Convert an application to Fluent

Convert an existing application to support development in source code with ServiceNow Studio.

Before you begin

Create a workspace

Role required: admin

About this task

Existing applications that weren't created in source code must be converted to support development. Converting an application adds the necessary files and directories for developing it in source code. You can choose whether to convert existing application metadata into ServiceNow Fluent code.

Important:

Only admins can work on Fluent apps. Don't convert the app if you want delegated developers to continue working on the application.

Procedure

1. Navigate to All > App Engine > ServiceNow Studio.
2. Open a workspace.
3. Use one of the following keyboard shortcuts to open the command palette:
   • Windows: Ctrl-Shift-P
   • Mac: Cmd-Shift-P
4. Enter Fluent: Convert an app to Fluent and press Enter.
5. Select an application from the list.

   Applications that haven't been converted are listed as Is Fluent app: False.

   The application is added to your workspace with the default application structure but the application metadata isn’t converted into ServiceNow Fluent code. For more information, see Building apps in source code in ServiceNow Studio.
6. Optional: To convert existing metadata into ServiceNow Fluent code, complete the following steps.
   1. From the Navigator panel, select the Explorer tab.
   2. Right-click the metadata directory for the application and select Convert Directory to Fluent.
      
   Application metadata is defined in ServiceNow Fluent code in the fluent/generated directory and removed from the metadata directory and its sub-directories.

   

   Note:

   A limited number of metadata types, such as Metadata Snapshots [sys_metadata_link] and UX Assets [sys_ux_lib_asset], can't be represented as ServiceNow Fluent code and aren't transformed. These metadata types remain as metadata XML files in the metadata directory of your application.
7. Optional: Build and install your application to compile source code into application metadata and make your changes available across the instance. For more information, see Build and install an application in the ServiceNow IDE.

Result

The converted application is added to your workspace with the necessary files and directories to support development in source code. After installing a converted application, the Package JSON field of the custom application record [sys_app] contains the path to the package.json file for the application.

Note:

For the ServiceNow Studio to install the required dependencies in an application, the public npm registry must respond with the HTTP Access-Control-Allow-Origin header.

What to do next

From your Git provider, create a dedicated Git repository for the application. Initialize a local Git repository for your application and push it to the remote repository. For more information, see Initialize a Git repository.

Continue editing your application in ServiceNow Studio.