Using source control in the ServiceNow IDE

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using source control in the ServiceNow IDE

    This guide explains how ServiceNow customers can use Git source control features within the ServiceNow Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to manage application changes across development teams. It requires admin role permissions and supports common Git workflows directly in the IDE, simplifying collaborative application development and version management.

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    Key Features

    • Git Commands Integration: Perform essential Git operations such as checkout, clone, commit, branch creation, discard changes, fetch, pull, push, stage, and stash directly from the Source Control view or command palette.
    • Checkout: Switch branches or create and push branches to remote repositories, noting that only one branch per repository can be checked out on an instance or developer sandbox at a time.
    • Clone: Add applications to your workspace by cloning remote repositories within the IDE.
    • Commit and Stage: Stage desired changes and commit them locally with descriptive messages.
    • Discard Changes: Undo unwanted modifications to applications easily.
    • Fetch, Pull, and Push: Synchronize and update local and remote repositories to maintain up-to-date codebases.
    • Stash: Temporarily save uncommitted changes to switch contexts and reapply them later, with support for pop, drop, list, apply, and clear stash commands.
    • Merge Conflict Resolution: Identify files with merge conflicts via the Source Control view and resolve conflicts by choosing current, incoming, both changes, or manual editing within the editor.
    • Commit History: View detailed commit logs per branch and file, with a diff editor to compare changes for selected commits.
    • Repository Management: Change or update the remote repository URL connected to an application using the Git: Update remote origin command.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Streamlines team collaboration by integrating full Git source control capabilities directly in the ServiceNow IDE.
    • Supports standard Git workflows, reducing context switching and accelerating development cycles.
    • Enables efficient conflict management and version tracking to maintain application integrity.
    • Facilitates easy onboarding and management of application repositories within ServiceNow environments.

    Use Git commands and other source control features in the ServiceNow IDE to manage changes to an application across a development team.

    Role required: admin

    Git commands

    After initializing a local Git repository in the ServiceNow IDE, you can perform several Git commands from the Source Control view (Source Control) or command palette, including but not limited to the following commands.

    Table 1. Git commands in the ServiceNow IDE
    Command Description
    Checkout to (More actions > Checkout to...)

    Command palette: Git: Checkout to...

    		 Check out another branch from the repository. Select the branch from the list or create a branch and push it to the remote repository.

    Only one branch per repository can be checked out at a time on an instance (or developer sandbox).
    Clone (More actions > Clone)

    Command palette: Git: Clone

    		 Clone a remote repository to add an application to your workspace.

    For more information, see Clone a Git repository with the ServiceNow IDE.
    Commit (Commit)

    Command palette: Git: Commit

    		 Commit your staged changes to the local repository. Enter a commit message to describe your changes.
    Create branch (More actions > Branch > Create branch...)

    Command palette: Git: Create branch...

    		 Add a branch to a repository and check it out.
    Discard (Discard Changes)

    Command palette: Git: Discard Changes

    		 Discard changes to undo modifications to an application.
    Fetch (More actions > Fetch)

    Command palette: Git: Fetch

    		Fetch to sync commits and branches from the remote repository into the local repository.
    Pull (More actions > Pull)

    Command palette: Git: Pull

    		Pull to merge the latest changes from the remote repository into the local repository.
    Push (More actions > Push)

    Command palette: Git: Push

    		Push your committed changes to the remote repository.
    Stage (Stage Changes)

    Command palette: Git: Stage Changes

    		 Stage the changes in your working directory that you want to commit. When you stage changes, files move from the Changes list to the Staged Changes list.
    Stash (More actions > Stash)

    Command palette: Git: Stash, Git: Pop, Git: Drop, Git: List, Git: Apply, Git: Clear

    		 Stash all uncommitted changes to save them in your working directory locally and come back to them later.

    The pop, drop, list, apply, and clear subcommands are supported when stashing. Select Stash > Apply to reapply your changes in your working directory.

    Merge conflicts

    If there’s a conflict between local and remote changes in a file, the file is listed under Merge conflicts in the Source Control view (Source Control). You can review conflicts in the editor and resolve them by accepting the current or incoming change, both, or manually editing the file.

    Commit history

    The commit history for a branch is listed in the Commits section of the Source Control view (Source Control) and includes details about the commits. To see the commit history for a file, navigate to the File Explorer view (File Explorer), select the file, and expand the Timeline section. When you select a commit, a Diff editor comparing the changes opens.

    Repository changes

    To update the remote repository an application is connected to, you can use the Git: Update remote origin command from the command palette and enter a different remote repository URL.