ServiceNow KB AirSync

ServiceNow KB Airdrop

The ServiceNow KB Airdrop simplifies migration from ServiceNow to DevRev, supporting both one-time imports and Periodic Sync.

Supported objects

Importing from ServiceNow KB

1. Login To DevRev.

2. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Snap-ins, search for ServiceNow KB under All Snap-ins.

3. Click Add and Install Snap-in.

4. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Airsync in the left-navigation.

5. Click Airdrop in the top right corner and select the ServiceNow KB.

6. Create a new connection to authenticate with your ServiceNow workspace, or use an existing active connection.

7. Once the connection is established, select the ServiceNow instance you want to import and specify the DevRev part that should be used for any imported work. This initiates a bulk import of the selected sync.

8. DevRev automatically maps the fields from Servicenow to the corresponding fields in DevRev, including article metadata, usercriteria, knowledge bases, and user details.

Create ServiceNow Connection

The ServiceNow snap-in supports two authentication methods:

Option 1: OAuth 2.0 (Recommended)

Prerequisite: Complete the ServiceNow OAuth 2.0 Setup.

Step 1: Create OAuth Connection in DevRev

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections.

2. Click New Connection.

3. Select ServiceNow OAuth Connection.

4. Enter a connection name, Client ID, Client Secret, and Instance Name.

5. Click Authorize with ServiceNow.

Step 2: Complete OAuth Authorization

1. You will be redirected to the ServiceNow authorization page.

2. Log in to your ServiceNow account if not already logged in.

3. Review the requested permissions and click Authorize to grant access.

4. You will be redirected back to DevRev with the connection established.

Step 3: Start Import

1. On the next screen, select the authenticated ServiceNow workspace.

2. Specify the DevRev part where the imported content should reside.

3. Optionally configure time-scoped extraction to import data from a specific date range.

4. Click Start to trigger the import.

Option 2: Token-Based Authentication

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections.

2. Click New Connection.

3. Select ServiceNow Token Based Connection.

4. Provide a name for the connection.

5. In the Subdomain field, enter your ServiceNow workspace ID (found in the browser URL, e.g., dev190970 from https://dev190970.service-now.com/).

6. Enter your ServiceNow username and password, then click Next.

7. On the next screen, select the authenticated ServiceNow workspace.

8. Specify the DevRev part where the imported content should reside.

9. Click Start to trigger the import.

Import duration varies from minutes to hours based on data size.

ServiceNow OAuth 2.0 Setup (Required for OAuth Connection)

Note: The OAuth application must be created by a ServiceNow admin.

1. Install Required Plugin

Ensure the following plugin is installed: OAuth 2.0 & com.snc.platform.security.oauth.

2. Enable Client Credentials Grant Type

1. Navigate to System Properties → system_properties.list.

2. Search for glide.oauth.inbound.client.credential.grant_type.enabled.If not found then search with this url https://<your-instance>.service-now.com/sys_properties_list.do add correct instance name in url.

3. If it does not exist, create a new system property with the above name.

4. Set Type to true/false and Value to true. Submit.

3. Create OAuth Application

1. Navigate to System OAuth → Application Registry.

2. Click New → Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients.

3. Enter a Name (e.g., DevRev Integration).

4. Click the lock icon on the Redirect URL field and enter the URL for your environment:

Click the lock icon again to save. 

5. Add Auth Scope useraccount

6. Set Default Grant Type to Client Credentials. 

7. Set OAuth Application User to an Admin user.

If either field is not visible: Click Additional Actions (top-left) → Configure → Form Layout. Search for the field in Available Fields, move it to Selected using the > arrow, and click Save.

8. Click Save. Note down the generated Client ID and Client Secret — these are needed to create the DevRev connection.

Key Highlights

• Structure Preservation: Maintains ServiceNow knowledge bases as collections in DevRev.

• Basic Permissions: Preserve knowledge base and articles permissions in DevRev's articles. Only can read and can contribute permissions are imported from the knowledge base and articles.

• Content & Metadata: Imports published articles (content, titles, dates, authors, source URLs).

• Version History: Keeps track of published article versions.

• Attachments: Brings over files attached to articles and links them correctly.

• User Criteria: Imports users and group rules from ServiceNow.

Limitations

• Access Requirements: The connecting user must have read rights for users and criteria in ServiceNow.

• Advanced Permissions: Complex scripts and custom ACL rules in ServiceNow may not transfer—only basic access settings move over.

• Excluded Features: Custom widgets, workflows, and scripted criteria are not imported.

• Permission Removals: Removing access in ServiceNow after import isn’t reflected on sync; only new additions are sync.

• Language Tags: All imported articles default to English in DevRev despite original language.

• In ServiceNow, if a user belongs to two different user criteria one granting can read/contribute and the other assigning cannot read/contribute they may still gain access in DevRev. However, if the same user criteria appears in both can read/contribute and cannot read/contribute lists, the user will be restricted in DevRev.

Post import options

After a successful import, you have the following options available for the imported account:

• Sync to DevRev This option allows you to synchronize any modifications made in ServiceNow KB with the corresponding items previously imported into DevRev. It also creates new items in DevRev for any new item or article created in ServiceNow KB after the last sync or import.

• View Report This option allows you to access detailed information about the initial import and any subsequent syncs performed.

• Delete Import If you wish to remove the import and all data that were imported from ServiceNow KB into DevRev, you can use this option.

• Edit Connection Use this option to change the connection used for any subsequent actions. It can be helpful if a connection becomes inactive or the user who established it is no longer available.

Sync to DevRev

After a successful import from ServiceNow KB, you can choose to sync the imported data with DevRev. This feature imports any docs and users, and any changes made to previously imported items from ServiceNow KB.

To perform a one-time sync to DevRev, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Airdrop.

2. Locate the previously imported project.

3. Select the ⋮ > ⇾ From ServiceNow KB to DevRev option.

⚠️ A one-time or periodic sync may overwrite fields in previously imported items, even if those fields were modified within DevRev.

Historical imports

To view currently running and previous imports from various sources, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Airsync.

2. Select the import you want to view.

3. Click on the context menu (⋮) and select View Report.

Periodic sync

Enable hourly automatic synchronization:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Airsync

2. Locate the imported project

3. Click ⋮ > Set Periodic Sync

You’ll see three periodic sync options:

• ServiceNow KB → DevRev
  Enable this option to sync data from ServiceNow KB into DevRev.

• DevRev → ServiceNow KB
  Note: Syncing from DevRev to ServiceNow KB is not supported.

• Automation Option
  Enable automation to trigger webhooks, Snap-ins, and DevRev-native events for synced items.
  If disabled, periodic syncs will not trigger any events or automations.

Select the frequency and start date, then click Schedule to set up the periodic sync.

Delete import

⚠️ This deletes any content created by the import, including users, groups, members and articles.

An import and all the content it creates can be deleted from DevRev. This can be useful when running POCs or to change the recipe used during the import. Once an import has been deleted, all the content it created gets deleted, even if they were modified in DevRev. It's possible to import the project again after its deletion.

To delete an import and all the content it created, go to Settings > Integrations > Airsync, find the previously imported project, and select ⋮ > Delete Import.