The gs Object in ServiceNow: Complete Method Reference

Logging methods

Always pass a source identifier as the second argument — it makes filtering the system log fast and reliable. See the debugging guide for how to use these effectively.

gs.log('General message');                    // Info level — System Log
gs.log('Processing record', 'MyScriptName'); // With source — filterable
gs.info('Processing started', 'MyScript');   // Info level
gs.warn('Queue depth high', 'JobMonitor');   // Warning level
gs.error('Failed to process', 'MyScript');   // Error level
gs.debug('Step complete', 'MyScript');       // Debug — visible when session debug enabled

User context

gs.getUserID();                  // sys_id of currently logged-in user
gs.getUserName();                // Username (login name) e.g. "john.smith"
gs.getUser().getFullName();      // Display name e.g. "John Smith"
gs.getUser().getEmail();         // User's email address
gs.hasRole('itil');              // Boolean — does current user have this role?
gs.hasRole('itil,admin');        // Boolean — has either role (OR, not AND)
gs.isInteractive();              // True if user is in browser session (not API/background)
gs.getSession().isInteractive(); // Same as above
gs.getSession().getClientIP();   // Client IP address

For more on roles and how they work, see Roles vs Groups in ServiceNow. For getUserID patterns in scripts and ACLs, see gs.getUserID() complete reference.

Date and time utilities

gs.now();                         // Current datetime as UTC string: "2026-05-13 14:30:00"
gs.nowDateTime();                 // GlideDateTime of current time
gs.beginningOfToday();            // Start of today in local time
gs.endOfToday();                  // End of today in local time
gs.beginningOfThisWeek();         // Monday 00:00 of this week
gs.endOfThisWeek();               // Sunday 23:59 of this week
gs.beginningOfThisMonth();        // First day of this month 00:00
gs.endOfThisMonth();              // Last day of this month 23:59
gs.beginningOfLastMonth();        // First day of last month
gs.endOfLastMonth();              // Last day of last month
gs.beginningOfThisQuarter();      // Start of current quarter
gs.beginningOfThisYear();         // Jan 1 of current year
gs.daysAgo(7);                    // datetime 7 days ago
gs.daysAgoStart(7);               // start of day 7 days ago (for range queries)
gs.daysAgoEnd(0);                 // end of today (for range queries)
gs.hoursAgo(24);                  // datetime 24 hours ago
gs.minutesAgo(30);                // datetime 30 minutes ago

System properties

// Read a system property
gs.getProperty('glide.ui.home');                          // Returns value or null
gs.getProperty('my.setting', 'default_value');            // Returns default if not found

// Set a system property (requires admin role)
gs.setProperty('my.setting', 'new_value');
gs.setProperty('my.setting', 'new_value', 'Description'); // With description

// Check before using
var endpoint = gs.getProperty('my.api.endpoint');
if (!endpoint) {
    gs.error('System property my.api.endpoint is not configured', 'MyIntegration');
    return;
}

For the full gs.getProperty() reference including type handling and caching, see gs.getProperty() complete reference.

Event management

// Queue an event that fires a notification or Script Action
gs.eventQueue(
    'incident.priority.changed',  // Event name (must exist in Event Registry)
    current,                       // GlideRecord object (event source)
    current.getValue('assigned_to'), // param1
    current.getValue('priority')     // param2
);

// Schedule event for future execution
gs.eventQueueScheduled(
    'event.name',
    current,
    param1,
    param2,
    'tomorrow'  // Run time: 'tomorrow', 'next week', or GlideDateTime string
);

// Check if an event is queued
var isQueued = gs.eventQueuedAlready('incident.priority.changed', current);

String and encoding utilities

gs.generateGUID();                  // Generate a new 32-char sys_id
gs.urlEncode('hello world');        // "hello+world"
gs.urlDecode('hello+world');        // "hello world"
gs.base64Encode('my string');       // Base64 encoded string
gs.base64Decode('bXkgc3RyaW5n');   // Decoded string
gs.xmlToJSON(xmlString);            // Convert XML string to JavaScript object
gs.jsonToXML(jsonObject);           // Convert object to XML string
gs.htmlDecode('<b>');            // Decode HTML entities

Number formatting

gs.getProperty('glide.currency.code', 'USD'); // Instance currency code

// Format a number with locale settings
// Note: for currency/number display, GlideLocale is typically used
// gs provides basic utilities

