Install Squid
This guide covers production deployment of Squid. If you're just evaluating, start with Give it a Spin.
Install from ServiceNow Store
Install Squid from the ServiceNow Store on your target instance(s).
Get a License Key
Contact sales@arc46.io with the instance names you need licensed. License keys are bound to specific instances.
License keys are typically provided within 24 hours, including for development instances.
Without a license key:
- Non-production instances work with a 50-entity limit
- PDIs (Personal Developer Instances) work without limitations, but installing Store apps on PDIs is only available to ServiceNow employees
Configure ACL Override
We strongly recommend allowing Squid to bypass ServiceNow ACLs.
Set the system property x_a46gh_squidx.allowAclOverride to true.
This sounds counterintuitive — ACLs are security, and security is good. But for data export, ACLs create unpredictable, incomplete results. A user's permissions shouldn't determine what data your integration receives.
See ServiceNow ACLs from a data export perspective for the full explanation.
See System Property x_a46gh_squidx.allowAclOverride for configuration details.
Set Up Service Accounts
Create a dedicated service account for your integration and assign these roles:
| Role | Purpose |
|---|---|
x_a46gh_squidx.rest | Allows API access |
x_a46gh_squidx.defaultAccess | Allows access to predefined configurations |
For custom configurations with restricted access, assign additional roles as needed.
See Roles / ACLs for details on all Squid roles.
Configure Your HTTP Client
Configure your HTTP client to not persist session cookies.
ServiceNow serializes all requests within a session. With cookies enabled:
- Parallel requests execute one at a time
- Long-running queries block everything
- Excess requests return HTTP 202 and are silently dropped
This is the most common cause of Squid performance issues and silent data loss.
See API Client Configuration for code examples in Python, JavaScript, .NET, Java, and PowerShell.
Configure Timeouts
Squid queries can take 10-15 minutes for large datasets. Configure your HTTP client accordingly:
| Timeout | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Connection | 30 seconds |
| Read | 900+ seconds (15 minutes) |
Your ServiceNow administrator may also need to configure transaction quota rules. See ServiceNow Configuration.
Verify Your Setup
Make a test request:
https://YOUR-INSTANCE.service-now.com/api/x_a46gh_squidx/v1/data/cmdb_ci_server_minimal?limit=10
You should receive a JSON response with your server CIs and resolved references.
See API Call for the full request reference.
Next Steps
- API Call — Request format, parameters, filtering, relations
- Configurations — 100+ predefined configurations
- Security — Authentication, authorization, data access controls
- API Throughput — Understanding ServiceNow's performance constraints