ServiceNow Connector for PowerShell

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from ServiceNow using PowerShell we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from ServiceNow. We will later be able to read data using PowerShell. Perform these steps:

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

   

3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver:

   ZappySys API Driver

   
   • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
   • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "ServiceNow" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "ServiceNow" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   

5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

   Basic Auth

   ServiceNow authentication

   Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username and password.

   Locate your ServiceNow instance credentials and use them for HTTP authentication:

   1. Go to https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do and log in.
   2. Click on your profile picture.

   3. When a menu appears, click on Manage instance password or a similar option:

      

   4. In a new window you will see your HTTP Basic Authentication credentials:

      

   5. Done! Use this username and password when configuring OAuth Authentication parameters.

   API Connection Manager configuration

   Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

   1. Set Authentication Type to Basic Auth [Http]
   2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
   3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
   4. Finally, hit OK button:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   Basic Auth [Http]

   https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now

   Required Parameters
   InstanceName	Fill-in the parameter...
   User name	Fill-in the parameter...
   Password	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   ApiVersion	v2
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

   OAuth

   ServiceNow authentication

   Authenticate using ServiceNow instance username, password, OAuth Client ID, and Client Secret. [API reference]

   Create OAuth application and use it for authentication:

   1. Login to your instance at https://your-instance-id.service-now.com.

   2. Start by clicking on menu item All, then search for oauth, and click Application Registry option:

      

   3. Then click button New:

      

   4. Continue by clicking Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients option:

      

   5. Move on by naming your OAuth application and entering a Client Secret (or let it be generated automatically).

   6. Finally give it a final touch by increasing the Refresh Token Lifespan value to 315,360,000 (it should last for 10 years):

      

   7. Done! Now you can use Client ID and Client Secret when configuring OAuth Authentication parameters.

   API Connection Manager configuration

   Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

   1. Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
   2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
   3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
   4. Finally, hit OK button:

   ServicenowDSN

   ServiceNow

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://[$InstanceName$].service-now.com/api/now

   Required Parameters
   InstanceName	Fill-in the parameter...
   User name	Fill-in the parameter...
   Password	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client ID	Fill-in the parameter...
   Client Secret	Fill-in the parameter...
   ApiVersion	Fill-in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
   RetryStatusCodeList	429|503
   RetryCountMax	5
   RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

   

6. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - ServiceNow

   Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access.

   ServicenowDSN

   

7. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in PowerShell to retrieve data from ServiceNow. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

   SELECT * FROM incident 
   
   --Using Primary Key				
   --SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause
   
   --Using Filter Expression
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)
   
   --more information about filter here https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html
   
   
   -- To read all available tables execute this query:
   -- SELECT * FROM Tables
   
   -- Other common tables:
   -----------------------
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_db_object
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_dictionary
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_has_role
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_grmember
   -- SELECT * FROM task
   -- SELECT * FROM task_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM incident
   -- SELECT * FROM incident_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM change_request
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_computer
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_outage
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci
   -- SELECT * FROM sn_customerservice_case
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_knowledge
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_use
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_req_item
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_request
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_task

   
   Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the ServiceNow API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.

8. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in PowerShell:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - ServiceNow

   Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access.

   ServicenowDSN

   SELECT * FROM incident 
   
   --Using Primary Key				
   --SELECT * FROM any_table_here WHERE sys_id='109562a3c611227500a7b7ff98cc0dc7' --Primary Key in WHERE clause
   
   --Using Filter Expression
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001') --Equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number!=INC0000001') --Not equal condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberININC0000001,INC0000002,INC0000003') --IN condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7') --AND condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^ORnumber=INC0000002') --OR condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberLIKE0001') --LIKE condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberSTARTSWITHINC00') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='numberENDSWITH0001') --StartWith condition
   --SELECT * FROM incident WITH(Query='number=INC0000001^state=7^NQORnumber=INC0000002') --AND / OR MIXED using NQ (NewQuery Operator)  -- (number=INC0000001 and state=7) OR (number=INC0000002)
   
   --more information about filter here https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-user-interface/page/use/common-ui-elements/reference/r_OpAvailableFiltersQueries.html
   
   
   -- To read all available tables execute this query:
   -- SELECT * FROM Tables
   
   -- Other common tables:
   -----------------------
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_db_object
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_dictionary
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_has_role
   -- SELECT * FROM sys_user_grmember
   -- SELECT * FROM task
   -- SELECT * FROM task_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM incident
   -- SELECT * FROM incident_sla
   -- SELECT * FROM change_request
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_computer
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci_outage
   -- SELECT * FROM cmdb_ci
   -- SELECT * FROM sn_customerservice_case
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_knowledge
   -- SELECT * FROM kb_use
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_req_item
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_request
   -- SELECT * FROM sc_task

   
   You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
   A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the ServiceNow API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in ServiceNow servers).

