---
title: Custom application configuration in source code
description: Configure a custom application \[sys\_app\] in the now.config.json file for an application in source code.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/app-config-source-code.html
release: australia
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-03-20"
reading_time_minutes: 5
breadcrumb: [Building applications in source code, Building pro-code applications, Developing your application, Building applications]
---

# Custom application configuration in source code

Configure a custom application \[sys\_app\] in the `now.config.json` file for an application in source code.

**Note:** For the latest ServiceNow SDK application configuration documentation, see the [now.config.json reference](https://servicenow.github.io/sdk/config/now-config-reference) on GitHub.

You can configure the application settings and aspects specific to developing the application in source code, such as the directory structure. In the `now.config.json` file, add the following parameters to configure the application settings.

<table id="table_upn_kqw_zbc"><thead><tr><th>

Parameter

</th><th>

Type

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

appOutputDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory to output the build artifacts to for packaging. The pack and install commands refer to this directory to package the artifacts. Default: `dist/app`

</td></tr><tr><td>

clientDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory containing the client-side files for developing user interfaces with React.Default: `src/client`

</td></tr><tr><td>

dependencies

</td><td>

Object

</td><td>

The items in another application scope on which your application depends. You must specify the application scope and the dependency type and names or sys\_ids.```json
"dependencies": {
    "<scope>": {
      "<type>": ["<sys_id or name>"],
      ...
    },
    ...
}
```

For more information, see [Download ServiceNow Fluent application dependencies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/servicenow-sdk/downloading-dependencies-now-sdk.md).

</td></tr><tr><td>

excludeFilePatterns

</td><td>

Array

</td><td>

A list of file patterns to exclude when transforming metadata XML to ServiceNow Fluent code or downloading dependencies. Files that match are discarded and not written to the metadata directory.

</td></tr><tr><td>

fluentDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory containing ServiceNow Fluent files \(`.now.ts`\) that define application metadata in source code.Default: `src/fluent`

</td></tr><tr><td>

generatedDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory containing generated ServiceNow Fluent files, including existing application metadata converted into ServiceNow Fluent code. This directory is relative to the directory defined with the **fluentDir** parameter.Default: `generated`

</td></tr><tr><td>

ignoreTransformTableList

</td><td>

Array

</td><td>

A list of tables to ignore when transforming application metadata into source code.

</td></tr><tr><td>

linter

</td><td>

Object

</td><td>

A configuration for ServiceNow Fluent and JavaScript module linting behavior.The module.enabled property controls whether to run linting on modules for compatibility with the JavaScript engine on the platform. If false, linting is turned off for local modules \(in `src/server`\) and third-party npm packages \(in `node_modules`\).

Default:

```json
"linter": {
  "module": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}
```

</td></tr><tr><td>

metadataDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory containing the application's metadata as XML files.Default: `metadata`

</td></tr><tr><td>

modulePaths

</td><td>

Object

</td><td>

A map of the module source files to their equivalent output files for if you use a custom transpilation step before building the application. For more information, see [Using TypeScript in JavaScript modules with the ServiceNow SDK](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/servicenow-sdk/using-typescript.md).**Warning:** You can't use this parameter and the `tsconfigPath` parameter. Configuring both results in an error.

</td></tr><tr><td>

packOutputDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory to output the installable package \(`.zip` file\) when building the application. The install command refers to this directory to install the package.Default: `target`

</td></tr><tr><td>

serverModulesDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory containing the JavaScript or TypeScript files to be built into JavaScript modules for use in server-side scripts.Default: `src/server`

</td></tr><tr><td>

serverModulesExcludePatterns

</td><td>

Array

</td><td>

A list of file patterns to exclude when building JavaScript modules.Default:

```json
[
  "**/*.test.ts",
  "**/*.test.js",
  "**/*.d.ts"
]
```

</td></tr><tr><td>

serverModulesIncludePatterns

</td><td>

Array

</td><td>

A list of file patterns to include when building JavaScript modules.Default:

```json
[
  "**/*.ts",
  "**/*.tsx",  
  "**/*.js",
  "**/*.jsx",
  "**/*.cts",
  "**/*.cjs",
  "**/*.mts",
  "**/*.mjs",
  "**/*.json"
]
```

</td></tr><tr><td>

staticContentDir

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

Directory to output the static asset files used for developing user interfaces.Default: `dist/static`

</td></tr><tr><td>

staticContentPaths

</td><td>

Object

</td><td>

A map of the client-side source files to the output paths for static asset files.

</td></tr><tr><td>

defaultLanguage

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

The BCP 47 code of a default language for field labels \[sys\_documentation\] in a table or column. The default language is used to resolve field labels with multiple languages.Default: en

</td></tr><tr><td>

tableOutputFormat

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

The type of build artifacts for table metadata XML generated from ServiceNow Fluent code.Valid values:

-   bootstrap: The build process outputs a bootstrap XML file with the `<database>` root element for the table, field label XML files \[sys\_documentation\], licensing configuration XML files \[ua\_table\_licensing\_config\], and auto-numbering XML files \[sys\_number\].
-   component: The build process outputs XML files for each component of the Table API.

Default: `bootstrap`

</td></tr><tr><td>

taxonomy

</td><td>

Object

</td><td>

A configuration for organizing generated ServiceNow Fluent files, which maps table names to directories and defines a fallback directory. The default taxonomy configuration uses ServiceNow standard table classifications to add generated ServiceNow Fluent files in a logical directory structure within the `fluent/generated` directory when metadata is initially transformed into ServiceNow Fluent code. For example:-   Business rules \[sys\_script\] are added to the `fluent/generated/server-development/business-rule` directory.
-   Script includes \[sys\_script\_include\] are added to the `fluent/generated/server-development/script-include` directory.

You can override the default mappings or configure additional ones. In the following example, the configuration overrides the default directory for business rules \[sys\_script\] and the fallback folder and configures an additional mapping for metadata from a custom table.

```json
"taxonomy": {
        "mapping": {
            "sys_script": "scripts/server/rules",
            "custom_table": "my-custom-folder/my-nested-folder"
        },
        "fallbackFolderName": "unclassified"
}
```

-   mapping: An object that maps table names to directories. Directory paths are relative to the directory configured with the **generatedDir** parameter and must include only lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, and slashes to separate subdirectories.
-   fallbackFolderName: A name for a directory to use for tables that don't have a default or a custom mapping configured. Within this directory, ServiceNow Fluent files are added to subdirectories named after the table, such as `src/fluent/generated/other/x-unmapped-table/`.

Default: Default taxonomy mappings are defined for all standard ServiceNow tables and are automatically applied when no custom configuration is defined in the `now.config.json` for an application. The default value of **fallbackFolderName** is `other`.

</td></tr><tr><td>

trustedModules

</td><td>

Array

</td><td>

A list of npm packages to identify as trusted \(or internal\). Trusted modules have access to ServiceNow APIs. For example:```json
"trustedModules": [
  "<package-name>",  // Specific package
  "@servicenow/*"  // All packages from an organization
]
```

In the EcmaScript Module \[sys\_module\] table, the **External source** field is set to false for trusted modules.

**Warning:** Only add dependencies that you trust completely as trusted modules.

Valid patterns:

-   Fully qualified package names, such as `'@servicenow/sdk'`.
-   Organization prefixes with a wildcard, such as `'@servicenow/*'` or `'@mycompany/*'`.

</td></tr><tr><td>

tsconfigPath

</td><td>

String

</td><td>

A path to a `tsconfig.json` file with custom options for transpiling TypeScript into JavaScript during the build process. Specifying a `tsconfigPath` generates diagnostic results from TypeScript using the `tsconfig.json` file.**Warning:** You can't use this parameter and the `modulePaths` parameter. Configuring both results in an error.

Default: `.`

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## Application configuration in source code

```json
{
  "scope": "x_snc_example_app",
  "scopeId": "2f8400eb07426110f736e28f69d3017a",
  "name": "ExampleApp",
  "dependencies": \{
    "global": \{
      "tables": \["incident"\],
      "roles": \["admin"\],
    \},
    "x\_custom": \{
      "tables": \["custom\_table"\]
    \}
  \},
  "metadataDir": "metadata",
  "fluentDir": "src/fluent",
  "generatedDir": "generated",
  "serverModulesDir": "src/server",
  "clientDir": "src/client",
  "appOutputDir": "dist/app",
  "staticContentDir": "dist/static",
  "packOutputDir": "target",
  "modulePaths": {
      "src/server/*.ts": "dist/server/*.js",
    },
  "staticContentPaths": {
      "src/client/*.html": "dist/static/*.html",
    },
  "ignoreTransformTableList": ["ua_table_licensing_config", "sys_embedded_help_role"],
  "taxonomy": \{
        "mapping": \{
            "sys\_script": "scripts/server/rules",
            "custom\_table": "my-custom-folder/my-nested-folder"
        \},
        "fallbackFolderName": "unclassified" 
    \}
}
```

**Related topics**  


[Application access settings](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/c_ApplicationAccessSettings.md)