Upload attachment from disk

Uploading a file from disk is the most common way developers attach documents, logs, screenshots, or exports to a ServiceNow record. This variation walks through the workflow end‑to‑end and highlights the key decisions you’ll make along the way.

When to use this pattern

• You have a file already stored locally (for example, a .txt, .pdf, .png, .zip)
• You’re building a CLI tool, automation script, or integration service
• You want a simple, reliable way to attach files without streaming or buffering logic

Required values

Value	Description
Table Name	the record’s table (for example, incident)
Record sys_id	the specific record to attach the file to
File name	the name that will appear in Service-Now
File content	read directly from disk

Example

package main

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"os"

	servicenow "github.com/michaeldcanady/servicenow-sdk-go/v2"
	attachmentapi "github.com/michaeldcanady/servicenow-sdk-go/v2/attachmentapi"
	"github.com/michaeldcanady/servicenow-sdk-go/v2/credentials"
)

func main() {
  // Step 1: Authenticate with your ServiceNow instance
  cred := credentials.NewBasicProvider("{username}", "{password}")

  clientOpts := []servicenow.ServiceNowServiceClientOption{
  	servicenow.WithAuthenticationProvider(cred),
  	servicenow.WithInstance("{instance}"),
  }

  // Step 2: Initialize the ServiceNow client
  client, err := servicenow.NewServiceNowServiceClient(clientOpts...)
  if err != nil {
  	log.Fatalf("failed to initialize client: %v", err)
  }

  // Step 3: Read the file from disk
  filePath := "./example.txt"
  fileBytes, err := os.ReadFile(filePath)
  if err != nil {
  	log.Fatalf("failed to read file: %v", err)
  }

  // Step 4: Wrap the file content in a Media object
  mediaType := "text/plain" // adjust based on your file type
  media := attachmentapi.NewMedia(mediaType, fileBytes)

  // Step 5: Provide the required attachment parameters
  tableName := "{TableName}"
  tableSysID := "{SysID}"
  fileName := "example.txt"

  config := &attachmentapi.AttachmentFileRequestBuilderPostRequestConfiguration{
  	QueryParameters: &attachmentapi.AttachmentFileRequestBuilderPostQueryParameters{
  		TableName:  &tableName,
  		TableSysID: &tableSysID,
  		FileName:   &fileName,
  	},
  }

  // Step 6: Upload the file
  resp, err := client.Now().Attachment().File().Post(
  	context.Background(),
  	media,
  	config,
  )
  if err != nil {
  	log.Fatal(err)
  }

  uploaded, err := resp.GetResult()
  if err != nil {
  	log.Fatalf("unable to retrieve uploaded attachment: %v", err)
  }

  sysID, err := uploaded.GetSysID()
  if err != nil {
  	log.Fatalf("unable to retrieve attachment sys_id: %v", err)
  }

  fmt.Printf("Uploaded attachment with sys_id: %s\n", *sysID)
}

Tips

• Use absolute paths when running from cron jobs or containerized environments.
• Set the correct Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) type (text/plain, application/pdf, image/png, etc.) so ServiceNow handles previews correctly.
• Check for duplicates by listing attachments first if your workflow might upload the same file.
• Validate file size if your instance enforces attachment limits.