9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read ServiceNow data in PowerShell

Sometimes, you need to quickly access and work with your ServiceNow data in PowerShell. Whether you need a quick data overview or the complete dataset, this article will guide you through the process. Here are some common scenarios:

• Quickly peek at ServiceNow data
• Monitor data constantly in your console

• Export data to a CSV file so that it can be sliced and diced in Excel
• Export data to a JSON file so that it can ingested by other processes
• Export data to an HTML file for user-friendly view and easy sharing
• Create a schedule to make it an automatic process

• Store data internally for analysis or for further ETL processes
• Create a schedule to make it an automatic process

• Integrate data with other systems via external APIs

In this article, we will delve deeper into how to quickly view the data in PowerShell terminal and how to save it to a file. But let's stop talking and get started!

Reading individual fields

1. Open your favorite PowerShell IDE (we are using Visual Studio Code).

2. Use this code snippet to read the data using ServicenowDSN data source:

   "DSN=ServicenowDSN"

   

   For your convenience, here is the whole PowerShell script:

   # Configure connection string and query
   $connectionString = "DSN=ServicenowDSN"
   $query = "SELECT * FROM Customers"
   
   # Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
   $adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
   $table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable
   
   # Fill the table with data
   $adapter.Fill($table)
   
   # Since we know we will be reading just 4 columns, let's define format for those 4 columns, each separated by a tab
   $format = "{0}`t{1}`t{2}`t{3}"
   
   # Display data in the console
   foreach ($row in $table.Rows)
   {
       # Construct line based on the format and individual ServiceNow fields
       $line = $format -f ($row["CustomerId"], $row["CompanyName"], $row["Country"], $row["Phone"])
       Write-Host $line
   }
   

   Access specific ServiceNow table field using this code snippet:

   $field = $row["ColumnName"]

   You will find more info on how to manipulate DataTable.Rows property in Microsoft .NET reference.
   For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in ServiceNow.

3. To read values in a console, save the script to a file and then execute this command inside PowerShell terminal:

   
   You can also use even a simpler command inside the terminal, e.g.:

   . 'C:\Users\john\Documents\dsn.ps1'

Retrieving all fields

However, there might be case, when you want to retrieve all columns of a query. Here is how you do it:

"DSN=ServicenowDSN"

Again, for your convenience, here is the whole PowerShell script:

# Configure connection string and query
$connectionString = "DSN=ServicenowDSN"
$query = "SELECT CustomerId, CompanyName, Country, Phone FROM Customers"

# Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
$adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
$table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable

# Fill the table with data
$adapter.Fill($table)

# Display data in the console
foreach ($row in $table.Rows) {
    $line = ""
    foreach ($column in $table.Columns) {
        $value = $row[$column.ColumnName]

        # Let's handle NULL values
        if ($value -is [DBNull])
        {
            $value = "(NULL)"
        }
        $line += $value + "`t"
    }
    Write-Host $line
}

SELECT * FROM Customers LIMIT 10

Using a full ODBC connection string

In the previous steps we used a very short format of ODBC connection string - a DSN. Yet sometimes you don't want a dependency on an ODBC data source (and an extra step). In those times, you can define a full connection string and skip creating an ODBC data source entirely. Let's see below how to accomplish that in the below steps:

1. Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:
   

   ZappySys API Driver - Configuration [Version: 2.0.1.10418]

   ZappySys API Driver - ServiceNow

   Allows the reading and writing of incidents, attachments, and more in ServiceNow without coding! The ZappySys ServiceNow API Connector provides easy-to-use, high-performance API access.

   ServicenowDSN

   
2. The window opens, telling us the connection string was successfully copied to the clipboard:
3. Then just paste the connection string into your script:
4. You are good to go! The script will execute the same way as using a DSN.

Limitations of using a full connection string

Despite using a full ODBC connection string may be very convenient it comes with a limitation: it's length is limited to 1024 symbols (or sometimes more). It usually happens when API provider generates a very long Refresh Token when OAuth is at play. If you are using such a long ODBC connection string, you may get this error:

"Connection string exceeds maximum allowed length of 1024"

But there is a solution to this by storing the full connection string in a file. Follow the steps below to achieve this:

1. Open your ODBC data source.
2. Click Copy settings button to copy a full connection string (see the previous section on how to accomplish that).
3. Then create a new file, let's say, in C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt.
4. Continue by pasting the copied connection string into a newly created file and save it.
5. Finally, the last step! Just construct a shorter ODBC connection string using this format:

   DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};SettingsFile=C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt

6. Our troubles are over! Now you should be able to use this connection string in PowerShell with no problems.

Write ServiceNow data to a file in PowerShell

Save data to a CSV file

Export data to a CSV file so that it can be sliced and diced in Excel:

# Configure connection string and query
$connectionString = "DSN=ServicenowDSN"
$query = "SELECT * FROM Customers"

# Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
$adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
$table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable

