How do I use ServiceNow MCP Server?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@ServiceNow MCP Server Find all high priority incidents assigned to me" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

ServiceNow MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that proxies authenticated ServiceNow REST API access through per-user OAuth 2.0 tokens. Every action runs as the authenticated user, inheriting their ACLs, roles, and audit trail.

Architecture

MCP Client ──► MCP Server (Express + Streamable HTTP) ──► ServiceNow REST API
                        │
                        └──► Redis (encrypted token store)

Per-user OAuth 2.0: Authorization Code Grant flow — no shared service accounts
Encrypted token storage: AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest in Redis
Per-session MCP instances: Each MCP session gets its own server + transport pair
Rate limiting: Token bucket algorithm per user via Redis

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js 22+
Redis (or Docker Compose)
A ServiceNow instance with an OAuth Application Registry entry

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Copy and configure environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your ServiceNow instance details

# Generate encryption key
npm run generate-key
# Add the output to your .env file

# Start in development mode
npm run dev

Docker Deployment

# One-shot setup (Linux VM)
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

# Or manually:
docker compose up -d --build

ServiceNow Setup

OAuth Application

Navigate to System OAuth > Application Registry in ServiceNow
Create: "Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients"
Configure:
- Redirect URL: https://<your-host>:8080/oauth/callback
- Note the Client ID and Client Secret
Add these to your .env file

User Role Requirements

Users who will connect through this MCP server need the snc_platform_rest_api_access role to make REST API calls. Without it, ServiceNow returns a 403 on all API requests (this is enforced when the system property glide.rest.enable_role_based_access is true, which is the default on newer instances).

To grant access:

Per user: Assign snc_platform_rest_api_access directly to the user record
Via group: Create a group (e.g., "MCP Users"), add the role to the group, and manage membership there

This role only grants the ability to call REST APIs — actual record-level access is still governed by each user's existing ACLs and roles.

Available Tools (18 total)

Incident Management

Tool	Description
`search_incidents`	Query incidents with filters (state, priority, assigned to me)
`get_incident`	Get full incident details by number or sys_id
`create_incident`	Create a new incident
`update_incident`	Update fields on an existing incident
`add_work_note`	Add a work note or customer-visible comment

User & Group Lookup

Tool	Description
`lookup_user`	Search users by name, email, or employee ID
`lookup_group`	Search assignment groups by name
`get_my_profile`	Get your own ServiceNow profile

Knowledge Base

Tool	Description
`search_knowledge`	Full-text search across knowledge bases
`get_article`	Get a full knowledge article

Task Management

Tool	Description
`get_my_tasks`	Get all open tasks assigned to you
`get_my_approvals`	Get your pending approvals
`approve_or_reject`	Approve or reject a pending approval

Update Set Management

Tool	Description
`change_update_set`	Change your current in-progress update set by sys_id or exact name
`create_update_set`	Create a new update set and optionally set it as current

Service Catalog

Tool	Description
`search_catalog_items`	Search the service catalog
`get_catalog_item`	Get catalog item details and form variables
`submit_catalog_request`	Submit a catalog request

Security

Several tools enforce server-side identity protections to prevent impersonation or audit trail tampering:

Tool	Protection
`create_incident`	`caller_id` is always set to the authenticated user — cannot be overridden via input
`update_incident`	Protected audit fields (`caller_id`, `opened_by`, `sys_created_by`, `sys_updated_by`, `closed_by`, `resolved_by`, `sys_id`, `number`, `opened_at`, `sys_created_on`, `sys_updated_on`, `sys_mod_count`) are stripped from update payloads
`submit_catalog_request`	`requested_for` is always set to the authenticated user — cannot be overridden via input
`approve_or_reject`	Verifies the approval record belongs to the authenticated user before allowing action

These protections are enforced at the server level and cannot be bypassed by the AI or user input.

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "servicenow": {
      "type": "streamablehttp",
      "url": "https://your-host:8080/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Configuration

All configuration via environment variables. See .env.example for the full list.

Variable	Required	Description
`SERVICENOW_INSTANCE_URL`	Yes	ServiceNow instance URL
`SERVICENOW_CLIENT_ID`	Yes	OAuth client ID
`SERVICENOW_CLIENT_SECRET`	Yes	OAuth client secret
`OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI`	Yes	OAuth callback URL
`TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Yes	Base64-encoded 32-byte AES key
`REDIS_URL`	No	Redis connection string (default: `redis://localhost:6379`)
`MCP_PORT`	No	Server port (default: `8080`)
`RATE_LIMIT_PER_USER`	No	Requests per user per minute (default: `60`)

Adding New Tools

Copy src/tools/_template.ts and follow the pattern. Register your new tool in src/tools/registry.ts.

Testing

npm test          # Run unit tests
npm run test:watch # Watch mode

Endpoints

Path	Method	Description
`/health`	GET	Health check
`/oauth/authorize`	GET	Start OAuth flow
`/oauth/callback`	GET	OAuth callback
`/mcp`	POST	MCP initialize + tool calls
`/mcp`	GET	MCP SSE notifications
`/mcp`	DELETE	Close MCP session

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ServiceNow MCP Server

ServiceNow MCP Server

Architecture

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Development

Docker Deployment

ServiceNow Setup

OAuth Application

User Role Requirements

Available Tools (18 total)

Incident Management

User & Group Lookup

Knowledge Base

Task Management

Update Set Management

Service Catalog

Security

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Configuration

Adding New Tools

Testing

Endpoints

Resources

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