JSON APIs

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated June 11, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
  • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of JSON APIs

    JSON APIs in ServiceNow enable you to interact with JSON payloads using thegetAsJsonContent()method on request objects or ParameterValue properties. This feature is primarily used for writing encryption rules by iterating over JSON elements and mapping them to table fields on the instance for selective encryption.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • JsonNode and JsonNodeIterator: Use getAsJsonContent() to obtain a JsonNode object, then call getIterator() or iterator() to get a JsonNodeIterator for traversing JSON nodes.
    • Iteration Control: Use hasNext() and next() methods on the iterator to safely loop through JSON elements.
    • Mapping JSON Elements to Table Fields: The valueFor(String tableName, String fieldName) method maps JSON elements to specific table fields for encryption checks. The system then encrypts values based on configured encryption rules.
    • Dynamic Field Mapping: You can dynamically assign table and field names based on incoming requests, allowing flexible encryption rules for unknown or varying JSON structures.
    • Encoded Query Encryption: The encodedQueryFor() method allows encryption of values within encoded queries in JSON payloads.

    Practical Usage Examples

    • Known Table-Field Mapping: Iterate over specific JSON nodes (e.g., descriptions in records array) and map them to a known field (e.g., incident.shortdescription) for encryption and insertion.
    • Unknown Table-Field Mapping: Iterate over JSON records without knowing exact fields beforehand, dynamically mapping each node to corresponding table fields, and applying special logic for certain fields like description.
    • Handling Encoded Queries: Traverse the JSON to locate encoded query nodes and encrypt sensitive values within queries using encodedQueryFor().

    Key Outcomes

    • Enables automated and configurable encryption of JSON payload data when integrating with ServiceNow tables.
    • Supports flexible and dynamic encryption rules that accommodate varying JSON structures and data fields.
    • Allows secure handling of both data records and encoded queries within JSON payloads.
    • Improves data security by ensuring sensitive fields are encrypted before insertion or processing in ServiceNow instances.

    JSON APIs can be used after calling getAsJsonContent() on either the request object or a ParameterValue property.

    When using JSON APIs to write your encryption rule, you can follow a general format:
    1. Call getAsJsonContent() on the request object. This returns an iterable object of the JsonNode underlying class.
    2. Call iterator() or getIterator(String xPath) on the JsonNode object. This returns a JsonNodeIterator object that can be used to iterate over nodes in the JSON object.
    3. Call the hasNext() method on the JsonNodeIterator object to determine whether another element is available.
    4. Call next() on the JsonNodeIterator object to return the next JSON element. You cannot call next() without first calling hasNext().
    5. Call valueFor(String tableName, String fieldName) on the JSON element. This method tells the proxy that the value for this element maps to the specified field in the specified table. The proxy then checks whether the field must be encrypted.
      Note:
      To determine if you want to call valueFor(String tableName, String fieldName) on a JSON element, you can use the getName() method to return the name of the element.

    Mapping to a known table-field on the instance

    In this example, the JSON payload is processed on the instance to insert records in the incident table. The description field populates short_description on the incident.

    {
        data: {
            records: [
                {
                    "name": "Test Record 1",
                    "description": "Test Record 1 Description",
                    "tag": "security"
                }, 
                {
                    "name": "Test Record 1",
                    "description": "Test Record 1 Description",
                    "tag": "security"
                }],
            "query": "assigned_to=3D4860165813e63a00d00abd322244b092^category=vulnerability"
        },
        "source": "10.11.13.14"
    }

    The following rule can apply:

    function sampleJsonAction1() {
        var jsonContent = request.getAsJsonContent();
        // This loop iterates over all description elements in the records array
        var jsonNodeIterator = jsonContent.getIterator(’/data/records/description’);    
        while (jsonNodeIterator.hasNext()) {
            var jsonNode = jsonNodeIterator.next();
            jsonNode.valueFor('incident', 'short_decription');
        }
    }
    

    This action iterates through the description nodes and asks the proxy server to encrypt the values and insert them into incident.short_description on the instance.

    Note:
    This rule finds all description nodes within the JSON payload. If there is only one occurrence of a node to encrypt, the rule still uses the xPath and iterator structure. However, it iterates only once in the loop.

    Mapping to an unknown table-field on the instance

    In this example, the rule iterates over records, but is not sure what nodes to expect. The only known is that for each object within records, the nodes match the names of the columns specified in the table URL parameter.

    The rule also specifies that, if the table is incident, then the data in the description node should be encrypted and stored in the short_description field on the instance.

    function sampleJsonAction2() {
        var jsonContent = request.getAsJsonContent();
        var tableName = request.urlParam.table;
        // This first iterator will iterate over all record elements
        var jsonNodeIterator = jsonContent.getIterator('data/records');
        while (jsonNodeIterator.hasNext()) {
                encryptFieldsInRecord(jsonNodeIterator.next());
        }
    }
    function encryptFieldsInRecord(jsonNode) {
        //this time we want to iterate over all nodes
        var fieldIterator = jsonNode.iterator();
        while (fieldIterator.hasNext()) {
                var field = fieldIterator.next();
                var fieldname = childElement.getName();
                if (fieldName == 'description') {
                    field.valueFor(tableName, 'short_description');
                } else {
                    field.valueFor(tableName, fieldName);
                }
        }
    }

    In the encryptFieldsInRecord() function, the valueFor() method is called on a table and a field that are dynamically assigned based on the request. Even though the table and field names can change, the rule asks the proxy to check whether the field in the table must be encrypted based on the encryption configurations defined.

    If the field is not configured for encryption, or if the node name does not match a field in the table, the proxy skips that node. If the node name matches a field marked for encryption, then the proxy encrypts the value.

    Using an encoded query

    function sampleJsonAction3() {
        var jsonContent = request.getAsJsonContent();
        var tableName = request.urlParam.table;
        // This first iterator will iterate over all record elements
        var jsonNodeIterator = jsonContent.getIterator('data');
        while (jsonNodeIterator.hasNext()) {
            var jsonNode = jsonNodeIterator.next();
            if (jsonNode.getName() == 'records')
                encryptRecors(jsonNodeIterator.next());
            else if (jsonNode.getName() == 'query')
                jsonNode.encodedQueryFor(tableName);
        }
    }
    function encryptRecords(jsonNode) {
        //we iterate over all fields in the node
        var recordIterator = jsonNode.iterator();
        while (recordIterator.hasNext()) {
            encryptFieldsInRecord(recordIterator.next());
        }
    }
    function encryptFieldsInRecord(jsonNode) {
        //this time we want to iterate over all nodes
        var fieldIterator = jsonNode.iterator();
        while (fieldIterator.hasNext()) {
                var field = fieldIterator.next();
                var fieldname = childElement.getName();
                field.valueFor(tableName, fieldName);
        }
    }

    In this example, the rule iterates over data. As it finds records, it performs the same logic as in the second example, iterating over fields in each node. When it finds the query node, it calls encodedQueryFor() to encrypt values that should be encrypted in the query.