Authenticate with ServiceNow

You can authenticate with ServiceNow to create your own instance of the ServiceNow OAuth Beta element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the ServiceNow platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with ServiceNow and create an element instance. ServiceNow authentication follows the typical OAuth 2.0 framework and you will need to sign in to ServiceNow as part of the process.

If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To authenticate an element instance:

1. Sign in to Cloud Elements, and then search for ServiceNow OAuth Beta in our Elements Catalog.
2. Hover over the element card, and then click Authenticate.
3. Enter a name for the element instance.
4. In The ServiceNow Subdomain enter your subdomain or entire URL. The subdomain is the part of your URL that is specific to your organization, for example in https://domain12345.service-now.com/ domain12345 is the subdomain.
5. In OAuth API Key enter the Client ID that you identified in API Provider Setup.
6. In OAuth API Secret enter the Client Secret that you identified in API Provider Setup.
7. Optionally type or select one or more Element Instance Tags to add to the authenticated element instance.
8. Click Create Instance.
9. Provide your ServiceNow OAuth Beta credentials, and then allow the connection.
10. Follow up on the developer instance by following the instructions in Manage Your Developer Instance.

After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a virtual data resource, or use it in a formula template.

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated element instance with a token and id.

Authenticating through API follows a multi-step OAuth 2.0 process that involves:

• Getting a redirect URL. This URL sends users to the vendor to log in to their account.
• Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code. After the user logs in, the vendor makes a callback to the specified url with an authorization grant code.
• Authenticating the element instance. Using the authorization code from the vendor, authenticate with the vendor to create an element instance at Cloud Elements.

Getting a Redirect URL

Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the API provider. Replace {keyOrId} with the element key, servicenowoauth.

curl -X GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&servicenow.subdomain=<ServiceNow Subdomain>

Query Parameters

Example cURL

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/servicenowoauth/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_api_key&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth&servicenow.subdomain=dev1234' \

Example Response

Use the oauthUrl in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.

{
"element": "servicenowoauth",
"oauthUrl": "https://dev33891.service-now.com/oauth_auth.do?response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fhttpbin.org%2Fget&state=servicenowoauth&client_id=fake_api_key"
}

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code

Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, ServiceNow OAuth Beta provides the following information in the response:

• code
• state

Authenticating the Element Instance

Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with ServiceNow OAuth Beta and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

To create an element instance:

1. Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):

   {
     "element": {
       "key": "servicenowoauth"
     },
     "providerData": {
       "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>"
     },
     "configuration": {
       "oauth.callback.url": "<ServiceNow Redirect URL>",
       "oauth.api.key": "<ServiceNow Client ID>",
       "oauth.api.secret": "<ServiceNow Client Secret>",
       "servicenow.subdomain": "<ServiceNow Subdomain>"
     },
     "tags": [
       "<Add_Your_Tag>"
     ],
     "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>"
   }
   

2. Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:

   POST /instances
   

   Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. See the Overview for details.

3. Locate the token and id in the response and save them for all future requests using the element instance.

4. Follow up on the developer instance by following the instructions in Manage Your Developer Instance.

Example cURL

curl -X POST \
  https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
  -H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "element": {
    "key": "servicenowoauth"
  },
  "providerData": {
    "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "configuration": {
    "oauth.callback.url": "https;//mycoolapp.com",
    "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "servicenow.subdomain": "domain12345"
  },
  "tags": [
    "Docs"
  ],
  "name": "API Instance"
}'

Parameters

API parameters not shown in Cloud Elements are in code formatting.

Example Response for an Authenticated Element Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{
  "id": 12345,
  "name": "API Instance",
  "createdDate": "2017-07-27T14:27:32Z",
  "token": "ABC/Dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "element": {
    "id": 1323,
    "name": "ServiceNow OAuth",
    "hookName": "ServiceNow",
    "key": "servicenowoauth",
    "description": "ServiceNow is changing the way people work, offering service management for every department in the enterprise including IT, human resources, facilities & more.",
    "image": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000041139697/cf1e6299ecb533ed82725abe96bb96a9_400x400.png",
    "active": true,
    "deleted": false,
    "typeOauth": false,
    "trialAccount": false,
    "resources": [ ],
    "transformationsEnabled": true,
    "bulkDownloadEnabled": true,
    "bulkUploadEnabled": true,
    "cloneable": true,
    "extendable": true,
    "beta": true,
    "authentication": {
        "type": "oauth2"
    },
    "extended": false,
    "hub": "helpdesk",
    "protocolType": "http",
    "parameters": [  ]
    },
    "elementId": 1323,
    "tags": [
        "Docs"
    ],
    "provisionInteractions": [],
    "valid": true,
    "disabled": false,
    "maxCacheSize": 0,
    "cacheTimeToLive": 0,
    "configuration": {    },
    "eventsEnabled": false,
    "traceLoggingEnabled": false,
    "cachingEnabled": false,
    "externalAuthentication": "none",
    "user": {
    "id": 12345
  }
}

Manage Your Developer Instance

After you authenticate an element instance, you must "wake up" your developer instance. See more at ServiceNow's documentation.

To wake a Cloud Elements ServiceNow element instance:

1. Log in to the wake up instance URL with the Developer portal credentials.
2. On the status screen, click Refresh status.

After 10 days of no activity, ServiceNow deletes the instance.