Customizing the colors of ServiceNow components in AEM

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
  • You can define the look and feel of the ServiceNow components in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) by specifying colors for them.

    As an AEM administrator, you can either modify the color variables preconfigured for all components or use the initializeCSS function for customizing the colors of a particular component using a custom CSS class. You specify the custom CSS class for a component in the Custom CSS Class property. For more information, see Display ServiceNow knowledge articles on an Adobe Experience Manager page and Display ServiceNow cases on an Adobe Experience Manager page.

    Note:
    By default, the ServiceNow components are configured using the Bootstrap v4.4.1 CSS styles. If your AEM page uses a different Bootstrap version, the ServiceNow components style is overridden by the page style.

    Modify the color theme for all ServiceNow components in AEM

    Set the color theme for the ServiceNow components in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) all at once by configuring the color variables.

    Before you begin

    Role required: AEM administrator

    About this task

    Note:
    By default, the ServiceNow components are configured using the Bootstrap v4.4.1 CSS styles. If your AEM page uses a different Bootstrap version, the ServiceNow components style is overridden by the page style.

    Procedure

    1. Open CRXDE Lite in your browser.
      For example, in your browser, enter the URL in the format http://<AEM_hostname>:<AEM_port>/crx/de. The default URL for CRXDE Lite is http://localhost:4502/crx/de.
    2. Navigate to apps > servicenow-components > clientlibs > clientlib-common.
    3. Open the variables.less file.
    4. Configure the color variables available for the HTML elements in the ServiceNow components.
      Table 1. Color variable settings
      Color setting Variable
      Text content @text-color
      Hyperlinks @link-color
      Badges @badge-text-color
      Badges background @badge-background-color
      Primary color for visual emphasis @primary-color
      Color complementary to the primary color, for visual emphasis @secondary-color
      Component titles @title-color
      Primary button text @primary-btn-text-color
      Primary button background @primary-btn-bkg-color
      Secondary button text @secondary-btn-text-color
      Secondary button background @secondary-btn-bkg-color
      Note:
      You specify a color for a variable in one of the following ways:
      • Color name

        For example, red

      • HEX value

        For example, #FF0000

      • RGB value

        For example, rgb(255,0,0)

      • var function

        Use the var function to specify a custom property for a color. For example, var(--gray-dark).

    5. From the CRXDE Lite menu, click Save All to save the changes on the AEM server.

    Modify the color theme for a ServiceNow component in AEM

    Override the color theme for a ServiceNow component in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) by using the initialize function.

    Before you begin

    Role required: AEM administrator

    About this task

    The color variables you specify in the variables.less file are applied to all ServiceNow components in AEM. You can override the default colors for a particular component by setting the color variables for the component in the initializeCSS function.
    Note:
    By default, the ServiceNow components are configured using the Bootstrap v4.4.1 CSS styles. If your AEM page uses a different Bootstrap version, the ServiceNow components style is overridden by the page style.

    Procedure

    1. Open CRXDE Lite in your browser.
      For example, in your browser, enter the URL in the format http://<AEM_hostname>:<AEM_port>/crx/de. The default URL for CRXDE Lite is http://localhost:4502/crx/de.
    2. Navigate to apps > servicenow-components > clientlibs > clientlib-common.
    3. Open the variables.less file.
    4. Specify the initializeCSS function for a component in the format <component_type>;<class_name>;<color_variable_1>;<color_variable_2>;<color_variable_n>.
      • component_type: The type of the component on which you want to apply the custom color theme, for example, articlelist, articleview, casecards, and so on.
      • class_name: The Custom CSS class you enter in the Custom CSS class property of your component.
      • color_variable_1, color_variable_2, color_variable_n: The color variables you specify for the HTML elements in a component. For more information, see the Color variable settings table.

      Use the following sample code as a reference for color styling at the component level.

      .initialize(@componentType:articlelist;@className:now-article-list;@text-color:red; @link-color:orange;@badge-text-color:blue;@badge-background-color:yellow;@title-color:magenta;@secondary-color:indigo;);
      .initialize(@componentType:articleview; @className:now-article-view;@text-color:red; @link-color:orange;@badge-text-color:blue;@badge-background-color:yellow;@secondary-color:indigo;);
      .initialize(@componentType:casecards; @className:now-case-cards; @text-color:red;@link-color:orange;@badge-text-color:blue;@badge-background-color:yellow;@title-color:magenta;@secondary-color:indigo;);
      .initialize(@componentType:caselist; @className:now-case-list; @text-color:red; @link-color:orange;@title-color:magenta;@primary-color:green;@secondary-btn-text-color:white;@secondary-btn-bkg-color:black;);
      .initialize(@componentType:searchbox; @className:now-search-box; @text-color:red; @link-color:orange;@title-color:magenta;@primary-color:green;@secondary-btn-text-color:white;@secondary-btn-bkg-color:black;);
      .initialize(@componentType:searchresults;@className:now-search-results;@text-color:gray; @link-color:orange;@badge-text-color:blue;@badge-background-color:yellow;@title-color:magenta;@secondary-color:indigo;);
      .initialize(@componentType:caseview;@className:now-case-view;@text-color:red;@link-color:orange;@primary-color:green;@secondary-color:indigo;@primary-btn-text-color:blue;@primary-btn-bkg-color:white;@secondary-btn-text-color:white;@secondary-btn-bkg-color:blue;);
      .initialize(@componentType:createcase;@className:now-create-case;@text-color:red;@link-color:orange;@primary-color:green;@secondary-color:indigo;@primary-btn-text-color:blue;@primary-btn-bkg-color:white;@secondary-btn-text-color:white;@secondary-btn-bkg-color:blue;)
    5. From the CRXDE Lite menu, click Save All to save the changes on the AEM server.