Using a declarative or scripted pipeline in DevOps

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using a declarative or scripted pipeline in DevOps

    This content explains how ServiceNow DevOps integrates with Jenkins pipelines using a Jenkinsfile to automate orchestration tasks. Each root-level stage in the Jenkinsfile maps automatically to a DevOps orchestration task, streamlining pipeline management and change control. This integration supports both declarative and scripted pipelines and enables seamless communication and artifact handling between Jenkins and ServiceNow DevOps.

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    Key Features

    • Automatic Stage Mapping: Root-level stages in Jenkinsfiles are detected as individual orchestration tasks in DevOps, simplifying pipeline tracking.
    • Job Notification Control: Setting the Track field to True in DevOps enables Jenkins job notifications for all active Jenkins configurations.
    • DevOps Jenkinsfile Commands: Special commands like snDevOpsChange, snDevOpsArtifact, snDevOpsPackage, snDevOpsGetChangeNumber, snDevOpsUpdateChangeInfo, and snDevOpsSecurityResult allow pipelines to manage change requests, artifacts, packages, and security scans directly within Jenkins.
    • Configuration Name Parameter: Jenkins server configurations can be specified per step; if omitted, the default configuration applies. Incorrect names cause failures unless error ignoring is enabled.
    • Jenkins Snippet Generator Utility: DevOps offers a snippet generator to create pipeline step templates for scripted pipelines, enabling easy insertion of DevOps tasks into Jenkinsfiles with customizable variables and error handling options.
    • Support for Nested and Parallel Stages: While only root-level stages are directly mapped to DevOps steps, nested or parallel stages are processed as part of their parent root-level stage. Only one change request is created for the parent stage, and orchestration tasks are associated accordingly.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables automated and consistent orchestration task creation aligned with Jenkins pipeline stages, reducing manual effort and errors.
    • Improves change control management by allowing detailed change request updates, closures, and status tracking directly from Jenkins pipelines.
    • Facilitates artifact and package registration seamlessly within pipeline executions, enhancing traceability of deliverables.
    • Supports integrating security scan results into DevOps Change Velocity for comprehensive pipeline security management.
    • Allows flexible configuration and error handling to accommodate diverse Jenkins environments and pipeline complexities.
    • Provides tools to generate pipeline code snippets, accelerating pipeline development and ensuring correct usage of DevOps-specific commands.
    • Clarifies behavior when using nested or parallel stages, ensuring customers understand how change requests and tasks are generated and associated.

    When you use a Jenkinsfile, steps are created, mapped, and associated to orchestration tasks automatically instead of manually.

    Jenkinsfile is a text file that contains the definition of a Jenkins pipeline and is checked into source control.

    Each root-level stage configured in the Jenkinsfile is discovered as a separate orchestration task in DevOps that is mapped to an individual step.

    Note:
    The Track field for the pipeline must be set to True in DevOps to receive job notifications from Jenkins. All active Jenkins configurations will receive job notifications when this field is set to True.

    DevOps Jenkinsfile commands

    • snDevOpsChange(ignoreErrors:{true/false},changeRequestDetails:{setCloseCode:{true/false},attributes:})

      Where ignoreErrors specifies the setting to prevent job failure if there is an error (true/false)

      Where changeRequestDetails specifies closure code and change request fields from within the pipeline

      Enables change control for each root-level stage that is mapped to a DevOps step.

    • snDevOpsArtifact

      Registers artifacts when configuring Artifacts and packages.

    • snDevOpsPackage

      Creates a package for artifacts when configuring Artifacts and packages.

    • snDevOpsGetChangeNumber

      Retrieves the change request number in a Jenkins pipeline based on specific change details.

    • snDevOpsUpdateChangeInfo

      Updates the change request details associated with a Jenkins pipeline.

    • snDevOpsSecurityResult

      Configures security scans on any stage of the pipeline and the scan details are retrieved from the corresponding stage to DevOps Change Velocity.

    You can specify the Jenkins server configuration in any of these steps by passing the configurationName attribute in your pipeline. If the configuration name is not specified in any step, the default configuration will be used in that step. Passing an incorrect configuration name will result in the step to fail unless the Ignore ServiceNow DevOps errors option is selected while configuring the Jenkins plugin.

    Note:
    Stage mapping is only supported for stages at the root level, not nested or parallel stages.

    Jenkins snippet generator for DevOps

    You can use the Jenkins Snippet Generator utility to generate a template code for the orchestration tasks for scripted pipelines. You can use the snippet generator utility to create template for the following orchestration tasks.
    • SnDevOpsArtifact
    • SnDevOpsChange
    • SnDevOpsPackage
    • snDevOpsGetChangeNumber
    • snDevOpsUpdateChangeInfo
    • snDevOpsSecurityResult
    To generate a step snippet, navigate to the Pipeline Syntax from a configured pipeline, select the step from the Sample Step list, and update the values for different variables in the step. Select the ignore error option to prevent job failure if there is an error. Select Generate Pipeline Script to create a snippet. You can copy and paste the snippet into a pipeline.
    Example of a pipeline script for the SnDevOpsChange task:
    snDevOpsChange changeCreationTimeOut: 3600, changeRequestDetails: '{ "attributes": { "short_description": "Test description", "priority": "1", "start_date": "2021-02-05 08:00:00", "end_date": "2022-04-05 08:00:00", "justification": "test justification", "description": "test description", "cab_required": true, "comments": "This update for work notes is from jenkins file", "work_notes": "test work notes", "assignment_group": "a715cd759f2002002920bde8132e7018" }, "setCloseCode": false, "autoCloseChange": true }', changeStepTimeOut: 18000, configurationName: 'Jenkins1', pollingInterval: 60

    Parallel and sub-stage support

    When a stage (or set of parallel stages) is nested within a pipeline stage, these rules apply:

    • Any action from the nested stage is processed as part of the parent root-level stage
    • Only one change request is created (at the parent root level) even if multiple stages nested under the parent root-level stage trigger a change
    • Orchestration tasks created are always associated with the parent root-level stage (not the nested stage)

    Sub stage

    In this sub-stage example, if a change request gets created from the sub stage (deploy PROD), the details of the parent root-level stage (deploy) are used in the change request, and orchestration tasks are also associated with the parent root-level stage (deploy).

    
    stage("deploy") {
             stages{
                 stage('deploy UAT') {
                    when{
                       branch 'dev'
                    }
                stage('deploy PROD') {
                   when {
                      branch 'master'
                   }
                    steps{
                      
                      snDevOpsChange()              
                    }
                }
            }

    Parallel stage

    In this parallel stage example, if a change request is created from a sub stage (UAT test-1 and/or UAT static code test), only the first change request is created (using the details of the parent root-level stage, UAT test) regardless of whether both sub stages (UAT test-1 and UAT static code test) get triggered.

    There is no indication of which parallel stage generated the change, and orchestration tasks are associated with the parent root-level stage (UAT test).

    
    stage('UAT test') {
          parallel {
              stage('UAT test-1') {
                  steps {
                      snDevOpsChange()
                      // 'UAT test-1' tasks
                  }
                    post {
                      success {
                        // post success tasks. E.g.: junit '**/target/surefire-reports/*.xml'
                      }
                  }
              }
              stage('UAT static code test') {
                  steps {
                      snDevOpsChange()
                      // 'UAT static code test' tasks
                  }
              }
          }
     }