question Merging Update Sets in Community Central forum

Merging Update Sets

MackeeIsler — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 21:33:20 GMT

Is it really OK to merge multiple completed update sets an once? In Local Update Sets I clicked "Merge" and I got a pop up saying "Confirmation: Are you sure you want to merge 23 update sets? You will not be able to undo this action CANCEL OK". I'm a beginner & it sounds scary. Please advise

Re: Merging Update Sets

Ankur Bawiskar — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 03:22:57 GMT

@MackeeIsler

what's your requirement?

if you wish to migrate those 23 update sets to UAT or next instance then why not using batching?

Create 1 parent and then add those 23 update sets as child to it and then export/import that Parent update set to next instance

What is the difference between merge update sets and update set batching

ServiceNow Update Set Leading Practices Part 2

ServiceNow Update Set Leading Practices Part 1

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Re: Merging Update Sets

Tejas Adhalrao — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 03:54:02 GMT

hi @MackeeIsler ,

Yes, it's okay to merge multiple completed update sets, but only if they belong to the same change or deployment and you're sure they should be promoted together.

The warning is there because the merge operation can't be undone. After merging, the individual update sets are replaced by a single merged update set.

A few things to consider before clicking OK:

Make sure all 23 update sets are related to the same application or feature.
Verify that all of them are in the Complete state.
Check for any conflicting changes or dependencies between the update sets.
If some update sets are unrelated, it's better not to merge them.

If you're new to update sets, I'd recommend taking a backup or testing the merge in a non-production instance first.

Out of curiosity, are these 23 update sets all part of the same development effort, or are they unrelated changes that just happen to be completed? That would determine whether merging them is the right approach.