--- title: Create or edit a CI relationship description: Use the relationship editor to view, create, or modify CI relationships. You can open the relationship editor from the CI Relations formatter. locale: en-US canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/t\_CreateCIRelationship.html release: australia product: Configuration Management Database \(CMDB\) classification: configuration-management-database-cmdb topic_type: task last_updated: "2026-03-12" reading_time_minutes: 5 breadcrumb: [CI relationship editor, CI relationships in the CMDB, Configuration Management Database \(CMDB\), Configuration Management, Extend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities] --- # Create or edit a CI relationship Use the relationship editor to view, create, or modify CI relationships. You can open the relationship editor from the CI Relations formatter. ## About this task As an alternative to the CI relationship editor, [Unified Map](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/unified-map/cmdb-workspace-unified-map.md) in the [CMDB Workspace store app](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/cmdb-workspace.md)or in provides the latest functionality for editing CI relationships. For more information, see [Edit relationships in Unified Map](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/unified-map/unified-map-edit-connection.md). ## Before you begin Role required: - To create relationships: sn\_cmdb\_editor, asset, or itil - To view relationships, depending on the state of the Table API ACL: - If inactive \(default\): sn\_cmdb\_editor, asset, or itil - If active: sn\_cmdb\_editor, asset, or itil, and snc\_platform\_rest\_api\_access For more information, see [CI relationship security](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/c_CIRelationshipSecurity.md), [REST API](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/api-reference/c_RESTAPI.md), and [Table API](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/api-reference/c_TableAPI.md). ## About this task The relationship editor operates differently, depending on whether you check the **Use suggested relationship** option or not. ## Procedure 1. Launch the relationship editor: 1. Open a CI form. For example: 1. Navigate to **All** > **Configuration** > **CI Class Manager**. 2. On the CI Class Manager page, select **Open Hierarchy**. 3. On the CI Class panel search and select the class of the CI for which you want to create or edit relationships. 4. Select **CI List** in the left-side panel and then in the list view, select the CI. 2. On the CI form, scroll down as needed to select the Add CI relationship icon \(+ sign\) in the Related Items section. 2. To use suggested relationships, first select a relationship type, and then select one or more CIs to be the child CIs in the relationship: \[Omitted image "RelationshipEditorwithSuggestedRelationships.png"\] Alt text: Create a new relationship using suggested relationships. 1. Select **Use suggested relationship**. 2. From the **Suggested relationship type** list, select a relationship type. You can filter the list of suggested relationships by using the filter check boxes. |Filter option|Description| |-------------|-----------| |Hide CI relationship|Hides any relationships between the base CI and another CI \(such as "Receives data from"\). Default filter is stored in the ci\_manage\_relationships\_filter\_hint.cmdb\_ci user preference.| |Hide user relationship|Hides any relationships between the base CI and a user \(such as "Logs reviewed by"\). The default filter is stored in the ci\_manage\_relationships\_filter\_hint.sys\_user preference.| |Hide group relationship|Hides any relationships between the base CI and a group \(such as "Backups done by"\). Default filter is stored in the ci\_manage\_relationships\_filter\_hint.sys\_user\_group user preference.| The **Configurations Items** list displays all the CIs that are appropriate for the base CI and the selected relationship type. The **Relationships** list at the bottom of the editor, displays all existing relationships of the selected relationship type, in which the base CI is a parent CI or a child CI. 3. From the **Configuration Items** list, select one or more CIs as a second CI for the relationship. You can filter the list of **Configurations Items** by adding conditions in the **Filter** section and clicking **Run filter**. If you selected a parent relationship type, these CIs becomes the child CI in the relationship, and if you selected a child relationship type, then the selected CIs become the parent CI in the relationship. 4. In the **Relationships** section, click the plus icon \(+\) to add the new relationships. Alternatively, you can drag the selected CIs to the **Relationships** list. Each new relationship will consist of the base CI, the selected relationship type, and a selected second CI. 3. To not use suggested relationships, first select one or more CIs to be the child CIs in the relationship, and then select the relationship type: \[Omitted image "RelationshipEditornoSuggestedRelationships.png"\] Alt text: Create a relationship without using suggested relationships. 1. Clear **Use suggested relationship**. 2. In the **Configuration Items** list, select one or more CIs as a second CI for the relationship. You can filter the list of **Configurations Items** by adding conditions in the **Filter** area and clicking **Run filter**. Depending on the relationship type that you will select, the selected CIs might become a parent or a child CI in the relationship. 3. With at least one CI selected in the **Configuration Items** list, click the '+' sign in the **Downstream Relationships** section or the **Upstream Relationships** section to create the relationship. - Add the relationship to **Downstream Relationships** to create a relationship in which the base CI is the parent CI and the selected CI is the child CI. - Add the relationship to **Upstream Relationships** to create a relationship in which the base CI is the child CI and the selected CI is the parent CI. 4. For each newly created relationship in either the **Downstream Relationships** or the **Upstream Relationships** lists, click **Please select a relationship** and select a relationship type. - The list of available relationship types in the **Downstream Relationships** list contains parent relationships only, in which the base CI is the parent CI. - The list of available relationship types in the **Upstream Relationships** list contains child relationships only, in which the base CI is the child CI. 5. Click **Save** or **Save and Exit**. Only after you enter all the information that is necessary for creating the relationship, these buttons light up indicating that there are pending updates that require saving. **Parent Topic:**[CI relationship editor](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/c_RelationshipEditor.md) **Related topics** [Suggested class relationships](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/r_SuggestedRelationshipModel.md) [CI relationships in the CMDB](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/c_CIRelationships.md) [CI relationship security](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/configuration-management-database-cmdb/c_CIRelationshipSecurity.md)