Server API reference › API reference › API implementation and reference

Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-03-12 · Official documentation · View source

GlideHTTPRequest- Global

The GlideHTTPRequest API provides utility methods to perform common functions with Glide HTTP requests.

You can use this API in global server-side scripts. To use this class, instantiate a GlideHTTPRequest object using the constructor. The constructor requires an endpoint URL as an input parameter.

Parent Topic:Server API reference

GlideHTTPRequest - addHeader(String name, String value)

Adds a header to your HTTP request.

Name	Type	Description
name	String	Header name, such as `Accept` or `Content-Type`.
value	String	Header value, such as `application/json`.

Type	Description
void

This example adds the request header "Accept" and returns the number of the incidents from a ServiceNow Instance, parsing the JSON or XML responses.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the Accept header to get JSON response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());
gs.print('(JSON) Incidents returned: ' + JSON.parse(response.getBody()).result.length);

// Replace the Accept header to get XML response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/xml');

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());
gs.print('(XML) Incidents returned: ' + gs.xmlToJSON(response.getBody()).response.result.length);

Output

200
(JSON) Incidents returned: 66
200
(XML) Incidents returned: 66

GlideHTTPRequest - addParameter(String name, String value)

Adds a parameter to your HTTP request.

Name	Type	Description
name	String	Parameter to add, such as sysparm_limit.
value	String	Value for the parameter.

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to add the sysparm_limit parameter to the REST endpoint call to limit the number of returned responses.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the 'sysparm_limit' parameter to limit the number of records returned
request.addParameter('sysparm_limit', 1);

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());
gs.print('Incidents returned: ' + JSON.parse(response.getBody()).result.length);

Output:

200
Incidents returned: 1

GlideHTTPRequest - setBasicAuth(String userName, String password)

Sets a user name and password for basic authentication.

Name	Type	Description
userName	String	User name to use for authentication.
password	String	User's password to use for authentication.

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to use the setBasicAuth() method to set the user name and password for the associated REST endpoint call.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the Accept header to get JSON response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());
gs.print('(JSON) Incidents returned: ' + JSON.parse(response.getBody()).result.length);

// Replace the Accept header to get XML response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/xml');

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());
gs.print('(XML) Incidents returned: ' + gs.xmlToJSON(response.getBody()).response.result.length);

Output

200
(JSON) Incidents returned: 66
200
(XML) Incidents returned: 66

GlideHTTPRequest - setContentType(String type)

Sets the Content-Type header for your HTTP request to the specified value.

Name	Type	Description
type	String	Content type to set, such as `application/json` or `multipart/form-data`. For additional information on Content-Type, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Content-Type.

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to set the Content-Type request header for a REST endpoint call using the setContentType() method.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Set up incident record to post

// Set the Content-Type of the POST
request.setContentType('application/json');

// Execute the POST request
var response = request.post();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());

Output

GlideHTTPRequest - setFollowRedirect(boolean followRedirect)

Enables or disables the follow redirect option for a REST endpoint call.

For additional information on HTTP redirects, see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Redirections.

Name	Type	Description
followRedirect	Boolean	Flag that indicates whether the endpoint should follow any URL redirect returned by the endpoint. Valid values: - true: Following any returned redirect. - false: Ignore any returned redirect. Default: true

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to turn off redirects for an endpoint call using the setFollowRedirect() method.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the Accept header to get JSON response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

// Turn off follow redirect - default is on (true)
request.setFollowRedirect(false);

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());

Output

GlideHTTPRequest - setHttpTimeout(int timeout)

Sets the HTTP timeout value in milliseconds.

Name	Type	Description
timeout	Integer	Timeout value to set.Unit: Milliseconds

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to set the time out value for an endpoint call using the setTimeout() method.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the Accept header to get JSON response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

// Set the time out value
request.setHttpTimeOut(1000);

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());

Output

GlideHTTPRequest - setLogLevel(String logLevel)

Sets the log level for an HTTP request.

Name

Type

Description

logLevel

String

The level of logging available. Note: For performance reasons, in production it is advisable to leave HTTP request logging at basic.

Valid values:

basic: Covers many of the attributes of the HTTP transaction including host, path, response status, and so on.
elevated: Includes all of basic, as well as all request headers, the query string, and all response headers.
all: Includes all of elevated, as well as the request body and the response body.

Default: basic

Type	Description
void

This example shows how to set the log level for an endpoint call using the setLogLevel() method.

var instance = 'dev12345';
var username = 'admin';
var password = 'yourpassword';

// Instantiate request with ServiceNow API incidents table endpoint
var request = new GlideHTTPRequest('https://'+instance+'.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident');

// Add authentication data
request.setBasicAuth(username, password);

// Add the Accept header to get JSON response
request.addHeader('Accept', 'application/json');

// Set the time out value
request.setLogLevel(elevated);

// Execute the GET request
var response = request.get();

// Print the results: status code and number of records returned
gs.print(response.getStatusCode());

Output

GlideHTTPRequest - setupProxy(String host, String port)

Sets the proxy host and port for the associated REST call.

Name	Type	Description
host	String	Proxy host
port	String	Proxy port

Type	Description
void