Getting started with ServiceNow SQL API
The ServiceNow SQL API provides data access to your ServiceNow instances through industry-standard ODBC and JDBC drivers, enabling direct connections from Business Intelligence (BI) tools and data analysis platforms.
The ServiceNow SQL API plugin uses ServiceNow web services support for a query-only interface. By default, the plugin supports only SELECT statements, allowing external applications to query authorized tables. It permits a limited set of additional SQL commands and helps you to compose more complex queries to retrieve only relevant data.
What you can achieve with SQL API
With the SQL API, you can:
- Connect Your BI Tools – Integrate standard BI platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, Looker, DBvisualizer, and other ODBC/JDBC-compatible tools directly with your ServiceNow data.
- Query Data Securely – Access data through read-only operations that prevent unintended modifications to your ServiceNow records. Allow access only to the desired tables.
- Eliminate Data Duplication – Query your ServiceNow data directly without replicating it to external repositories or data warehouses.
- Combine Data Sources – Merge your ServiceNow data with third-party datasets in your data lakes and analytical platforms for comprehensive analysis.
- Optimize Data Transfer – Write targeted SQL queries to retrieve only the data you need, reducing network overhead on data pipeline and data transformation, and improving performance.
How the SQL API works
When you connect your BI tool to ServiceNow through the SQL API, you establish a standard database connection using either ODBC or JDBC APIs. Once connected, you can write SQL queries to retrieve data from your ServiceNow tables and fields. The API processes your queries and returns results in standard tabular format, which your BI tool can then visualize, analyze, or export.
Pass-through query support
The SQL API supports pass-through queries, meaning you can write SQL statements that execute directly upon your ServiceNow data. This allows you to:
- Apply WHERE clauses to filter data at the source
- Perform aggregations (COUNT, SUM, AVG, etc.) on the ServiceNow side
- Join multiple ServiceNow tables in a single query
- Limit result sets to reduce data transfer
By processing queries at the source, you reduce the amount of data transferred over the network and improve overall query performance.
Security and access control
Your current ServiceNow security model still applies when you access the SQL API. The API implements the ServiceNow Access Control List (ACL) model, which means:
- You can only access data that your ServiceNow role and permissions allow.
- All identity and access management protocols are enforced at the API level.
- Your queries respect table-level, row level, field level, query level, and record-level security rules.
- Authentication is required for all connections.
Additionally, the SQL API is read-only by design. You cannot perform INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations through this interface. This ensures that your analytical work cannot accidentally modify production data.
SQL API users
| User | Description |
|---|---|
| Admin | Admin user will install and configure SQL API on the ServiceNow instance, and install and configure ODCB and JDBC drivers on the client machines. |
| Service account | Service account will connect to ServiceNow database via ODBC or JDBC and query the tables for which access has been granted. |