Twenty real ServiceNow scripting problems pulled from live interview loops — each with a working script, a plain-English explanation, and an alternate approach a senior interviewer expects you to know. Skim before the call, or drill each in the live coding simulator.
“Write a script to log the number of active P1 incidents.”
var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr.addActiveQuery();
gr.addQuery('priority', 1);
gr.query();
gs.info('Active P1: ' + gr.getRowCount());addActiveQuery() is shorthand for active=true. getRowCount() returns the matched count without iterating.
Use GlideAggregate('incident') with addAggregate('COUNT') for a single DB call instead of loading rows.
“Reassign incidents in New state older than 7 days to a fallback group.”
var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr.addQuery('state', 1);
gr.addQuery('sys_created_on', '<', gs.daysAgoStart(7));
gr.query();
while (gr.next()) {
gr.assignment_group = 'fallback_group_sys_id';
gr.update();
}gs.daysAgoStart(7) returns a GlideDateTime 7 days back at 00:00 in system TZ, perfect for boundary queries.
Use gr.setValue() + gr.updateMultiple() outside the loop for a single UPDATE — but you lose per-row Business Rules.
“Group incidents by category and log each count.”
var ga = new GlideAggregate('incident');
ga.addAggregate('COUNT');
ga.groupBy('category');
ga.query();
while (ga.next()) {
gs.info(ga.category + ': ' + ga.getAggregate('COUNT'));
}GlideAggregate pushes the GROUP BY to the DB — vastly faster than iterating with GlideRecord and counting in JS.
For a single category, use addAggregate('COUNT') + addQuery('category', X) without groupBy.
“On insert, prefix short_description with the caller's company name.”
(function executeRule(current, previous) {
var company = current.caller_id.company.getDisplayValue();
if (company) current.short_description = '[' + company + '] ' + current.short_description;
})(current, previous);In a before-BR, mutate current.* directly — the framework saves the row. Never call current.update() here (recursion).
Use a Data Policy for cross-scope enforcement, or a Flow Designer subflow if non-devs must maintain the rule.
“Hide 'resolution_code' unless state is Resolved.”
function onChange(control, oldValue, newValue, isLoading) {
if (isLoading || newValue === '') return;
g_form.setDisplay('resolution_code', newValue === '6');
}isLoading guards against form-load firing the change handler with the initial value. setDisplay removes the field from the DOM.
Prefer a UI Policy — declarative, easier to maintain, and evaluates without a round trip.
“From a client script, get the manager display name of the selected user.”
var ga = new GlideAjax('UserUtils');
ga.addParam('sysparm_name', 'getManager');
ga.addParam('sysparm_user', g_form.getValue('caller_id'));
ga.getXMLAnswer(function(answer) {
g_form.setValue('u_manager_name', answer);
});getXMLAnswer is async and returns just the 'answer' attribute — the recommended non-blocking pattern.
For read-only reference data, use GlideRecord in the client (deprecated) or a scripted REST resource for cross-domain calls.
“Return the manager sys_id for a given user, called from GlideAjax.”
var UserUtils = Class.create();
UserUtils.prototype = Object.extendsObject(AbstractAjaxProcessor, {
getManager: function() {
var u = new GlideRecord('sys_user');
if (u.get(this.getParameter('sysparm_user'))) return u.getValue('manager');
return '';
},
type: 'UserUtils'
});Extending AbstractAjaxProcessor gives you getParameter() and the ajax framework binding. Mark 'Client callable'.
For server-only reuse, drop AbstractAjaxProcessor and use a plain object with static helpers.
“Find incidents where priority is 1 OR assignment_group is empty.”
var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr.addEncodedQuery('priority=1^ORassignment_groupISEMPTY');
gr.query();
gs.info(gr.getRowCount());Encoded queries mirror list filter URLs exactly — grab one from a filtered list view and paste it in.
Chain addQuery + addOrCondition programmatically when parts of the filter come from variables.
“Log business hours between opened_at and resolved_at on an incident.”
var start = new GlideDateTime(current.opened_at);
var end = new GlideDateTime(current.resolved_at);
var schedule = new GlideSchedule('08fcd0830a0a0b2600079f56b1adb9ae'); // 8-5 weekdays
var dur = schedule.duration(start, end);
gs.info('Business ms: ' + dur.getNumericValue());GlideSchedule.duration honors working hours and holidays. Numeric value is ms; divide by 3.6e6 for hours.
Use gs.calDateDiff(startStr, endStr, false) for a quick wall-clock diff when schedules don't matter.
“POST a payload to a vendor endpoint and log the response body.”
try {
var r = new sn_ws.RESTMessageV2('Vendor', 'createTicket');
r.setStringParameterNoEscape('payload', JSON.stringify({ id: current.number + '' }));
var resp = r.execute();
if (resp.haveError()) gs.error('Vendor error: ' + resp.getErrorMessage());
else gs.info(resp.getBody());
} catch (e) {
gs.error('REST exception: ' + e.message);
}haveError() catches HTTP-level failures; try/catch catches transport failures. Log both — silent failures are the #1 integration bug.