Session and context

gs.getSession();                        // GlideSession object
gs.getSession().putClientData('key', 'value'); // Store value in session
gs.getSession().getClientData('key');   // Retrieve from session (string)
gs.getCurrentApplicationID();          // Current application scope sys_id
gs.getCurrentApplicationName();        // Current application scope name
gs.getMaxSchemaNameLength();            // Max table/column name length
gs.getNodeName();                       // Name of current node in cluster

Impersonation utilities

// Check if currently running as background/system
if (!gs.isInteractive()) {
    // Running via API, Scheduled Job, or background script
    gs.log('Non-interactive session — skipping UI checks', 'MyScript');
}

// Get the real user when impersonating
gs.getImpersonatingUserName(); // Returns username being impersonated, or null
gs.getImpersonatingUserDisplayName(); // Display name of impersonated user

Table and schema utilities

// Check if a table exists
var tableExists = gs.tableExists('my_custom_table');

// Check if a record exists by sys_id
var recExists = gs.recordExists('incident', sys_id);

// Get the display name of a table
gs.getTableDisplayName('incident'); // Returns "Incident"

Sending emails programmatically

// Send a simple email from a script
var email = new GlideEmailOutbound();
email.setSubject('Incident Alert: ' + current.getValue('number'));
email.setBody('A new P1 incident has been created: ' + current.getValue('short_description'));
email.addRecipient(current.assigned_to.getDisplayValue());
email.addAddress('to', 'manager@company.com');
email.save();

Password and security utilities

gs.generateGUID();  // Use for generating sys_ids or unique keys
// For generating passwords:
var chars = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789';
var password = '';
for (var i = 0; i < 12; i++) {
    password += chars.charAt(Math.floor(Math.random() * chars.length));
}

Related scripting guides:

• gs.getUserID() — complete reference with patterns
• gs.getProperty() — system properties in scripts
• Debugging scripts — using gs.log() effectively
• Script Includes — gs usage in server-side libraries
• Business Rule types — gs context in each rule type

// gs.log(message, source) — general purpose
gs.log('Processing complete: ' + recordCount + ' records updated', 'DailyJob');

// gs.info(message, source) — informational, lower noise
gs.info('Integration sync started', 'SAPConnector');

// gs.warn(message, source) — something unexpected but non-fatal
gs.warn('User not found for email: ' + emailAddress, 'UserProvisioning');

// gs.error(message, source) — error condition, always visible
gs.error('Failed to call external API: ' + errorMsg, 'IntegrationHandler');

// Without source parameter — source shows as empty string
gs.log('Simple debug message');

// Read a system property (second arg is default if property doesn't exist)
var maxRetries = parseInt(gs.getProperty('my_app.integration.max_retries', '3'));
var apiEndpoint = gs.getProperty('my_app.api.base_url', 'https://api.example.com');

// Set a property programmatically (admin rights required)
gs.setProperty('my_app.last_sync_time', gs.nowDateTime());

// Check property existence
var endpoint = gs.getProperty('my_app.endpoint');
if (!endpoint) {
    gs.error('Required property my_app.endpoint is not configured', 'MyApp');
    return;
}

// Get current user's sys_id
var userId = gs.getUserID(); // returns sys_id string

// Get current user's username (login name, not display name)
var username = gs.getUserName(); // "john.smith", not "John Smith"

// Get the full GlideUser object (more expensive — use when you need user attributes)
var user = gs.getUser();
var firstName = user.getFirstName();
var email = user.getEmail();
var companyId = user.getCompanyID();

// Check if user has a specific role
if (gs.hasRole('admin')) {
    // Show admin-only features
}
if (gs.hasRole('itil') || gs.hasRole('x_myapp.editor')) {
    // User has either the platform itil role or the custom app editor role
}

// Current date as YYYY-MM-DD
var today = gs.now();  // "2026-05-15"

// Current datetime as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (UTC)
var now = gs.nowDateTime();  // "2026-05-15 14:30:00"

// Date utility methods for queries
var sevenDaysAgo = gs.daysAgo(7);         // date 7 days ago
var startOfMonth = gs.beginningOfThisMonth();
var endOfMonth = gs.endOfThisMonth();
var startOfWeek = gs.beginningOfThisWeek();

// Using in encoded queries
var recentQuery = 'opened_at>' + gs.daysAgo(30);
gr.addEncodedQuery(recentQuery);

// Or with the javascript: syntax in encoded queries
// 'opened_atONThis month@javascript:gs.beginningOfThisMonth()@javascript:gs.endOfThisMonth()'