Kb Article Migration

[devanshsing]

I have migrated my kb article from source instance to target instance using update set now my problem is suppose if the migrated article has same article number which is already present in the target instance it will create duplicacy of article number how to solve this problem

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @devanshsing 

https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-forum/kb-article-number-getting-duplicated-after-migration...

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/washingtondc-servicenow-platform/page/product/knowledge-manag...

[Tetiana Belevsk]

Hi, 

I haven’t dealt with such issues. But I would recommend trying to merge instances with a third-party migration tool like Help Desk Migration. When merging articles, it gives the new IDs to the Source article and checks for duplicates.

[Vishal36]

Hi @devanshsing, 

This is a common issue when using update sets to migrate KB articles. If the same article_number already exists in the target instance, ServiceNow won’t prevent duplicates — it just creates another record with that number. Here are a few things to consider:

• Update sets don’t check for duplicate article numbers, so you’ll have to handle those yourself.
• Before you import, it’s a good idea to see if the same article number already exists in the target instance.
• If you want more control, try using a Transform Map instead. It lets you change field values during import — like assigning new article numbers automatically.

If you’re doing this at scale, you may consider OpsHub Migration Manager (A ServiceNow Partner) for zero downtime and non-disruptive, high-fidelity migrations.

Let me know if you’re doing a one-time move or something ongoing — happy to help!

[Ajay_Chavan]

Use Import Sets Instead of Update Sets
For KB articles, consider using Import Sets with Transform Maps:

Export KB Data:

Use Data Export to export KB articles as Excel

Include all necessary fields (title, text, number, etc.)


Create Transform Map:

Navigate to System Import Sets > Transform Maps
Map source fields to target fields
Add script to handle number conflicts:



javascript// In Transform Map field mapping script
if (source.u_number) {
    // Check if number exists
    var existing = new GlideRecord('kb_knowledge');
    existing.addQuery('number', source.u_number);
    existing.query();
    
    if (existing.hasNext()) {
        // Generate new number
        target.number = new NumberManager('kb_knowledge').getNextObjNumber();
    } else {
        target.number = source.u_number;
    }
}