SAP Open Connectors

ServiceNow OAuth Authenticate a Connector

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You can authenticate with ServiceNow to create your own instance of the ServiceNow OAuth connector through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the connector instance to access the different functionality offered by the ServiceNow OAuth platform.

Authenticate Through the UI

Use the UI to authenticate with ServiceNow OAuth and create a connector instance. Because you authenticate with ServiceNow OAuth via OAuth 2.0, all you need to do is add a name for the instance and provide your ServiceNow subdomain, API key, and API secret you identified in ServiceNow OAuth API Provider Setup. After you create the instance, you'll log in to ServiceNow OAuth to authorize SAP Open Connectors access to your account. For more information about authenticating a connector instance, see Authenticate a Connector Instance (UI)

After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a common resource, or use it in a formula template.

Authenticate Through API

Authenticating through API is similar to authenticating via the UI. Instead of clicking and typing through a series of buttons, text boxes, and menus, you will instead send a request to our /instances endpoint. The end result is the same, though: an authenticated connector instance with a token and id.

Authenticating through API follows a multi-step OAuth 2.0 process that involves:


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Getting a Redirect URL


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the API provider. Replace {keyOrId} with the connector key, servicenowoauth.

curl -X GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&servicenow.subdomain=<ServiceNow Subdomain>

Query Parameters

Query ParameterDescription
apiKeyThe key obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Client ID that you recorded in API Provider Setup.
apiSecretThe secret obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Client Secret that you recorded in API Provider Setup.
callbackUrlThe URL that will receive the code from the vendor to be used to create a connector instance.
servicenow.subdomainThis is the part of your URL that is specific to your organization, for example in https://domain12345.service-now.com/ domain12345 is the subdomain.

Example cURL

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.openconnectors.us2.ext.hana.ondemand.com/elements/api-v2/elements/servicenowoauth/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_api_key&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth&servicenow.subdomain=dev1234' \

Example Response

Use the oauthUrl in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.

{
"element":"servicenowoauth",
"oauthUrl":"https://dev1234.service-now.com/oauth_auth.do?response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mycoolapp.com%2Fauth&state=servicenowoauth&client_id=fake_api_key"
}

Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, ServiceNow OAuth Beta provides the following information in the response:

  • code
  • state
Response ParameterDescription
codeThe Authorization Grant Code required by SAP Open Connectors to retrieve the OAuth access and refresh tokens from the endpoint.
stateA customizable identifier, typically the connector key (servicenowoauth) .
Note: If the user denies authentication and/or authorization, there will be a query string parameter called error instead of the code parameter. In this case, your application can handle the error gracefully.

Authenticating the Connector Instance


1
Redirect URL




2
Authenticate Users




3
Authenticate Instance


Use the /instances endpoint to authenticate with ServiceNow OAuth Beta and create a connector instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.

Note: The endpoint returns a connector instance token and id upon successful completion. Retain the token and id for all subsequent requests involving this connector instance.

To create a connector instance:

  1. Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):

    {
      "element": {
        "key": "servicenowoauth"
      },
      "providerData": {
        "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>"
      },
      "configuration": {
        "oauth.callback.url": "<ServiceNow Redirect URL>",
        "oauth.api.key": "<ServiceNow Client ID>",
        "oauth.api.secret": "<ServiceNow Client Secret>",
        "servicenow.subdomain": "<ServiceNow Subdomain>"
      },
      "tags": [
        "<Add_Your_Tag>"
      ],
      "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>"
    }
    
  2. Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:

    POST /instances
    
    Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. For more information, see Authorization Headers, Organization Secret, and User Secret.
  3. Locate the token and id in the response and save them for all future requests using the connector instance.

  4. Follow up on the developer instance by following the instructions in Manage Your Developer Instance.

Example cURL

curl -X POST \
  https://api.openconnectors.us2.ext.hana.ondemand.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
  -H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "element": {
    "key": "servicenowoauth"
  },
  "providerData": {
    "code": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
  },
  "configuration": {
    "oauth.callback.url": "https;//mycoolapp.com",
    "oauth.api.key": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "oauth.api.secret": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "servicenow.subdomain": "domain12345"
  },
  "tags": [
    "Docs"
  ],
  "name": "API Instance"
}'

Parameters

API parameters not shown in SAP Open Connectors are in code formatting.

Note: Event-related parameters are described in Events.
ParameterDescriptionData Type
keyThe connector key.
servicenowoauth
string
codeThe authorization grant code returned from the API provider in an OAuth2 authentication workflow.string
Name
name
The name for the connector instance created during authentication.string
oauth.callback.urlThe URL where you want to redirect users after they grant access. This is the Redirect URL that you noted in API Provider Setup.string
oauth.api.keyThe Client ID from ServiceNow OAuth Beta. This is the Client ID that you noted in API Provider Setup.string
oauth.api.secretThe Client Secret from ServiceNow OAuth Beta. This is the Client Secret that you noted in API Provider Setup.string
The ServiceNow Subdomain
servicenow.subdomain
This is the part of your URL that is specific to your organization, for example in https://domain12345.service-now.com/ domain12345 is the subdomain.string
tagsOptional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance.string

Example Response for an Authenticated Connector Instance

In this example, the instance ID is 12345 and the instance token starts with "ABC/D...". The actual values returned to you will be unique: make sure you save them for future requests to this new instance.

{
  "id": 12345,
  "name": "API Instance",
  "createdDate": "2017-07-27T14:27:32Z",
  "token": "ABC/Dxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "element": {
    "id": 1323,
    "name": "ServiceNow OAuth",
    "hookName": "ServiceNow",
    "key": "servicenowoauth",
    "description": "ServiceNow is changing the way people work, offering service management for every department in the enterprise including IT, human resources, facilities & more.",
    "image": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000041139697/cf1e6299ecb533ed82725abe96bb96a9_400x400.png",
    "active": true,
    "deleted": false,
    "typeOauth": false,
    "trialAccount": false,
    "resources": [ ],
    "transformationsEnabled": true,
    "bulkDownloadEnabled": true,
    "bulkUploadEnabled": true,
    "cloneable": true,
    "extendable": true,
    "beta": true,
    "authentication": {
        "type": "oauth2"
    },
    "extended": false,
    "hub": "helpdesk",
    "protocolType": "http",
    "parameters": [  ]
    },
    "elementId": 1323,
    "tags": [
        "Docs"
    ],
    "provisionInteractions": [],
    "valid": true,
    "disabled": false,
    "maxCacheSize": 0,
    "cacheTimeToLive": 0,
    "configuration": {    },
    "eventsEnabled": false,
    "traceLoggingEnabled": false,
    "cachingEnabled": false,
    "externalAuthentication": "none",
    "user": {
    "id": 12345
  }
}

Manage Your Developer Instance

After you authenticate a connector instance, you must "wake up" your developer instance. See more at ServiceNow's documentation.

To wake a SAP Open Connectors ServiceNow connector instance:

  1. Log in to the wake up instance URL with the Developer portal credentials.
  2. On the status screen, click Refresh status.

After 10 days of no activity, ServiceNow deletes the instance.