Choosing your development experience

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Choosing your development experience

    This guide helps ServiceNow customers understand how to select and switch between different development environments within Creator Studio, enabling development tailored to various skill levels and project needs.

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    Development Environments Available

    • Creator Studio (No-code): Designed for beginners or users seeking quick app creation with an intuitive, guided interface for basic applications.
    • ServiceNow Studio (Platform developer): Provides a balanced environment for managing metadata and integrated builders, suitable for users needing more control and capabilities.
    • ServiceNow IDE (Pro-code): A professional coding environment using VS Code for advanced developers requiring detailed and intricate application development.

    Key Features

    • Experience Switcher: Allows users to change development environments directly within Creator Studio without navigating away, centralizing development tools and reducing confusion.
    • App Sharing Between Environments: Apps created or bookmarked in Creator Studio are accessible in ServiceNow Studio; however, apps created in ServiceNow Studio are not accessible in Creator Studio.
    • Opening Apps in ServiceNow Studio: Users with access can open apps directly via the 'more actions' icon either on the home page or navigation panel.

    Access and Roles

    Access to the experience switcher and available development environments depends on user roles:

    • Admins and Delegated Developers: Have access to all environments via the experience switcher to manage and develop apps as needed.
    • Creator Studio Users and Creator Studio Restricted Users: Typically limited to Creator Studio only, as administrators curate their experience for simplicity.

    Important Note: Having the Creator Studio role alone does not grant access to ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE. To see the experience switcher, users must have access to Creator Studio plus at least one other development environment.

    If you want to develop apps in a more robust environment than Creator Studio, which was designed for no-code developers, you can select a different experience directly from within Creator Studio.

    A development environment for every level

    Use the experience switcher to select from any of the following development environments directly within Creator Studio, without navigating to the All menu.

    Important:
    No matter what your role is (including admin and delegated developer roles), if you have one of the Creator Studio roles, you won't be able to access ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE.
    Figure 1. Experience switcher in Creator Studio
    Selecting a different development experience from the switcher
    Table 1. Development experiences
    Development experience Level Description
    Creator Studio No-code Enables quick creation of basic applications through an intuitive, guided environment, ideal for beginners or those needing fast results.
    ServiceNow Studio Platform developer Offers a balance of simplicity and power, facilitating the development and management of metadata and integrated builders within a navigable interface.
    ServiceNow IDE Pro-code Provides advanced developers with a professional coding environment, using VS Code for direct metadata editing, suited for intricate and detailed application development.

    Being able to easily switch between development experiences eliminates the fragmentation of development tools, reducing confusion and centralizing development activities across all skill levels.

    For example, you can build a basic request app in Creator Studio, and then switch to ServiceNow Studio to add more robust functionality.

    For details on switching experiences, see Change your development experience.

    Open an app directly in ServiceNow Studio

    If you have access to ServiceNow Studio, you can open an app there by selecting the more actions icon on the home page (More options enable you to take action on an app) and choosing to Open in ServiceNow Studio.

    Figure 2. Open in ServiceNow Studio link
    Select more options to get the Open in SNS link

    You can also select the more actions icon () in the navigation panel and then select Open in ServiceNow Studio.

    Sharing apps between development experiences

    All apps that are made and bookmarked in Creator Studio are bookmarked and available to work on in ServiceNow Studio. However, apps that are made in ServiceNow Studio are not available to work on in Creator Studio.

    Who can access the studios in the experience switcher

    The experience switcher can provide access to Creator Studio, ServiceNow Studio, ServiceNow IDE. However, whether you can see and select all of those depends on your role or access level. For more information, see Administering access to the experience switcher.

    Note:
    In addition to Creator Studio, you must have access to at least one other product (ServiceNow Studio or ServiceNow IDE) to see the experience switcher.
    The following describes default role access to the experience switcher:
    • Admins and delegated developers can use the experience switcher because they may need access to any product where they've been delegated to administer or develop an app.
    • Creator Studio users and Creator Studio restricted users don't generally have access to the experience switcher because administrators limit them to a more curated experience.