Hello ServiceNow Family,

When working with ServiceNow, one of the most common requirements is to fetch details about the currently logged-in user. Knowing who the user is, their roles, groups, and other attributes helps us deliver the right experience while ensuring proper access control.

ServiceNow provides two main ways to access user-related information:

1. GlideSystem (gs) User Object - Server-side
2. g_user Object - Client-side

This article explains both with real-world examples.

1. GlideSystem User Object (Server-side)

The GlideSystem user object (gs.getUser()) is used in Business Rules, Script Includes, UI Actions, and other server-side scripts.

Common Methods & Examples

Method	Returns	Example
gs.getUser()	User object of current user	var user = gs.getUser();
gs.getUserName()	User ID (login name)	gs.info(gs.getUserName()); // 'employee'
gs.getUserDisplayName()	Full name of user	gs.info(gs.getUserDisplayName()); // 'Joe Employee'
gs.getUserID()	sys_id of user	var id = gs.getUserID();
getFirstName()	First name	gs.info(gs.getUser().getFirstName());
getLastName()	Last name	gs.info(gs.getUser().getLastName());
getEmail()	Email address	gs.info(gs.getUser().getEmail());
getMyGroups()	Groups the user belongs to	gs.info(gs.getUser().getMyGroups());
isMemberOf(group)	true/false if user is in a group	if(gs.getUser().isMemberOf('Service Desk')) { ... }
gs.hasRole(role)	true/false if user has role	if(gs.hasRole('itil')) {...}

Example 1: Restricting Action Based on Role

if(!gs.hasRole('itil'))

{

gs.addErrorMessage("You must be an ITIL user to perform this action");

current.setAbortAction(true);

}

Example 2: Getting User’s Department

var dept = gs.getUser().getDepartmentID();

gs.info("Department Sys_id: " + dept);

Example 3: Fetch Any User Field

var title = gs.getUser().getRecord().getValue('title'); gs.info("User Title: " + title);

2. g_user Object (Client-side)

The g_user object is used in UI Policies and Client Scripts.

It is a cached copy of some user properties available on the client side.

Common Properties & Methods

Property/Method	Returns	Example
g_user.userName	User ID	alert(g_user.userName);
g_user.firstName	First name	alert(g_user.firstName);
g_user.lastName	Last name	alert(g_user.lastName);
g_user.userID	Sys_id	alert(g_user.userID);
g_user.hasRole('itil')	true/false if user has role	if(g_user.hasRole('itil')) {...}
g_user.hasRoleExactly('itil')	Checks role ignoring admin privilege	if(g_user.hasRoleExactly('itil')) {...}
g_user.hasRoles('itil','admin')	True if user has one of the roles	if(g_user.hasRoles('itil','admin')) {...}

3. When to Use What?

• Use GlideSystem (gs.getUser()) → When working server-side (Business Rules, Script Includes, etc.).
• Use g_user → When working client-side (UI Policies, Client Scripts) and you need quick access to common properties.

For additional attributes not available in g_user, you must run a GlideRecord query on sys_user.

4. Real-world Scenarios

Scenario A: Auto-populate Caller’s Department in Incident

Business Rule Script (Server-side):

current.u_department = gs.getUser().getDepartmentID();

Example 4: Show/Hide Field for ITIL Users

if(g_user.hasRole('itil'))

{

g_form.setVisible('impact', true);

} else

{

g_form.setVisible('impact', false);

}

5. Best Practices

• Use server-side methods whenever possible (performance is better).
• Use g_user only for quick, client-side checks.
• Avoid heavy GlideRecord queries on the client side.
• Use hasRoleExactly() when you want strict role validation (ignoring admin override).

// Example 5: Check Group Membership (Server-side)

var grpName = 'Service Desk';

var usrID = gs.getUserID(); // Get current user sys_id

var grp = new GlideRecord('sys_user_grmember');

grp.addQuery('group.name', grpName);

grp.addQuery('user', usrID);

grp.query();

if (grp.next()) {

gs.info('User belongs to Service Desk');

} else {

gs.info('User does not belong to Service Desk');

}

-------------- Thanks Everyone For Reading this article ------------------