Choosing your development experience

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated August 11, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Choosing your development experience

    This guide helps ServiceNow customers understand how to choose and switch between different development environments within Creator Studio to match their skill level and development needs. It emphasizes that Creator Studio is designed for no-code developers, while ServiceNow Studio and ServiceNow IDE cater to more advanced development requirements.

    Show full answer Show less

    Development Environments

    ServiceNow offers three main development experiences accessible via the experience switcher inside Creator Studio, enabling seamless transitions without navigating away:

    • Creator Studio (No-code): Ideal for beginners or quick app creation, enabling rapid development through an intuitive, guided interface.
    • ServiceNow Studio (Platform developer): Balances simplicity and power, allowing developers to manage metadata and use integrated builders within a navigable interface.
    • ServiceNow IDE (Pro-code): A professional coding environment based on VS Code designed for advanced developers needing detailed and intricate application development capabilities.

    Switching between these environments reduces tool fragmentation, centralizes development activities, and supports progression from no-code to pro-code development within a single workflow.

    Working with ServiceNow Studio

    Users with access to ServiceNow Studio can open apps directly from Creator Studio using the “Open in ServiceNow Studio” option available via the more actions icon on both the home page and navigation panel.

    App Sharing Across Environments

    Apps created or bookmarked in Creator Studio are accessible in ServiceNow Studio, facilitating continuity. However, apps created in ServiceNow Studio are not available in Creator Studio.

    Access and Roles

    Access to the experience switcher and each development environment depends on user roles and permissions:

    • Admins and delegated developers have broad access to switch and use all available environments for administration and development tasks.
    • Creator Studio users, including restricted users, typically have limited access and may not see or use the experience switcher, as administrators often restrict them to a curated, simplified experience.

    To see the experience switcher, users must have access to Creator Studio and at least one other development product (ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE).

    If you want to develop apps in a more robust environment than Creator Studio, which was designed for no-code developers, you can select a different experience directly from within Creator Studio.

    A development environment for every level

    Use the experience switcher to select from any of the following development environments directly within Creator Studio, without navigating to the All menu.

    Important:
    No matter what your role is (including admin and delegated developer roles), if you have one of the Creator Studio roles, you won't be able to access ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE.
    Figure 1. Experience switcher in Creator Studio
    Selecting a different development experience from the switcher
    Table 1. Development experiences
    Development experience Level Description
    Creator Studio No-code Enables quick creation of basic applications through an intuitive, guided environment, ideal for beginners or those needing fast results.
    ServiceNow Studio Platform developer Offers a balance of simplicity and power, facilitating the development and management of metadata and integrated builders within a navigable interface.
    ServiceNow IDE Pro-code Provides advanced developers with a professional coding environment, using VS Code for direct metadata editing, suited for intricate and detailed application development.

    Being able to easily switch between development experiences eliminates the fragmentation of development tools, reducing confusion and centralizing development activities across all skill levels.

    For example, you can build a basic request app in Creator Studio, and then switch to ServiceNow Studio to add more robust functionality.

    For details on switching experiences, see Change your development experience.

    Open an app directly in ServiceNow Studio

    If you have access to ServiceNow Studio, you can open an app there by selecting the more actions icon on the home page (More options enable you to take action on an app) and choosing to Open in ServiceNow Studio.

    Figure 2. Open in ServiceNow Studio link
    Select more options to get the Open in SNS link

    You can also select the more actions icon () in the navigation panel and then select Open in ServiceNow Studio.

    Sharing apps between development experiences

    All apps that are made and bookmarked in Creator Studio are bookmarked and available to work on in ServiceNow Studio. However, apps that are made in ServiceNow Studio are not available to work on in Creator Studio.

    Who can access the studios in the experience switcher

    The experience switcher can provide access to Creator Studio, ServiceNow Studio, ServiceNow IDE. However, whether you can see and select all of those depends on your role or access level. For more information, see Administering access to the experience switcher.

    Note:
    In addition to Creator Studio, you must have access to at least one other product (ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE) to see the experience switcher.
    The following describes default role access to the experience switcher:
    • Admins and delegated developers can use the experience switcher because they may need access to any product where they've been delegated to administer or develop an app.
    • Creator Studio users and Creator Studio restricted users don't generally have access to the experience switcher because administrators limit them to a more curated experience.