Scoped Application Development for ServiceNow

Scoped applications provide isolation and portability for custom development in ServiceNow.

Why Use Scoped Apps?

Feature	Global Scope	Scoped App
Naming conflicts	Possible	Prevented (x_prefix)
Portability	Difficult	Easy (Update Sets)
Security	Open	Controlled (Cross-scope)
Store publishing	No	Yes
Dependencies	Implicit	Explicit

Creating a Scoped Application

Via Studio (Recommended)

1. Navigate: System Applications > Studio
2. Click: Create Application
3. Enter:
   - Name: "My Custom App"
   - Scope: "x_mycom_myapp" (auto-generated)
   - Version: 1.0.0
4. Configure:
   - Runtime access: Check tables needing cross-scope access

Via MCP

snow_create_application({
  name: "My Custom Application",
  scope: "x_mycom_custom",
  version: "1.0.0",
  description: "Custom application for...",
})

Scope Naming Convention

x_[vendor]_[app]

Examples:
- x_acme_hr          (ACME Corp HR App)
- x_mycom_inventory  (My Company Inventory)
- x_snc_global       (ServiceNow Global)

Table Naming

// Scoped tables are automatically prefixed
// Table name in Studio: "task_tracker"
// Actual table name: "x_mycom_myapp_task_tracker"

// Creating records
var gr = new GlideRecord("x_mycom_myapp_task_tracker")
gr.initialize()
gr.setValue("name", "My Task")
gr.insert()

Script Include in Scoped App

var TaskManager = Class.create()
TaskManager.prototype = {
  initialize: function () {
    this.tableName = "x_mycom_myapp_task_tracker"
  },

  createTask: function (name, description) {
    var gr = new GlideRecord(this.tableName)
    gr.initialize()
    gr.setValue("name", name)
    gr.setValue("description", description)
    return gr.insert()
  },

  // Mark as accessible from other scopes
  // Requires: "Accessible from: All application scopes"
  getTask: function (sysId) {
    var gr = new GlideRecord(this.tableName)
    if (gr.get(sysId)) {
      return {
        name: gr.getValue("name"),
        description: gr.getValue("description"),
      }
    }
    return null
  },

  type: "TaskManager",
}

Cross-Scope Access

Calling Other Scope's Script Include

// From scope: x_mycom_otherapp
// Calling: x_mycom_myapp.TaskManager

// Option 1: Direct call (if accessible)
var tm = new x_mycom_myapp.TaskManager()
var task = tm.getTask(sysId)

// Option 2: GlideScopedEvaluator
var evaluator = new GlideScopedEvaluator()
evaluator.putVariable("sysId", sysId)
var result = evaluator.evaluateScript("x_mycom_myapp", "new TaskManager().getTask(sysId)")

Accessing Other Scope's Tables

// Check if cross-scope access is allowed
var gr = new GlideRecord("x_other_app_table")
if (!gr.isValid()) {
  gs.error("No access to x_other_app_table")
  return
}

// If accessible, query normally
gr.addQuery("active", true)
gr.query()

Application Properties

Define Properties

// In Application > Properties
// Name: x_mycom_myapp.default_priority
// Value: 3
// Type: string

// In Application > Modules
// Create "Properties" module pointing to:
// /sys_properties_list.do?sysparm_query=name=x_mycom_myapp

Use Properties

// Get property value
var defaultPriority = gs.getProperty("x_mycom_myapp.default_priority", "3")

// Set property value (requires admin)
gs.setProperty("x_mycom_myapp.default_priority", "2")

Application Files Structure

x_mycom_myapp/
├── Tables
│   ├── x_mycom_myapp_task
│   └── x_mycom_myapp_config
├── Script Includes
│   ├── TaskManager
│   └── ConfigUtils
├── Business Rules
│   └── Validate Task
├── UI Pages
│   └── task_dashboard
├── REST API
│   └── Task API
├── Scheduled Jobs
│   └── Daily Cleanup
└── Application Properties
    ├── default_priority
    └── enable_notifications

REST API in Scoped App

Define Scripted REST API

// Resource: /api/x_mycom_myapp/tasks
// HTTP Method: GET

;(function process(request, response) {
  var tasks = []
  var gr = new GlideRecord("x_mycom_myapp_task_tracker")
  gr.addQuery("active", true)
  gr.query()

  while (gr.next()) {
    tasks.push({
      sys_id: gr.getUniqueValue(),
      name: gr.getValue("name"),
      status: gr.getValue("status"),
    })
  }

  response.setBody({
    result: tasks,
    count: tasks.length,
  })
})(request, response)

Calling the API

curl -X GET \
  "https://instance.service-now.com/api/x_mycom_myapp/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token"

Application Dependencies

Declare Dependencies

Application > Dependencies
Add:
  - sn_hr_core (HR Core)
  - sn_cmdb (CMDB)

Check Dependencies in Code

// Check if plugin is active
if (GlidePluginManager.isActive("com.snc.hr.core")) {
  // HR Core is available
  var hrCase = new sn_hr_core.hr_case()
}

Publishing to Store

Checklist Before Publishing

□ All tables have proper ACLs
□ No hard-coded sys_ids
□ No hard-coded instance URLs
□ All dependencies declared
□ Properties have default values
□ Documentation complete
□ Test cases pass
□ No global scope modifications
□ Update Set tested on clean instance

Version Management

Major.Minor.Patch
1.0.0 - Initial release
1.1.0 - New feature added
1.1.1 - Bug fix
2.0.0 - Breaking change

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Solution
Global modifications	Won't deploy cleanly	Keep changes in scope
Hard-coded sys_ids	Fails on other instances	Use properties or lookups
Missing ACLs	Security vulnerabilities	Create ACLs for all tables
No error handling	Silent failures	Add try/catch, logging
Accessing global tables directly	Upgrade conflicts	Use references, not copies

Best Practices

1. Single Responsibility - One app per business function
2. Explicit Dependencies - Declare all requirements
3. Property-Driven - Configurable without code changes
4. Defensive Coding - Check access before operations
5. Documentation - Include README, release notes
6. Testing - Automated tests for critical functions
7. Versioning - Semantic versioning for updates