Agent Client Collector File-Based Discovery properties

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated May 4, 2026
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    Summary of Agent Client Collector File-Based Discovery properties

    Agent Client Collector (ACC) File-Based Discovery allows ServiceNow customers to configure scanning behavior for endpoints by setting system properties. These properties control which directories are scanned or excluded, performance throttling during scans, and file filtering options to optimize discovery operations on Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms. Proper configuration enables efficient and accurate discovery of software artifacts on managed endpoints.

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    Key Features

    • Directory Scanning Paths: Specify which directories to scan on Windows (using pipe-separated paths) and Linux/macOS (using colon-separated paths). Supports environment variables and wildcards for flexible path definitions.
    • Exclude Paths: Define directories to exclude from scanning to improve performance and reduce unnecessary data collection.
    • Performance Throttling: Control scan resource usage by setting the number of files processed per batch (throttle size) and pause durations between batches (sleep time). Separate settings exist for Windows and Linux/macOS.
    • Hidden Files and Folders: Optionally skip hidden files and folders during scanning to focus on relevant data and reduce overhead.
    • SWID Tag Scanning: Enable or disable scanning for software identification tags (.swid, .swidtag, .cmptag) to enhance software recognition accuracy.
    • File Matching Rules: Define filename patterns and matching conditions (exact, starts with, ends with, contains) to control which files are discovered based on name and extension.
    • File Extensions: Specify applicable file extensions for discovery per platform, ensuring relevant file types are scanned.
    • Full vs. Strict Scan Modes: Choose between strict mode (discover only files matching specific rules) and full scan mode (discover all files with matching extensions if no rule exists).
    • Delta Scan Frequency: Configure how often full scans are forced after a number of delta scans to maintain data accuracy over time.
    • Linux MIME Type Scanning: Use MIME type detection instead of extension matching for more reliable scanning of Linux files.
    • Running Process-Based Discovery: Enable detection of software running outside standard scan directories to capture active applications that directory scans miss.
    • Archive File Scanning: Extend discovery to look inside ZIP and JAR archives without extraction, identifying compressed software artifacts.

    Practical Use and Benefits

    By configuring these properties, ServiceNow customers can tailor File-Based Discovery to their environment’s needs, balancing thoroughness and performance. Excluding irrelevant directories and throttling scan workloads helps minimize impact on endpoint resources. Enabling SWID tag and archive scanning improves software identification. Running process-based discovery detects applications beyond file scans, increasing accuracy. Adjusting delta scan frequency ensures timely data refresh without excessive scanning.

    Overall, these configurable properties empower customers to optimize File-Based Discovery for efficient, comprehensive software inventory collection, supporting better asset management and compliance tracking within ServiceNow.

    Configure File-Based Discovery behavior using system properties that control scanning paths, performance throttling, and file filtering options.

    Discovery settings properties

    All File-Based Discovery configuration properties are configurable from the System Properties page (All > System Properties > All Properties).

    Table 1. File-Based Discovery configuration properties
    Property Description Platforms
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.path.windows Directories to scan on Windows endpoints (pipe-separated). Supports environment variables (%PROGRAMFILES%) and wildcards. Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.path.linux Directories to scan on Linux/macOS endpoints (colon-separated). Supports environment variables ($HOME) and wildcards. Linux, macOS
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.ignore_path.windows Directories to exclude from scanning on Windows (pipe-separated). Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.ignore_path.unix Directories to exclude from scanning on Linux/macOS (colon-separated). Linux, macOS
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.throttle_size.windows Number of files to process before pausing (Windows). Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.throttle_size.unix Number of files to process before pausing (Linux/macOS). Linux, macOS
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.sleeptime.windows Pause duration in milliseconds after each throttle batch (Windows). Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.sleeptime.unix Pause duration in milliseconds after each throttle batch (Linux/macOS). Linux, macOS
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.skip_hidden_folders.windows When enabled, skips hidden files and folders during scanning (Windows). Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.skip_hidden_folders.unix When enabled, skips dot-prefixed (hidden) files and folders during scanning (Linux/macOS). Linux, macOS
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.scan_swid.windows Enables or disables SWID tag scanning on Windows platforms. When enabled, the scanner looks for .swid, .swidtag, and .cmptag files in the configured scan directories. Windows
    glide.discovery.file_discovery.scan_swid.unix Enables or disables SWID tag scanning on Linux and macOS platforms. When enabled, the scanner looks for .swid, .swidtag, and .cmptag files in the configured scan directories. Linux, macOS
    Table 2. File based discovery system properties
    Property Description
    File matching rules (sn_acc_vis_content_file_config) Defines the filename matching rules. Each rule specifies:
    • File name: The pattern to match.
    • Condition: exact_match, starts_with, ends_with, or contains.
    • Extension: Reference to the sn_acc_vis_content_file_extension property.
    File extensions (sn_acc_vis_content_file_extension) Defines which file extensions to scan for File Management (such as .exe, .dll, .msi, .pkg, and so forth). Each record specifies an extension and the platform it applies to (Windows, Mac, or All).
    Full Scan Mode (sn_acc_vis_content.file_disovery.enable_fbd_fullscan) When false (strict mode), only files that match a rule in the File Config table are discovered.

    When true, all files with a matching extension are discovered only if no specific rule exists for them.

    Default: false
    Delta Scan Frequency (sn_acc_vis_content.file_discovery.fresh_scan_frequency_by_delta_count) The number of delta scans to perform before forcing a full scan. This ensures data accuracy over time.

    For details on delta scanning, see Agent Client Collector File-Based Discovery.

    Default: 5
    MME Types (Linux only) (sn_acc_vis_content.file_discovery.mime_type.unix) Colon-separated list of MIME types to scan on Linux (such as application/x-pie-executable:text/x-shellscript). On Linux, File Management uses MIME type detection instead of extension-based matching.
    Running process-based discovery (sn_acc_vis_content.file_discovery.fbd_process_scan_enabled)

    Running process-based discovery enables the ACC-VC agent to detect software running outside of standard scan directories, including applications that a directory-only scan can't detect.

    Default: false
    Archive file scanning (sn_acc_vis_content.file_discovery.archive_scan_enabled)

    Archive file scanning extends file-based discovery to look inside ZIP and JAR archive files and report the files contained within them. This enables discovery of software artifacts that are distributed in compressed packages without requiring the archive to be extracted on the endpoint.

    Default: false

    Performance throttling

    The throttling properties control how File-Based Discovery manages system resources during scanning operations. The throttle size determines how many files are processed in each batch, while the sleep time controls the pause duration between batches to prevent excessive system load.

    Path configuration

    Path properties support environment variables and wildcards for flexible directory specification. Use pipe separators (|) for Windows paths and colon separators (:) for Linux and macOS paths. The ignore path properties allow you to exclude specific directories from scanning to improve performance and avoid unnecessary data collection.