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

Authenticate to a ServiceNow instance using basic authentication with the ServiceNow SDK

Use basic authentication to connect to a ServiceNow instance with the ServiceNow SDK.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

About this task

This procedure uses the ServiceNow SDK command-line interface (CLI). From a command-line tool, enter now-sdk --help to get information about the available commands and global options. To get additional information about a command and its parameters, enter the command and --help or -h. For example, now-sdk auth --help. For more information about the CLI, see ServiceNow SDK CLI.

Note: To use non-interactive authentication in CI/CD pipelines, see the install command.

Procedure

Create a local directory for your application.
In Visual Studio Code, open the directory.
From the application directory, open an integrated Terminal window.
Specify the instance to authenticate to with the auth command.
```
npx @servicenow/sdk auth --add <instance>
```
For example:
```
npx @servicenow/sdk auth --add https://myinstance.service-now.com
```
Note: Using the npx command installs the ServiceNow SDK in your application directory instead of globally.
Respond to the following series of prompts.

Prompt	Response
`Type of authentication to use`	Select `basic`.
`Alias for these credentials`	Enter an alias for your credentials and the instance.The alias can be used for authentication with the `init`, `transform`, `dependencies`, and `install` commands.
`The username to authenticate with the instance`	Enter your username for the instance.You must be assigned the admin role.
`The password to authenticate with the instance`	Enter your password.

Result

The alias and credentials are stored in the device keychain or credential manager on your system and are set as the default credentials.

What to do next

Add an application to your local system with the ServiceNow SDK. For more information, see Adding applications with the ServiceNow SDK.

Parent Topic:Authenticating to a ServiceNow instance with the ServiceNow SDK