic --username admin --password your-password

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "servicenow": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-servicenow"],
      "env": {
        "SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL": "https://your-instance.service-now.com",
        "SERVICENOW_AUTH_TYPE": "basic",
        "SERVICENOW_USERNAME": "admin",
        "SERVICENOW_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to .cursor/mcp.json or .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "servicenow": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-servicenow"],
      "env": {
        "SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL": "https://your-instance.service-now.com",
        "SERVICENOW_AUTH_TYPE": "basic",
        "SERVICENOW_USERNAME": "admin",
        "SERVICENOW_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

See Configuration Guide for OAuth, multi-instance, and the full environment variable reference.

Deployment

See Deployment Guide — Docker, Cloud Run, HTTP transport verification, and the security model.

Troubleshooting

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues (hibernating instances, 401 errors, OAuth).

Development

# Install with dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run unit tests
python -m pytest tests/ -v --ignore=tests/integration

# Run integration tests (requires PDI credentials)
# Option 1: Create .env.test (gitignored, auto-loaded)
cp .env.example .env.test  # then fill in your credentials
python -m pytest tests/integration/ -v

# Option 2: Inline env vars
SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL=https://your-pdi.service-now.com \
SERVICENOW_USERNAME=admin SERVICENOW_PASSWORD=your-password \
python -m pytest tests/integration/ -v

# Lint
ruff check src/ tests/

Skills (Claude Code)

This project ships 4 Claude Code skills in .claude/skills/ — guided workflows that chain MCP tools for common ServiceNow tasks. Skills auto-trigger from natural conversation or can be invoked directly.

The update set reviewer is a unique differentiator — no other open-source ServiceNow MCP server provides guided update set review workflows with risk categorization and pre-promotion checklists.

Claude Code Plugin

Install as a Claude Code plugin for zero-config setup — the MCP server, skills, slash commands, and admin agent are bundled together.

Prerequisites

Set these environment variables (or add them to your shell profile):

export SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL="https://your-instance.service-now.com"
export SERVICENOW_AUTH_TYPE="basic"  # or "oauth"
export SERVICENOW_USERNAME="admin"
export SERVICENOW_PASSWORD="your-password"
# For OAuth only:
export SERVICENOW_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export SERVICENOW_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Install from Git

claude plugin add --from https://github.com/jschuller/mcp-server-servicenow

Install Locally (development)

claude --plugin-dir /path/to/mcp-server-servicenow

Slash Commands

Agent

The servicenow-admin agent handles complex multi-step tasks autonomously (CMDB audits, incident trend reports, batch update set reviews). Claude can spawn it as a background worker for long-running analysis.

Note: The plugin auto-configures the MCP server — no manual .mcp.json setup required.

Roadmap

• Phase 1 ✅ Foundation — 18 tools, OAuth retry, structured error handling

• Phase 2 ✅ Remote access — FastMCP 3.0, Streamable HTTP, Cloud Run deployment

• Phase 3 ✅ Security — OAuth 2.1 + PKCE proxy, per-user SN auth, matches native Zurich model

• Phase 4 ✅ Skills & workflows — 4 Claude Code skills (CMDB, table explorer, update set reviewer, incident triage)

• Phase 4.5 ✅ Plugin packaging — Claude Code plugin with slash commands, admin agent, zero-config install

• Phase 5 ✅ Distribution — PyPI package, MCP Registry, automated publish workflows

• Sprint 2 ✅ FastMCP 3.1.1 — MultiAuth, token caching, connection pooling, response limiting, tool tags

• Sprint 3 ✅ Resources + Aggregation — 5 MCP resources, aggregate_records Stats API tool

• Next — Enhancement backlog under active consideration (background scripts, error enrichment, system logs, health checks)

Related Projects

• sn-app-template — ServiceNow scoped app template for Claude Code + now-sdk. Pairs with this MCP server for AI-assisted development.

License

MIT