| name | servicenow-workflow-studio |
| skill_type | skill |
| description | Author ServiceNow Flow Designer flows, subflows, and actions as code with the Fluent `@servicenow/sdk/automation` API (`Flow`, `Subflow`, `wfa.trigger`, `wfa.action`, `wfa.flowLogic`, `wfa.dataPill`), plus how each Fluent construct maps to the Flow Designer UI. Use when the agent must write or explain a flow, subflow, trigger, flow-logic branch/loop, data pill, or script action in code, or introspect a deployed flow's graph via the servicenow-api MCP server. Do NOT use for the build/deploy/ATF lifecycle of the app that contains the flow (use servicenow-sdk-lifecycle), for scoped-app metadata anatomy (use servicenow-app-engine), for the raw bundled flow samples (use servicenow-sdk-docs), or for record CRUD against a live instance (use servicenow-table-api). |
| license | MIT |
| tags | ["servicenow","flow-designer","fluent","automation","subflow","trigger","low-code","mcp"] |
| metadata | {"author":"Genius","version":"0.1.0"} |
ServiceNow Workflow Studio (Flow Designer as code)
Flow Designer is ServiceNow's low-code automation surface. The Fluent
@servicenow/sdk/automation API expresses the same flows/subflows/actions as
TypeScript source, so they live in a repo and ship through the SDK lifecycle. This skill
is about authoring that code and mapping it back to the UI — it defers build/deploy
to servicenow-sdk-lifecycle.
When to use
- Writing a
Flow(...), Subflow(...), or ScriptAction(...) in Fluent.
- Choosing/configuring a trigger (record or application).
- Adding flow logic: if / elseIf / else / forEach / waitForCondition / endFlow.
- Wiring data pills between a trigger, action outputs, and downstream inputs.
- Introspecting a deployed flow's structure (mermaid graph, metadata) via MCP.
When NOT to use
- Building/deploying/testing the containing app →
servicenow-sdk-lifecycle.
- Scoped-app anatomy / App Engine Studio →
servicenow-app-engine.
- Reading the raw samples →
servicenow-sdk-docs.
- Ad-hoc live record CRUD →
servicenow-table-api.
Canonical samples (cross-reference — never copy in)
Every construct below has a worked example bundled in the sibling skill:
- Flows, subflows, triggers, flow logic, data pills:
servicenow-sdk-docs → assets/samples/flow-sample/ and references/flow-sample.md.
- Script actions (
sysevent_script_action):
servicenow-sdk-docs → assets/samples/scriptaction-sample/ and
references/scriptaction-sample.md.
Open those when you need a full, real file; the references here teach the shape and
rules so you can compose new ones.
The shape of a flow
import { action, Flow, wfa, trigger } from '@servicenow/sdk/automation'
export const myFlow = Flow(
{ $id: Now.ID['my_flow'], name: 'My Flow', description: '...' },
wfa.trigger(trigger.record.created, { $id: Now.ID['trg'] }, { table: 'incident', condition: 'active=true' }),
(params) => {
wfa.action(action.core.log, { $id: Now.ID['log'] }, { log_level: 'info', log_message: '...' })
},
)
Three positional arguments: metadata ($id/name/description), a trigger
(wfa.trigger), and the body (params) => { ... }. params.trigger.* exposes trigger
outputs to the body.
Reference map — open just-in-time
references/automation-api.md — Flow vs Subflow vs Action; imports; the
$id/Now.ID identity rule; subflow inputs/outputs/flowVariables. Read first when
starting any flow.references/triggers.md — record triggers (created/updated/createdOrUpdated)
and application triggers (inbound email, SLA task, remote table query, knowledge mgmt);
their config keys. Read when picking/configuring a trigger.references/flow-logic.md — wfa.flowLogic.if/elseIf/else/forEach/ waitForCondition/endFlow/assignSubflowOutputs. Read when adding branching/looping/waits.references/data-pills-and-values.md — wfa.dataPill(value, type), the data-pill
types, TemplateValue, Duration. Read when passing values between steps.references/actions-and-script-actions.md — the action.core.* catalog used by
wfa.action, and standalone ScriptAction (event-driven server scripts). Read when
adding a step or a script action.references/mapping-to-flow-designer.md — Fluent construct ↔ Flow Designer UI
element table. Read when explaining code to a UI user or reverse-engineering a UI flow.
Introspecting deployed flows (MCP — servicenow_flows)
Once a flow is deployed, inspect it on the instance with the servicenow-api MCP server.
Call as servicenow_flows(action="...", params_json="{...}") (JSON string). Env + tag
matrix: agent-tools/mcp-client/references/servicenow-api.md.
| Action | Purpose |
|---|
workflow_to_mermaid | Render a deployed flow/workflow as a mermaid diagram (visualize/verify structure). |
collect_graph_for_roots | Collect the full flow graph starting from one or more root flow sys_ids (dependencies/subflow tree). |
get_flow_metadata | Fetch a flow's metadata (name, trigger, table, state) by sys_id. |
Use these to confirm a deployed flow matches the authored Fluent, or to understand an
existing UI-built flow before converting it to code.
Gotchas
$id is identity. A stable $id (Now.ID[...] or an explicit sys_id) makes a
re-deploy update the same flow/step; changing it creates a duplicate.- Trigger outputs are only reachable via
params.trigger.*; action outputs via the
variable you bound the wfa.action(...) call to (e.g. const x = wfa.action(...) →
x.Record.field).
- Values crossing step boundaries must be wrapped as data pills — a bare
params.trigger.field won't bind correctly (see data-pills-and-values.md).
- Authoring here does not deploy — build/install via
servicenow-sdk-lifecycle.
