servicenow-expert-mcp

The ServiceNow MCP server that ships built-in platform expertise.

Most ServiceNow MCP servers are pure API plumbing — they hand an LLM a REST connection and stop there. This one pairs 30 curated offline reference topics (the kind of platform knowledge a senior ServiceNow developer carries in their head) with BYO-credential live Table API tools — so the agent can both reason correctly about ServiceNow and act on your instance.

It is built on one hard rule: it never fabricates instance data. With no credentials, the live tools return {"mode":"offline"} and make zero network calls — the agent answers from knowledge and tells you to connect an instance, rather than inventing records.

Why this one

| | This server | Typical OSS SN MCP | ServiceNow native MCP (Zurich+) | |---|---|---|---| | Built-in platform knowledge | ✅ 30 curated topics | ❌ API only | ❌ | | Refuses to fabricate records | ✅ tested invariant | ⚠️ varies | ✅ | | Works without an instance | ✅ knowledge offline | ❌ | ❌ | | Any SN version / any AI model | ✅ Table API (Tokyo+) | ✅ | ❌ Zurich+ & Now Assist only | | Zero entitlements | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ requires Now Assist | | Dependency footprint | MCP SDK + zod only | varies | platform |

If you want a connector, there are good free ones. If you want an agent that actually understands ServiceNow — encoded-query syntax, GlideRecord pitfalls, Business-Rule-vs-Flow decisions, ACL evaluation order, update-set hygiene — that's what this adds.

Built-in knowledge (always on, no instance needed)

30 topics covering: core tables · encoded queries (basic + advanced) · Table API (+ advanced) · GlideRecord · Aggregate API · import sets · Business Rules (incl. deep) vs Flow Designer · Script Includes · client scripts · GlideAjax · Glide APIs · Flow Designer · Service Catalog · notifications & events · scheduled jobs · REST integration · ACLs & security · update sets · scoped apps · CMDB/CI · users/groups/roles · states & choices · performance best practices · debugging & troubleshooting · a guided onboarding learning path · and a glossary.

Tools (8)

Knowledge (always on): snow_reference · snow_search_knowledge · snow_connection_status

Live Table API (only with credentials): snow_query_table · snow_get_record · snow_list_incidents · snow_create_record · snow_update_record

Bring your own instance

A free Personal Developer Instance from developer.servicenow.com gives you a full instance with REST access. Set env vars (basic auth):

| Var | Required | |---|---| | SNOW_INSTANCE_URL | ✅ e.g. https://dev12345.service-now.com | | SNOW_USER | ✅ | | SNOW_PASSWORD | ✅ |

Credentials stay in your environment — never logged, never returned. With none set, every live tool is offline and inert.

Quickstart

npm install servicenow-expert-mcp     # or clone + npm install && npm run build
servicenow-mcp                        # offline: knowledge works, live tools say mode:offline

Use it from Claude Desktop / Claude Code / any MCP client

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "servicenow": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "servicenow-expert-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SNOW_INSTANCE_URL": "https://dev12345.service-now.com",
        "SNOW_USER": "admin",
        "SNOW_PASSWORD": "..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Omit the env block to run knowledge-only (no instance, no network from live tools).

Who it's for

ServiceNow developers, consultants, and SI teams who want an AI pair that reasons like a platform expert and can safely touch a real instance — in their IDE, in Claude, or behind a chat bot.

Roadmap

• OAuth 2.1 + PKCE (in addition to basic auth)
• More live surfaces (CMDB walk, update-set review skill, ATC-style script checks)
• Packaged multi-channel assistant (the hosted Nova bot)

Author & services

Built by Akshay Palimkar — SAP & ServiceNow × AI specialist. Need ServiceNow + AI wired into your practice (custom knowledge packs, governed agents, MID-server/on-prem deployment)? Reach out via the repository.

License

MIT