API Key and HMAC Authentication for inbound REST APIs › Token-based authentication › API Authentication › Authentication › Access Management

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

Configure API key - Token-based authentication

Configure an API key to support authentication for REST API endpoints.

Before you begin

Role required: api_service_admin, adaptive_auth_policy_admin

Plugin required: API Key and HMAC Authentication (com.glide.tokenbased_auth)

Procedure

Create an inbound authentication profile.
1. Navigate to All > System Web Services > API Access Policies > Inbound Authentication Profiles.
2. Select New.
  
  The system displays the message What kind of authentication profile?
3. Select Create API Key authentication profiles.

Image omitted: api-profile.png
API Key authentication profile

4.  On the form, fill in the fields.

Field	Description
Name	Name to identify the authentication policy.
Application	Scope of the authentication policy.
Auth Parameter	Select the auth parameter for the authentication request. You can select the default options or create a new auth parameter:- x-sn-apikey: Auth Header - x-sn-apikey: Query Parameter header

    **Note:** The selected option has to be defined in the REST call in the Auth Header or Query Parameter.

Image omitted: api-parameter.png
API Parameter

    **Note:** If you wish to add a prefix for the API-Key, Open the Auth Parameter file that you have selected and specify the **Prefix** field.

5.  Submit the form.

Create a REST API key.
1. Navigate to All > System Web Services > API Access Policies > REST API Key.
2. Select New.
3. On the form, fill the fields:

Field	Description
Name	Name to identify the REST API Key
Description	Description for the REST API Key.
Active	Status of the REST API Key.
User	User associated to the REST API Key. Use the look-up icon to select the user.
Auth Scope	Option to add auth scope to manage the authority of the REST API Key.
Token	The REST API key generated by the ServiceNow AI Platform. Copy the key to use as part of the REST API call within the Header or Query parameter.
Expiry	Time after which the credential is no longer valid. Empty value means no expiration.Note: For more information, about expiry of token, see Cleaning up token Expiry .

4.  Submit the form.

5.  Open the record that was created to view the token generated by the ServiceNow AI Platform for the user.

Image omitted: api-token.png
API Token

Create a REST API Access policy.
1. Navigate to All > System Web Services > REST API Access Policies.
2. Select New.
3. On the form, fill in the fields.

Field	Description
Name	Unique name of the API access policy.
Active	Option to make the API access policy active.
REST API	The REST API to which the access policy is applied. For example, Attachment API.
REST API PATH	API path of the REST API. This field is auto-populated based on the selected REST API. For example, now/attachment.
HTTP Method	Method used for interacting with the API. This field is auto-populated based on the selected REST API.
Version	Version of the API. For example, v1. This field is auto-populated based on the selected REST API.Note: If you want to create an authentication policy for all versions of a REST API, you must create individual policies for each version.
Resource	Child resource of the REST API. This field is auto-populated based on the selected REST API. For example, /now/attachment
Application	Scope of the application.
Global	Enable this field to apply auth policy to all methods, versions, and resources for the API.Note: Token Based Auth isn’t allowed in the Global REST API Policy.
Apply to all methods	Enable this field to apply the auth policy for the API to all the methods, versions, and resources for the API.
Apply to all resources	Enable this field to apply the auth policy for the API to all the versions.
Apply to all versions	Enable this field to apply the auth policy for the API to all the resources.

Image omitted: add-api-key-policy.png
Add profile to Access Policy

4.  Add the API Authentication profile that was created.

5.  Submit the form.

You can send the REST API call with the x-sn-apikey \(token\) that was generated by the ServiceNow AI Platform during the API Key creation within the Header or Query parameter based on the configuration for authentication.

**Warning:** Use **POST** request when submitting any sensitive information to the server.