For fire-and-forget, use executeAsync() + a response processor script to keep the transaction fast.
“From a scoped app, call a public Script Include in the global scope.”
var util = new global.GlobalUtils();
var result = util.getConfig('billing_endpoint');
gs.info(result);Prefix with 'global.' when accessing global-scope Script Includes; the include must be marked 'Accessible from All application scopes'.
Expose the value via a system property and read with gs.getProperty() — no scope negotiation needed.
“Deactivate duplicate sys_user records sharing the same email, keeping the oldest.”
var seen = {};
var gr = new GlideRecord('sys_user');
gr.addActiveQuery();
gr.orderBy('sys_created_on');
gr.query();
while (gr.next()) {
var email = (gr.email + '').toLowerCase();
if (!email) continue;
if (seen[email]) {
gr.active = false;
gr.update();
} else {
seen[email] = true;
}
}orderBy ensures the earliest record wins. Lowercasing avoids false positives from mixed-case emails.
Use GlideAggregate to first list emails with COUNT>1, then only iterate those — faster on large tables.
“Nightly, reject sysapproval_approver rows waiting > 14 days.”
var gr = new GlideRecord('sysapproval_approver');
gr.addQuery('state', 'requested');
gr.addQuery('sys_created_on', '<', gs.daysAgoStart(14));
gr.query();
while (gr.next()) {
gr.state = 'rejected';
gr.comments = 'Auto-rejected after 14 days.';
gr.update();
}Scheduled Scripts run as system — no ACL restrictions. Keep them idempotent so re-runs are safe.
Fire a custom event per row via gs.eventQueue() and let a script action + notification handle it asynchronously.
“Add a form button that sets priority=1 and comments 'Escalated by <user>'.”
// UI Action, Client=false, Condition: current.priority > 1
current.priority = 1;
current.comments = 'Escalated by ' + gs.getUserDisplayName();
current.update();
action.setRedirectURL(current);Server UI Actions run in the same transaction as the record; action.setRedirectURL reloads the same form to show updates.
Split into a client UI Action that shows a GlideModal confirmation, then calls a Script Include via GlideAjax.
“On a catalog item load, default 'department' to the requester's department.”
function onLoad() {
var ga = new GlideAjax('CatalogUtils');
ga.addParam('sysparm_name', 'getRequesterDept');
ga.getXMLAnswer(function(answer) {
if (answer) g_form.setValue('department', answer);
});
}Catalog Client Scripts run in Service Portal and native UI. Use GlideAjax — g_user has limited fields.
Set the default via a catalog variable's 'Default value' script — no client-side call needed.
“When an incident closes, queue an event that pushes a Slack notification.”
// After-BR on incident, when state changes to Closed
gs.eventQueue('incident.closed', current, current.assigned_to + '', current.number + '');
// Script Action listening on 'incident.closed'
(function(event) {
var r = new sn_ws.RESTMessageV2('Slack', 'post');
r.setStringParameterNoEscape('text', 'Incident ' + event.parm2 + ' closed');
r.execute();
})(event);Pass sys_ids and primitives in parm1/parm2 — GlideRecord references stringify unpredictably.
Use Flow Designer with a Slack Spoke — non-devs can maintain the flow, no BR change required.
“Allow read on 'incident' only if the caller_id.company matches the current user's company.”
answer = false;
if (current.caller_id.company + '' === gs.getUser().getCompanyID()) {
answer = true;
}ACL script assigns to 'answer'. Coerce sys_ids with + '' to strings so === works.
Use a 'contains' query business rule on a data-driven role, or leverage Domain Separation instead of scripting ACLs.
“In a workflow run script, stash a value the next activity will read.”
// Run Script activity
workflow.scratchpad.approvers = getApprovers(current);
// Next 'If' activity
answer = workflow.scratchpad.approvers.length > 0 ? 'yes' : 'no';workflow.scratchpad persists for the lifetime of the context — cleaner than stashing on the record.
Persist state on the parent record with a hidden field if the workflow may be replayed after a fault.
“In a Script Include callable from portal, return incidents the current user can actually see.”
var gr = new GlideRecordSecure('incident');
gr.addActiveQuery();
gr.query();
var out = [];
while (gr.next()) out.push(gr.getValue('number'));
return out;GlideRecordSecure applies ACLs; regular GlideRecord bypasses them when called from a system-privileged context.
Use a scripted REST resource with 'Requires ACL' checked — the framework enforces ACLs on the endpoint itself.
“In a scripted REST POST, read a JSON body and create incidents.”
(function process(request, response) {
var body = request.body.data; // parsed JSON
var items = Array.isArray(body) ? body : [body];
var created = [];
items.forEach(function(item) {
var gr = new GlideRecord('incident');
gr.initialize();
gr.short_description = item.title;
gr.caller_id = item.caller;
created.push(gr.insert());
});
return { created: created };
})(request, response);request.body.data is already parsed. Normalize to an array so single-item and batch requests share one code path.
For high-volume ingest, insert rows via the Import Set API + a transform map — offloads validation to platform.
Drill 2,000+ variants with instant validation and alternative-approach hints.