servicenow-cicd-devops

name	servicenow-cicd-devops
skill_type	skill
description	ServiceNow release-engineering surface — CI/CD app install/scan/rollback, DevOps change-control & artifact registration, update-set create/preview/commit/back-out, source-control apply/import, plugin activate/rollback, and ATF test-suite runs via the servicenow-api MCP server. Use when the agent must deploy or roll back a scoped app, publish/install from an app repo, run a code/instance scan, move changes with update sets, pull remote source-control changes, activate a plugin, or execute an Automated Test Framework suite. This is where the dev-tooling skill servicenow-sdk-lifecycle defers for remote deploy/publish/test. Do NOT use for generic record CRUD (servicenow-table-api), data ingest/attachments/batch (servicenow-import-attachment-batch), or flow rendering & email (servicenow-platform-utilities).
license	MIT
tags	["servicenow","cicd","devops","update-sets","atf","source-control","rest-api","mcp"]
metadata	{"author":"Genius","version":"0.1.0"}

ServiceNow CI/CD & DevOps (release engineering)

The operational release surface: promote code between instances, scan it, gate it through DevOps change control, and prove it with ATF. Six condensed tools cover the whole pipeline. The full per-action catalog lives in references/actions-catalog.md — read it just-in-time when you need the exact parameter names for an action.

When to use

• Install / publish / roll back a scoped app from a source-control app repo.
• Kick off and poll code or instance scans (full / point / combo / suite).
• Gate a deployment through DevOps change control and register artifacts/packages.
• Move configuration between instances with update sets (create → preview → commit).
• Apply remote source-control changes or import a repository.
• Activate or roll back a plugin.
• Run an Automated Test Framework (ATF) test suite.

When NOT to use

• Generic table CRUD / aggregate / raw REST → servicenow-table-api.
• Bulk data ingest, attachments, or bundled REST → servicenow-import-attachment-batch.
• Flow-to-mermaid, email, metricbase, app metadata → servicenow-platform-utilities.
• Authoring an app locally (SDK scaffolding) → the dev-tooling skill servicenow-sdk-lifecycle; it defers here for the remote deploy/publish/test steps.

Prerequisites & environment

Connect via the mcp-client skill against the servicenow-api MCP server.

Variable	Required	Notes
SERVICENOW_INSTANCE	✅	Instance URL (alias SERVICENOW_URL)
SERVICENOW_USERNAME	✅	Basic-auth user
SERVICENOW_PASSWORD	✅	Basic-auth password
SERVICENOW_CLIENT_ID / SERVICENOW_CLIENT_SECRET	optional	OAuth2
SERVICENOW_SSL_VERIFY	optional	TLS verification toggle

Full env/tag matrix (do not re-document here): the mcp-client reference agent-tools/mcp-client/references/servicenow-api.md. MCP_TOOL_MODE (condensed|verbose|both) selects the condensed surface (used below) vs. the one-to-one verbose tools.

Tools & actions

Prefer the condensed tools; each takes action + a params_json JSON string whose keys are passed straight to the client method. Grouped by sub-area:

Sub-area	Condensed tool	Actions
App/code CI/CD	servicenow_cicd	batch_install, batch_install_result, batch_rollback, app_repo_install, app_repo_publish, app_repo_rollback, full_scan, point_scan, combo_suite_scan, suite_scan, instance_scan_progress, progress
DevOps change	servicenow_devops	check_devops_change_control, register_devops_artifact, check_devops_step_mapping, get_devops_change_info, get_devops_code_schema, get_devops_onboarding_status, get_devops_orchestration_schema, get_devops_plan_schema
Update sets	servicenow_update_sets	update_set_create, update_set_retrieve, update_set_preview, update_set_commit, update_set_commit_multiple, update_set_back_out
Source control	servicenow_source_control	apply_remote_source_control_changes, import_repository
Plugins	servicenow_plugins	activate_plugin, rollback_plugin
Testing	servicenow_testing	run_test_suite

Exact params_json keys per action: references/actions-catalog.md.

Recipes (params_json)

Install an app from its repo, then poll progress until done (app_repo_install returns a progress_id / rollback link; feed it back to progress):

{"sys_id":"<app_sys_id>","scope":"x_myco_app","auto_upgrade_base_app":true}

{"progress_id":"<progress_id_from_install>"}

Create → preview → commit an update set (each step chains the returned sys_id):

{"name":"promote-x_myco_app","description":"Release 1.4.0"}

{"update_set_sys_id":"<sys_id_from_create>"}

{"update_set_sys_id":"<sys_id_from_create>"}

Run an ATF suite by sys_id (run_test_suite):

{"test_suite_sys_id":"<suite_sys_id>","os_name":"linux","browser_name":"chrome"}

Gotchas

• params_json is a string of JSON, not an object — serialize it.
• CI/CD and scan calls are asynchronous: the install/scan actions return a progress/tracker id — poll progress (CI/CD generic) or instance_scan_progress (scans) until the status is complete before treating the result as final.
• Never update_set_commit without a update_set_preview first — preview surfaces collisions/errors that a blind commit would carry into the target instance.
• batch_install (batch descriptor) and batch_install_result are paired: capture the result-token from the install call and pass it to batch_install_result.
• ATF suites require the Automated Test Framework to be enabled and a runner available on the instance; a missing runner leaves the run pending, not failed.
• Verify exact key names in references/actions-catalog.md before a mutating call — DevOps/update-set actions differ subtly (sys_id vs update_set_sys_id vs progress_id).