Query for data by issuing an HTTPS GET request to the instance.

By default, a GET request is interpreted as a get function if a sysparm_sys_id parameter is present. Otherwise, it is interpreted as a getRecords function. You can also specify a URL parameter sysparm_action=get. Query responses are always encapsulated by a records hash of records, where each individual record's values are themselves hashed by field name.

Return Display Value for Reference Variables

When you are getting a record from a get or getRecords function, all the fields associated with that record are returned. The fields are often reference fields that contain a sys_id for another table. The base system behavior is to return the sys_id value for those fields. To have the display value for the field returned, use one of these options:
  • Add the property glide.json.return_displayValue to the system properties, and every JSON request will return a display value for a reference field.
  • Add the parameter displayvalue=true to the JSON request URL and JSON requests with that parameter will return a display value instead of the sys_id for a reference field. The JSON URL would look like this:
    https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?JSON&sysparm_action=getRecords&sysparm_query=active=true^category=hardware&displayvalue=true
  • Add the parameter displayvalue=all to the JSON request URL and JSON requests with that parameter return a display value and the sys_id for a reference field. The response element name for the display value field will be prefixed with dv_, for example dv_caller_id.

Get variables

Use the displayvariables query parameter to return an array of variables associated with a Service Catalog item record. To get variables, add the parameter displayvariables=true to the JSON request URL. For example, here is a URL to retrieve a record in JSON format that includes Service Catalog variables:

https://<your-instance>.servicenow.com/sc_req_item.do?JSONv2&sysparm_action=getRecords&sysparm_query=sys_id=5018da81742bd410f8771974894916fe&displayvariables=true
Here is the example response that displays a multi-row variable set from the record:
{
   "records":[
      {
         …
         "variables":[
            {
               "display_value":[
                  {
                     "quantity":"1",
                     "color":"Black",
                     "device_type":"Apple iPhone 8",
                     "storage":"64GB"
                  },
                  {
                     "quantity":"1",
                     "color":"Black",
                     "device_type":"Apple iPhone 8",
                     "storage":"64GB"
                  }
               ],
               "columns_meta":[
                  {
                     "name":"device_type",
                     "label":"Device Type",
                     "id":"da7d3f3241411300964ff05369414eca",
                     "type":5,
                     "order":"0"
                  },
                  {
                     "name":"storage",
                     "label":"Storage",
                     "id":"691e337241411300964ff05369414e31",
                     "type":5,
                     "order":"1"
                  },
                  {
                     "name":"color",
                     "label":"Color",
                     "id":"e89fb77241411300964ff05369414e74",
                     "type":5,
                     "order":"2"
                  },
                  {
                     "name":"quantity",
                     "label":"Quantity",
                     "id":"2d5f737241411300964ff05369414eaf",
                     "type":5,
                     "order":"3"
                  }
               ],
               "max_rows":50,
               "name":"mobile_devices_set",
               "id":"e84d3f3241411300964ff05369414e3e",
               "type":"one_to_many",
               "value":[
                  {
                     "quantity":"1",
                     "color":"black",
                     "device_type":"iphone8",
                     "storage":"64GB"
                  },
                  {
                     "quantity":"1",
                     "color":"black",
                     "device_type":"iphone8",
                     "storage":"64GB"
                  }
               ],
               "row_count":2
            },
            {
               "question_text":"Department",
               "name":"department",
               "type":8,
               "value":"Development",
               "order":100
            },
            {
               "question_text":"Who is this request for?",
               "name":"requested_for",
               "type":8,
               "value":"System Administrator",
               "order":100
            },
            {
               "question_text":"When do you need this?",
               "name":"needed_by",
               "type":5,
               "value":"Today",
               "order":200
            },
            {
               "question_text":"Business Justification",
               "name":"business_justification",
               "type":2,
               "value":"Example justification",
               "order":200
            }
         ],
       …
      }
   ]
}

The keys in the response are defined as follows:

KeyDescription
display_value Multi-row variable set question display value. Only returned with multi-row variable sets.
columns_meta Array of multi-row variable set metadata, such as the sys_id and name of the field. Only returned when the variable contains multiple fields.
max_rows Maximum rows allowed in the multi-row variable set. Only returned with multi-row variable sets.
name Question name.
id Sys_id of the multi-row variable set. Only returned with multi-row variable sets.
type Type of question.
value Question value.
row_count Current number of rows in the multi-row variable set. Only returned with multi-row variable sets.
question_text Question label. Only returned with single-row variable sets.
order Order of the question.

Control the order of records

You can control the order that records appear in the JSON response. To set an order, use the ORDERBY or ORDERBYDESC clauses in the URL encoded query. For example,

sysparm_query=active=true^ORDERBYnumber^ORDERBYDESCcategory

filters all active records and orders the results in ascending order by number first, and then in descending order by category. For more information, see Encoded query strings.

getKeys

Get the sys_id of multiple records by specifying an encoded query string in the sysparm_query parameter.
https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?JSONv2&sysparm_action=getKeys&sysparm_query=active=true^category=hardware

get

Get a record directly by specifying the sys_id in a sysparm_sys_id parameter.
https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?JSONv2&sysparm_sys_id=9d385017c611228701d22104cc95c371
Optionally, you may also specify the sysparm_action parameter:
https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?JSONv2&sysparm_action=get&sysparm_sys_id=9d385017c611228701d22104cc95c371

getRecords

Get all records by specifying an encoded query string in the sysparm_query parameter.
https://<instance name>.service-now.com/incident.do?JSONv2&sysparm_action=getRecords&sysparm_query=active=true^category=hardware