Update sets and Build Agent
Summarize
Summary of Update sets and Build Agent
Build Agent in ServiceNow automatically tracks changes to your application using update sets, allowing you to review, revert, and deploy modifications seamlessly within ServiceNow Studio. Each checkpoint in a Build Agent conversation groups changes into a single update set, making change management efficient and transparent. Your instance needs to be on Australia Patch 3 or later to use update sets with Build Agent.
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How Build Agent Tracks Changes
- Starting with Australia Patch 4, Build Agent consolidates both automatic changes it makes and manual edits you perform into a unified update set during a work session.
- Checkpoints are automatically created after you approve each task plan; changes made up to that point are captured in the corresponding update set.
- If manual edits exist before creating the next checkpoint, Build Agent finalizes and retains the manual edit update set; otherwise, it deletes any empty manual edit update set.
- Update sets are named descriptively for easy identification, using patterns like application-name build agent install 1 for automatic changes and manual edit 1 for manual changes.
Accessing and Managing Update Sets
- Update sets can be accessed directly from the Build Agent chat panel via a Review button on each checkpoint, opening them in new ServiceNow Studio tabs.
- The Current Changes List (CCL) page in ServiceNow Studio also displays Build Agent edits with buttons to open respective update sets.
- You can revert your application to any previous checkpoint during a Build Agent session to undo changes as needed.
- Once changes are finalized, update sets from your Build Agent session appear on the Deployment tab in ServiceNow Studio, ready for deployment.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
By using Build Agent update sets, you gain streamlined change tracking and management without leaving ServiceNow Studio, enhancing productivity and control over application development. The automatic grouping of changes by checkpoints simplifies reviewing and rolling back updates, while consolidated update sets ease deployment. This integration ensures you can efficiently manage both automated and manual changes in a unified workflow.
When you work with Build Agent, your changes are automatically tracked in update sets so you can review, revert, and deploy them without leaving ServiceNow Studio.
Build Agent tracks every change it makes to your application in update sets. Changes from each checkpoint in a conversation are captured together in a single update set. You can access, review, and open the update sets directly from the Build Agent chat panel. You can also open the update sets from the Current Changes List (CCL) page in ServiceNow Studio, without navigating to the platform.
Update sets use descriptive names to help identify what each update set contains. Names follow this pattern: application-name
build agent install 1, build agent install 2, and so on.
After Build Agent creates a checkpoint, it automatically opens a manual edit checkpoint that captures any changes you make directly to your application outside of Build Agent. These manual edits are tracked in a separate update set named manual edit 1, manual edit 2, and so on.
For general information about update sets on the ServiceNow AI Platform, see System update sets.
How Build Agent tracks changes
Starting with Australia Patch 4, Build Agent automatically captures changes in a unified update set as you work. Manual edits you make in the ServiceNow Studio editor and automatic edits made by Build Agent within the same work session are bundled into a single update set. The consolidated update set merges all the update sets created for previous agentic and manual development into a single update set for ease of deployment. The consolidation occurs after you tell Build Agent that you're done working on a task and no longer require rollback.
Build Agent automatically captures changes to the app and metadata that you're working on.
A checkpoint is created automatically after you approve each task plan. When Build Agent reaches a checkpoint, the changes associated with that checkpoint are captured in the update set. You can view and open the relevant update set directly from each checkpoint in the chat panel. For more information on checkpoints, see Build Agent checkpoints and conversation change log.
When Build Agent prepares to create the next checkpoint, it checks whether any changes exist in the manual edit update set. If no changes are present, Build Agent removes the update set. If changes exist, Build Agent completes the update set and renders it with the other update sets from your conversation. You can access manual edit update sets directly from the checkpoints panel in your Build Agent conversation.
Access update sets from Build Agent
You can access update sets created during a Build Agent session from two locations in ServiceNow Studio.
- Chat panel
- Each checkpoint in the chat panel includes a Review button that opens the relevant update set in a new ServiceNow Studio tab. The update set button in the summary card opens all update sets associated with the changes shown in that card.
Figure 1. Summary card - Current Changes List page
- The Current Changes List (CCL) page in ServiceNow Studio shows Build Agent edits. Each checkpoint on the CCL page includes a button that opens the relevant update set in a new tab.
Revert changes using checkpoints
You can revert your application to any previous checkpoint during a Build Agent session. For more information about checkpoints and how to restore a previous state, see Build Agent checkpoints and conversation change log.
Deploy update sets
After your changes are ready, you can find the update sets from your Build Agent session on the Deployment tab on the ServiceNow Studio home page. For more information about deploying your changes, see Deploying what you built with Build Agent.