ServiceNow Automation Mechanisms: Summary

[Yogesh Shinde]

This blog summarizes the distinctions between Inbound Action Scripts, Script Actions, Scripted REST APIs, and Outbound Notifications in ServiceNow. It includes use cases, script contexts, examples, and a placeholder for a visual architecture diagram.

Comparison Table

Feature	Direction	Trigger Source	Script Context	Use Case
Inbound Action Script	Inbound (Email)	Incoming email	`current`, `email`	Parse and process incoming emails
Script Action	Outbound (Event-driven)	Internal event (`gs.eventQueue`)	`current`, `event`	Respond to internal system events
Scripted REST API	Inbound (API)	External system (e.g., Zscaler)	`request`, `response`, `gs`, etc.	Accept data from external systems
Outbound Notification	Outbound	Business Rule, Event, Flow	`current`, `event`, `email`, etc.	Notify users or systems of changes

Use Case Examples

Inbound Action Script Example

Use Case: Create or update an Incident when an email is received.
Script:

if (email.subject.indexOf("P1") > -1) {
  current.urgency = 1;
  current.impact = 1;
  current.priority = 1;
}
current.short_description = email.subject;
current.description = email.body_text;

Script Action Example

Use Case: Send a Slack message when a P1 incident is created.
Script:

if (current.priority == 1) {
  var msg = "P1 Incident Created: " + current.number + " - " + current.short_description;
  gs.info(msg);
}

Scripted REST API Example

Use Case: Zscaler sends a security breach alert to ServiceNow to create a P1 incident.
Script:

(function process(/*RESTAPIRequest*/ request, /*RESTAPIResponse*/ response) {
  var body = request.body.data;
  var inc = new GlideRecord('incident');
  inc.initialize();
  inc.short_description = body.alert_name;
  inc.description = body.details;
  inc.urgency = 1;
  inc.impact = 1;
  inc.priority = 1;
  inc.insert();
  response.setStatus(201);
})(request, response);

Outbound Notification Example

Use Case: Notify the security team when a breach is logged.
Script:

gs.eventQueue('security.breach.logged', current, current.number, current.short_description);

Then in a Script Action:
var msg = "Security breach logged: " + event.parm1 + " - " + event.parm2;
gs.info(msg);

Then in a Script Action:

var msg = "Security breach logged: " + event.parm1 + " - " + event.parm2;

gs.info(msg); // or send to external system

Key Takeaways

• Inbound Action Scripts are only for email processing.
• Script Actions are event-driven and used for internal automation.
• REST APIs are the go-to for external system integrations (like Zscaler).
• Events in ServiceNow are internal signals, not external triggers.
• All of these are server-side and can be combined for powerful automation.