Fluent Table API - autoNumber does not work

AlexAlvarez
Tera Contributor

3 weeks ago - last edited 3 weeks ago

Hello Community!

 

I have created a table using Fluent's Table API, and the table is created correctly, as well as the "title" column, but it seems to ignore the autoNumber. After reading the documentation, I can’t find what might be happening, so I wanted to ask if anyone else is experiencing the same issue. 

import { StringColumn, Table } from "@servicenow/sdk/core";

export const x_680259_da_demo = Table({
  name: "x_680259_da_demo",
  label: "Demo",
  autoNumber: {
    prefix: "DEMO",
  },
  schema: {
    title: StringColumn({
      label: "Title",
      mandatory: true,
    }),
  },
});

 

In the logs for the build and deploy commands, everything seems correct — no errors are shown.

 

~/Git/pdi $ npm run build

> demo-app@0.0.1 build
> now-sdk build

[now-sdk] Initiating the build process ...
[now-sdk] Building project from /Users/***/Git/pdi...
[now-sdk] Type check completed successfully
[now-sdk] Running script "prebuild" from /Users/***/Git/pdi/now.prebuild.mjs
[now-sdk] Bundled chunk: main.jsdbx (134736 bytes)
[now-sdk] Bundled asset: main.jsdbx.map (1082054 bytes)
[now-sdk] Bundled asset: index.html (423 bytes)
[now-sdk] Script "prebuild" completed successfully
[now-sdk] Build completed successfully
~/Git/pdi $ npm run deploy

> demo-app@0.0.1 deploy
> now-sdk install

[now-sdk] Starting installation...
[now-sdk] Attempting to log into instance https://dev******.service-now.com/ as admin.
[now-sdk] Installation completed. Access the application at: https://dev******.service-now.com/sys_app.do?sys_id=********************************
~/Git/pdi $ node -v 
v25.8.2
~/Git/pdi $ npm -v 
11.12.0

 

This is my package configuration

{
  "name": "demo-app",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "description": "",
  "license": "UNLICENSED",
  "imports": {
    "#now:*": "./@types/servicenow/fluent/*/index.js"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "build": "now-sdk build",
    "deploy": "now-sdk install",
    "transform": "now-sdk transform",
    "types": "now-sdk dependencies",
    "dev": "now-sdk run dev"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@servicenow/sdk": "4.4.1",
    "@servicenow/glide": "27.0.4",
    "eslint": "8.50.0",
    "@servicenow/eslint-plugin-sdk-app-plugin": "4.4.1",
    "@servicenow/isomorphic-rollup": "^1.2.14",
    "rollup-plugin-vue": "6.0.0",
    "typescript": "5.5.4"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "vue": "3.5.21"
  }
}

 

Build tag: glide-zurich-07-01-2025__patch6-01-16-2026

 

Thanks in advance!! 

Alex Álvarez
0 Helpfuls
  • 426 Views
2 REPLIES 2

pr8172510
Mega Guru

3 weeks ago

Hi Alex,

Yeah, this one is a bit confusing — you’re not doing anything wrong syntactically.

What’s actually happening

The autoNumber property in the Fluent Table API does not always provision the underlying number field/logic the same way as traditional tables. In some builds (including Zurich patches), it creates the table but doesn’t fully wire up the auto-numbering behavior.

So:

  • Table gets created 
  • Column schema works 
  • Auto number → silently not applied 

What to check first

  1. Go to System Definition → Tables
  2. Open your table
  3. Check if:
    • A number field exists
    • Dictionary entry has Auto-number = true

Most likely → it’s missing or not configured

Workaround (recommended)

Option 1: Manually configure auto-number

After deployment:

  • Create a field:
    • Name: number
    • Type: String
  • Set:
    • Auto-number = true
    • Prefix = DEMO
  • Configure Number Maintenance if needed

Option 2: Use Number Maintenance directly

Go to:

  • System Definition → Number Maintenance

Create an entry for your table:

  • Table: your custom table
  • Prefix: DEMO
  • Number of digits, etc.

Option 3: Scripted fallback (if needed)

As a fallback, you can generate numbers via Business Rule:

  • Before insert
  • Populate number using a sequence

(Not ideal, but works if auto-number is unreliable)

Important note

Fluent SDK is still evolving, and some table-level features like auto-numbering are:

  • Either partially implemented
  • Or require manual post-deploy configuration
0 Helpfuls

AlexAlvarez
Tera Contributor
In response to pr8172510

3 weeks ago

I understand from your message that this is a bug in Fluent, because what’s the point of having the autoNumber parameter if it doesn’t behave as expected (and it’s even in the documentation)? Do you know if there’s a known issue open for this?

 

The workaround is basically to go to the instance and create the auto-number from the table record, like we’ve always done..

 

Thanks for your reply!

Alex Álvarez
0 Helpfuls