Deploying your Creator Studio app

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Deploying your Creator Studio app

    Deploying your Creator Studio app is the process of moving it from a non-production instance (such as development or QA) to the production instance, which is the live environment your customers use. This deployment publishes the app along with its published forms and activated playbooks to production. The deployment process is managed through Pipelines and Deployments and requires coordination with an admin who configures and executes the deployment.

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    Deployment Process

    • Build and test your app, including all published forms and activated playbooks, in a non-production instance.
    • Ensure that a deployment pipeline is configured; if not, request an admin to set it up.
    • Submit a deployment request for your app to production via your admin, who uses Pipelines and Deployments to perform the deployment.
    • Each app version deployed must have a version number and release notes for tracking.

    Managing Forms and Playbooks During Deployment

    • You can selectively include or exclude published forms and activated playbooks when requesting deployment.
    • If a playbook is not activated before deployment, its automation will not run, but an admin can activate it post-deployment.

    User Access After Deployment

    After deployment, your admin is responsible for assigning users and groups access to the app in production. Access cannot be assigned during the deployment process itself.

    Key Takeaways for ServiceNow Customers

    • Always thoroughly test your app and related components in a non-production instance before requesting deployment.
    • Coordinate with your admin to ensure pipelines are set up and to manage the deployment process.
    • Utilize versioning and release notes to maintain clarity on app changes and usage.
    • Plan user and group assignments post-deployment to control app access effectively.

    Congrats, you’ve built your app and are ready to share the first version of it with the world. That’s great! Deployment is the next step in the process.

    Deployment is a term that describes the process of an app moving from a non-production instance like development or QA through to production. Production is the instance that your customers see, or your “live” instance. To kick this process off, you should build your app in a non-production instance, and request that an admin deploy it to a production instance when you're ready.

    Deploying an app automatically publishes the app, as well as all of the published forms and activated playbooks that you include, to a production instance.

    Deployment uses pipelines configured in Pipelines and Deployments. If you don't have a pipeline configured, the Creator Studio home page alerts you and suggests you ask an admin to set it up for you.

    The ServiceNow AI Platform uses the Application Repository to move apps between instances, so release notes and a version number are required. Find out more in App versioning and release notes for Creator Studio apps.

    Requesting app deployment to production

    You should test your app and all of its published forms and activated playbooks on a non-production instance. Once it's ready, you can submit the app for deployment to production. For more information, see Request deployment for your app from Creator Studio to production.

    Apps aren't deployed directly from Creator Studio. Instead, your admin uses Pipelines and Deployments. Admins should check out Managing deployments using pipelines in AEMC.

    Deploying forms and automation with the app

    You may feel some hesitation at this point, perhaps wondering if your app is actually ready. Well, you can take small steps and include only the forms and activated playbooks that you want in your deployment request.

    When you submit an app for deployment, all of the app's published forms and activated playbooks are available to be deployed. When you request deployment though, you can specify:
    • Published forms that you don't want to appear in the catalog after the app is deployed to production.
    • Activated playbooks that you don't want to appear when users view records generated by the app after it's deployed to production.

    If you don't activate a playbook and its app is deployed to production, the automation won't run on the applicable records. However, your App Engine admin can activate the deployed playbook for you.

    Assigning users to a deployed app

    Your app is officially published and ready to be used, congratulations! But, who gets to use it, and do they have access? Your admin gets to take charge here.

    After your admin deploys the app to production, the admin must assign users and groups that can access the app. That is, you can't assign user access in the deployment/publishing process. See I've built my app in Creator Studio, now what? to find out more about where to access published parts of your app.