# Fill the table with data
$adapter.Fill($table)

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Csv -NoTypeInformation -Delimiter "`t" | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.csv" -Force

Save data to a JSON file

Export data to a JSON file so that it can ingested by other processes (use the above script, but change this part):

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Json | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.json" -Force

Save data to an HTML file

Export data to an HTML file for user-friendly view and easy sharing (use the above script, but change this part):

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Html | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.html" -Force

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide ServiceNow data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

• Centralized data access
  The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
• Centralized access control
  Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to ServiceNow, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in PowerShell.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating ServiceNow data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for ServiceNow in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

1. Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:

   

2. Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:

   • Click Add button
   • In Login field enter username, e.g., john
   • Then enter a Password
   • Check Is Administrator checkbox
   • Click OK to save
   

3. Now we are ready to add a data source:

   • Click Add button
   • Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
   • Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
   • Finally, click OK
   ServicenowDSN

   ZappySys API Driver

   

4. When the ZappySys API Driver configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.

5. Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:

   • Click the Save button to persist your changes.
   • Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.

   This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

   
   Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from PowerShell. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

1. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

   

2. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

   ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

   
   If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.

3. Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

   GatewayDSN

   localhost,5000

   
   Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.

4. Proceed with authentication part:

   • Select SQL Server authentication
   • In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
   • Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
   

5. Then set the default database property to ServicenowDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

   ServicenowDSN

   

6. Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:

   

7. Once you do that, test the connection:

   

8. If connection is successful, everything is good:

   

9. Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in PowerShell via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from ServiceNow in PowerShell via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

1. Go back to PowerShell.

2. Use this code snippet to read the data using GatewayDSN data source:

   "DSN=GatewayDSN"

   

   For your convenience, here is the whole PowerShell script:

   # Configure connection string and query
   $connectionString = "DSN=GatewayDSN"
   $query = "SELECT * FROM Customers"
   
   # Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
   $adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
   $table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable
   
   # Fill the table with data
   $adapter.Fill($table)
   
   # Since we know we will be reading just 4 columns, let's define format for those 4 columns, each separated by a tab
   $format = "{0}`t{1}`t{2}`t{3}"
   
   # Display data in the console
   foreach ($row in $table.Rows)
   {
       # Construct line based on the format and individual ServiceNow fields
       $line = $format -f ($row["CustomerId"], $row["CompanyName"], $row["Country"], $row["Phone"])
       Write-Host $line
   }
   

   Access specific ServiceNow table field using this code snippet:

   $field = $row["ColumnName"]

   You will find more info on how to manipulate DataTable.Rows property in Microsoft .NET reference.
   For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in ServiceNow.

3. Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.

4. That's it!

Now you can connect to ServiceNow data in PowerShell via the Data Gateway.

Actions supported by ServiceNow Connector

Learn how to perform common ServiceNow actions directly in PowerShell with these how-to guides:

• Delete a Table Row
• Delete table row
• Get List Of System Tables Admin Use Sys Db Object
• Get List of Tables
• Get List Of Tables Admin Use Sys Db Object
• Get List Of User Tables Admin Use Sys Db Object
• Get Table Columns
• Get Table Columns Admin Use Sys Dictionary
• Get Table Rows
• Update a Table Row
• Make Generic API Request
• Make Generic API Request (Bulk Write)

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to ServiceNow in PowerShell and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort.

We encourage you to download ServiceNow Connector for PowerShell and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download ServiceNow Connector for PowerShell Documentation

More integrations

Other connectors for PowerShell

Amazon Ads

Amazon Athena

Amazon Selling Partner (SP-API)

Apache Derby

Apache Hive

Apache Spark

Asana

Azure DevOps

Cosmos DB

Dropbox

ElasticSearch

FastSpring

Gmail

Google Ads

Google BigQuery

Google Calendar

Google Drive

Google Search Console

Google Sheets

Hubspot

Infor Data Lake

Jira

Mailchimp

ManagedEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

MariaDB

OData

OneDrive

Outlook Mail (Office 365)

Parquet (DuckDB)

Power BI

SharePoint Online

Shopify

Smartsheet

Starburst

Stripe

Trino

YouTube

Zendesk

Zoho CRM

Zoho SalesIQ

Zoom

REST API

JSON

JSON File

XML

SOAP

XML File

JDBC-ODBC Bridge

Salesforce

CSV

Amazon S3 JSON File

Amazon S3 XML File

Amazon S3 CSV File

Azure Blob JSON File

Azure Blob XML File

Azure Blob CSV File

FTP/SFTP JSON File

FTP/SFTP XML File

FTP/SFTP CSV File

Build your own Custom API Connector

Other application integration scenarios for ServiceNow

SSIS

SQL Server

Power BI

SSRS

Informatica

MS Access

MS Excel

SSAS

C#

Python

JAVA

Tableau

SAP Crystal Reports

Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Talend Studio

UiPath

ODBC