# Reviewing Update Sets

> Reviewing, analyzing, and comparing ServiceNow update sets before promotion. Shows changes, risks, dependencies, and conflicts. Use when the user mentions update sets, customizations, promotion, code review, change tracking, pre-deployment review, sys_update_xml, customer updates, \"what changed in this update set,\" or \"is this safe to promote.\

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-jschuller-mcp-server-servicenow-reviewing-update-sets`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [jschuller](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/jschuller)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Security](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/security)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [jschuller](https://github.com/jschuller)
- **Source:** https://github.com/jschuller/mcp-server-servicenow/tree/main/skills/reviewing-update-sets

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-jschuller-mcp-server-servicenow-reviewing-update-sets
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Reviewing ServiceNow Update Sets

Review, analyze, and compare update sets before promotion. See `references/update-set-fields.md` for update types, risk categories, and pre-promotion checklist fields.

## Workflows

### 1. List & Summarize Update Sets

Get an overview of update sets by state with change counts.

**Progress checklist** (copy into your response):
```
- [ ] List update sets by state
- [ ] Get change counts for each
- [ ] Summarize by developer and state
```

1. List update sets by state:
   ```
   list_update_sets(state="in progress", limit=20)
   list_update_sets(state="complete", limit=20)
   ```
2. For each update set, get the change count:
   ```
   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="", limit=1)
   ```
3. Summarize: name, state, developer, change count, last modified date.

### 2. Deep Review a Single Update Set

Examine all changes in an update set, categorize by type, and flag risks.

**Progress checklist:**
```
- [ ] Get update set details
- [ ] List all customer updates
- [ ] Categorize changes by type
- [ ] Flag risky changes (ACLs, script includes, schema changes)
- [ ] Summarize findings with risk assessment
```

1. Get the update set details:
   ```
   get_update_set(sys_id="")
   ```
2. List all customer updates in the set:
   ```
   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="", limit=100)
   ```
3. Categorize each change by type (business rule, client script, UI policy, ACL, etc.).
4. Flag risky changes — see `references/update-set-fields.md` for risk categories:
   - ACL modifications (security impact)
   - Script Includes (shared library changes)
   - Table/Column schema changes (data model impact)
   - System Properties (global configuration)
   - Scheduled Jobs (background automation)
5. Present a summary: total changes, breakdown by type, risk flags with explanations.

### 3. Compare Two Update Sets

Find overlapping records and potential conflicts between two update sets.

**Progress checklist:**
```
- [ ] Get changes for update set A
- [ ] Get changes for update set B
- [ ] Find overlapping records (same target name/table)
- [ ] Identify potential conflicts
- [ ] Report overlap and conflict details
```

1. Get all changes from both update sets:
   ```
   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="", limit=100)
   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="", limit=100)
   ```
2. Compare the change lists:
   - Overlapping records: same `target_name` modified in both sets
   - Conflicting changes: same record with different modifications
   - Dependency issues: Set A modifies a record that Set B depends on
3. Present: overlapping records, conflict details, recommended promotion order.

### 4. Pre-Promotion Checklist

Validate an update set is safe to promote using a structured checklist.

**Progress checklist:**
```
- [ ] Verify state is "complete"
- [ ] Check for Default update set entries mixed in
- [ ] Scan for test/personal artifacts
- [ ] Check for incomplete references
- [ ] Flag risky change types
- [ ] Generate promotion readiness report
```

1. Get the update set and verify state:
   ```
   get_update_set(sys_id="")
   ```
2. List all changes:
   ```
   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="", limit=100)
   ```
3. Run pre-promotion checks:
   - **State:** Must be `complete` (not `in progress`)
   - **Default set entries:** Flag any changes that belong to the Default update set
   - **Test artifacts:** Look for names containing "test", "debug", "temp", "TODO"
   - **Personal artifacts:** Check for developer-specific names or comments
   - **Risky types:** Flag ACLs, schema changes, system properties
   - **Incomplete references:** Changes that reference records not in the same set
4. Generate a promotion readiness report: pass/fail for each check, overall recommendation.

## Tips

- Update sets in `ignore` state are intentionally excluded from promotion — don't flag them.
- The `sys_update_xml` table stores the actual XML payload of each change. Query it for detailed diffs.
- Use `order_by="-sys_created_on"` to see the most recent update sets first.
- See `references/update-set-fields.md` for the full list of change types and risk categories.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [jschuller](https://github.com/jschuller)
- **Source:** [jschuller/mcp-server-servicenow](https://github.com/jschuller/mcp-server-servicenow)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-jschuller-mcp-server-servicenow-reviewing-update-sets
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/jschuller
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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