---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Software filter

# Software filter {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated November 5, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read
Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) 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 Software filter

The Software filter in ServiceNow's Software Asset Management (SAM) enables you to define rules that automatically exclude irrelevant software entries from your SAM inventory.
This helps maintain a clean, accurate software inventory by filtering out non-licensable or non-meaningful software artifacts such as operating system shortcuts, browser extension shortcuts, and placeholder entries reported by Discovery or the Agent Client Collector.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Automated filtering:** Software installs discovered on devices are checked against active filter rules before being added to your SAM inventory.
* **Exclusion logging:** Excluded software entries are recorded in a review table, ensuring full transparency and an auditable history of what was filtered and why.
* **Rule safety:** Malformed or invalid filter rules are skipped and logged without interrupting the filtering process or causing unintended exclusions.
* **Rule management:** You can create, edit, activate, or deactivate custom filter rules in the Software Install Custom Filter table (sampswinstallcustomfilter) to control which software is excluded.
* **Review filtered entries:** The Software Install Filter Staging table (sampswinstallfilterstaging) stores excluded software records for review and confirmation that filtering is working as intended.

## How It Works

When Discovery or the Agent Client Collector reports software installs, each entry is checked against active filter rules. If it matches a rule, it is excluded from the SAM inventory and logged in the staging table. If it does not match any rule, it is added to the SAM inventory as usual. Repeated detections update existing review records to avoid duplication.

If a filter rule is edited or deactivated, software previously excluded by that rule will appear in the SAM inventory again on the next scan, while historical exclusion records remain in the staging table.

## Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* **Improved license reconciliation:** By excluding irrelevant entries, your license counts are more accurate, reducing false compliance issues.
* **Reduced manual cleanup:** Automating the exclusion of non-relevant software means less time spent cleaning up after each discovery cycle.
* **Complete audit trail:** All filtered software entries and rule actions are logged transparently, supporting compliance and auditing needs.  
The Software filter lets you define rules to automatically exclude irrelevant entries from your Software Asset Management (SAM) inventory. At the same time, it keeps a complete, auditable record of everything filtered so that nothing disappears silently.

Discovery and the Agent Client Collector regularly report every application installed on a device. However, not everything found is meaningful licensing or asset-management software. For example, Operating-system shortcuts,
Progressive Web App (PWA) stubs, Citrix Receiver placeholder entries, browser-extension shortcuts, and similar artifacts are frequently reported as installed software. However, they aren't applications your organization is licensing,
tracking, or reconciling.

## Software filter - Benefits {#software-filter__section_rmt_clt_3kc}

* Cleaner license reconciliation. Irrelevant entries no longer inflate install counts or trigger false compliance findings.
* Less manual clean-up. You no longer must search for and deactivate the same irrelevant software records after every discovery cycle.
* Full transparency. Every exclusion is logged, so you can see what was filtered, when, and by which rule.

## How filtering works {#software-filter__how_it_works}

Agent scans and background discovery runs produce software installs on devices in your network. Each item is checked against the set of currently active filter rules before it is written to your SAM software inventory.

* If an item matches an active rule, it is excluded from the SAM inventory and a record of the exclusion is written to the review table instead.
* If an item matches no active rule, it flows through to your SAM inventory as normal. Nothing changes for software that is relevant to you.
* If the same software is reported again on a later scan, its existing review record is refreshed, not duplicated. The review table reflects the latest confirmation date rather than growing indefinitely.

A single malformed rule (for example, an invalid pattern) is skipped and logged rather than blocking the rest of the check. One bad rule doesn't accidentally exclude everything.

For details on the tables that determine which entries are labeled as irrelevant, see [Software filter tables](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/L3F~Xv_OhHWEjABUEPIOIQ "The following table lists the software filter tables and the purpose each one serves.").

## Modifying rules {#software-filter__section_ef5_ygn_3kc}

If you deactivate or edit a custom rule, the behavior of excluded software changes on the next discovery scan:

* Software that no longer matches any active rule stops being excluded and flows into your SAM inventory as normal.
* Entries for filtered software remain in the Software Install Filter Staging table as a historical record, but are no longer refreshed with new confirmation dates.
* If you reactivate the rule or change it to match the software again, exclusion resumes on the next scan and the staging table entry is refreshed.
{#software-filter__ul_ff5_ygn_3kc}
* **[Create a custom filter rule](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/lKhM67D_NVAno4LzBjxsrw)**   
  Create a custom filter rule in the Software Install Custom Filter table (samp_sw_install_custom_filter). Rules determine the criteria by which software is excluded from your Software Asset Management (SAM) workspace.
* **[Review filtered software](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/WRsUqdRrvnSRofInTlJGxA)**   
  Review the entries in the Software Install Filter Staging table (samp_sw_install_filter_staging) to confirm your rules are filtering only the software you expect.