Control request and response content type

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Control Request and Response Content Type

    This guide outlines how to control the content types allowed in scripted REST API requests and responses in ServiceNow. By default, the system supports several formats, including application/json and application/xml, while also allowing custom content types with json or xml subtypes.

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    Key Features

    • Default Settings: You can specify default supported request and response formats via the respective fields. Unsupported formats will trigger HTTP error codes 406 or 415.
    • Wildcard Support: Use the percent sign (%) for single-character wildcards and the asterisk () for multiple-character wildcards when defining content types.
    • x-www-form-urlencoded: If your API accepts this content type, you can retrieve the values as a JSON map and access them via the request.queryParams object.
    • Binary Responses: For binary responses, set the content type accordingly and write the binary stream directly using the RESTAPIResponseStream object.

    Key Outcomes

    By effectively managing content types, you can ensure that your APIs handle requests and responses correctly, improving integration and communication with other systems. Proper configuration prevents errors and enhances the overall performance of your ServiceNow implementation.

    Controls which content types are allowed in scripted REST API requests and responses.

    By default, scripted REST APIs support application/json, application/xml, and text/xml. User-defined custom content types (with json or xml subtypes) are also supported. For example, application/vnd.collection+json and application/vnd.adobe.xdp+xml are treated as JSON and XML, respectively.
    Important:
    If the request body format is not of a json or xml subtype, use only the request body dataStream field to access the request body. Using request body data, dataString, nextEntry(), or hasNext() with a non-json or non-xml format results in a 500 error response.

    Setting defaults

    You can set default values for the API using the Default supported request formats and Default supported response formats fields. These fields define acceptable values users can pass in the Content-Type and Accept request headers, respectively. If a requesting user specifies an Accept or Content-Type header not supported by the API or resource, the instance responds with an HTTP error code of 406 or 415.

    You can override these values for each resource using the Supported request formats and Supported response formats on the Scripted REST Service form.
    Note:
    The Supported request formats field appears only for PUT, POST, and PATCH resources.

    Using wildcard values

    You can use wildcard values when specifying valid content types.
    • To perform a single-character wildcard search, use the percent sign (%) character. This wildcard finds words that contain any one character in place the percent-sign-character. For example, to find words such as text or test, search for: te%t.
    • To perform a multiple-character wildcard search, use the asterisk (*) character. This wildcard finds words that contain zero or more characters in place of the asterisk-character. For example, to find words such as planned or placed, search for: pl*d.

    Using the x-www-form-urlencoded content type

    If a REST API or resource accepts the application/x-www-form-urlencoded content-type, you can retrieve the urlencoded values provided in the request as a JSON map. You can then supply these urlencoded key-value pairs as query parameters, in the request body, or both. They are combined and stored in the request parameters. Access these parameters through the request.queryParams object.

    For example, if your API is defined to accept the application/x-www-form-urlencoded content-type and your API is implemented as follows, 
    (function process(/*RESTAPIRequest*/ request, /*RESTAPIResponse*/ response) {

 response.setBody(request.queryParams);

})(request, response);
    … then the following request yields the respective response:
    POST to localhost:8080/api/now/some_api/some_resource?name3=value3&name4=value4
    Body:
    name1=value1&name2=value2
    Response:
    { "result":
    { "name4": [ "value4" ], "name3": [ "value3" ], "name2": [ "value2" ],
      "name1": [ "value1" ]
    }
}

    Sending binary type in a response

    When sending a binary type in a response, you must set the response content type and write the binary stream directly using a RESTAPIResponseStream object. You can access this object by calling getStreamWriter() on the response object. For more information, see.