--- original_url: "https://jace.pro/blog/setting-up-a-servicenow-mid-server-in-3-minutes-no-docker-hub-required/" format: markdown ai_optimized: true --- Setting Up a ServiceNow MID Server in 3 Minutes (No Docker Hub Required)- # Setting Up a ServiceNow MID Server in 3 Minutes (No Docker Hub Required) May 19, 2026 [servicenow](/tags/servicenow/) Enable AI Animation# [Building a ServiceNow MID Server container from the official recipe](#building-a-servicenow-mid-server-container-from-the-official-recipe) You can build a MID Server container from the recipe published by ServiceNow instead of pulling a third-party MID image. The instance’s `mid.version` property tells you which recipe to download. This works for both `service-now.com` and `servicenowservices.com` instances. The Docker host must be able to reach the instance and ServiceNow’s download host. The downloaded recipe may also use a base image that requires access to a container registry, so inspect its `Dockerfile` before building. ## [Before you start](#before-you-start) Install Docker with Compose, `curl`, `unzip`, and Python 3 on the Linux host. You also need a ServiceNow account that can read `mid.version` and authenticate the MID Server. The Docker host must reach these endpoints over HTTPS: Your ServiceNow instance - `install.service-now.com` - Any container registry required by the downloaded recipe’s `Dockerfile` The database or other target system must also be reachable from the MID container on its actual listener port. ### [Test the network from the Docker host](#test-the-network-from-the-docker-host) If you use Ubuntu in WSL2 behind a corporate VPN, do not assume a successful Windows browser or PowerShell test means Ubuntu can connect. Test from Ubuntu first: `getent hosts example.service-now.com curl -v --connect-timeout 10 https://example.service-now.com/ getent hosts install.service-now.com curl -v --connect-timeout 10 https://install.service-now.com/`An HTTP redirect or login page proves the HTTPS connection works. A DNS failure or TCP timeout does not. Replace the example hostname with your own. If Windows works on the VPN but Ubuntu times out, fix the WSL and VPN routing or policy with your network team, or use an approved host that has access. Reinstalling Docker, disabling the firewall, or changing this script will not fix a blocked network path. ## [Set up the instance and credentials](#set-up-the-instance-and-credentials) Create `.env` in the same directory as `mid.sh`. In that directory, run `umask 077`, then open the file in an editor: `umask 077 nano .env`Put these assignments in the file. Replace the placeholders with your instance and MID account: `servicenow_instance="example.service-now.com" mid_username="your-mid-user" mid_password="your-password"`For a `servicenowservices.com` instance, use `example.servicenowservices.com`. A short name such as `example` also works and expands to `example.service-now.com`. Because `mid.sh` sources `.env`, use valid Bash assignments with no spaces around `=`. Quote passwords that contain shell-special characters. Do not run `.env` by itself. Then run: `chmod 600 .env chmod +x mid.sh ./mid.sh`Add `.env` to `.gitignore`. Do not commit it or post its contents in logs or tickets. Compose substitutes the credentials at startup, so they are not written as literal values in the generated YAML. They are still available to Docker and users with Docker access. Use an approved secret-management approach for production deployments. Rerun `mid.sh` rather than running `docker compose up` separately. The script exports the values Compose needs for that invocation. ## [The script](#the-script) Save this as `mid.sh` alongside `.env`. Run it from an account allowed to use Docker. `#!/usr/bin/env bash set -euo pipefail cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" if [[ ! -f ./.env ]]; then echo "ERROR: Create .env next to mid.sh with servicenow_instance, mid_username, and mid_password." >&2 exit 1 fi # shellcheck disable=SC1091 source ./.env mid_display_name="${mid_display_name:-my-mid}" mid_server_name="${mid_server_name:-docker_mid_server}" servicenow_instance="${servicenow_instance:-}" mid_username="${mid_username:-}" mid_password="${mid_password:-}" if [[ -z "$servicenow_instance" || -z "$mid_username" || -z "$mid_password" ]]; then echo "ERROR: Set servicenow_instance, mid_username, and mid_password in .env." >&2 exit 1 fi case "$servicenow_instance" in https://*) instance_host="${servicenow_instance#https://}" ;; http://*|*://*) echo "ERROR: Only HTTPS instance URLs are supported." >&2 exit 1 ;; *) instance_host="$servicenow_instance" ;; esac instance_host="${instance_host%/}" if [[ "$instance_host" != *.* ]]; then instance_host="${instance_host}.service-now.com" fi if [[ ! "$instance_host" =~ ^[[:alnum:]-]+(\.[[:alnum:]-]+)+$ || "$instance_host" == *..* ]]; then echo "ERROR: Provide a short instance name or HTTPS hostname without a path or port." >&2 exit 1 fi instance_url="https://${instance_host}" for command_name in curl unzip docker; do if ! command -v "$command_name" >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "ERROR: Missing prerequisite: $command_name" >&2 exit 1 fi done if ! docker info >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "ERROR: Docker is not available to this user." >&2 exit 1 fi # Test the network before touching an existing MID container. if ! curl -sS --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 -o /dev/null "${instance_url}/"; then echo "ERROR: Cannot reach ${instance_url} from this host. Check DNS, VPN, and TCP 443." >&2 exit 1 fi if ! curl -sS --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 -o /dev/null "https://install.service-now.com/"; then echo "ERROR: Cannot reach install.service-now.com from this host." >&2 exit 1 fi echo "Querying ${instance_host} for the MID version..." api_url="${instance_url}/api/now/table/sys_properties?sysparm_query=name=mid.version&sysparm_fields=value&sysparm_limit=1" if ! response=$(curl -fsS --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 60 \ --header 'Accept: application/json' \ --user "${mid_username}:${mid_password}" "$api_url"); then echo "ERROR: MID version lookup failed. Check API access and credentials." >&2 exit 1 fi release_name=$(printf '%s' "$response" | cut -d'"' -f6) if [[ -z "$release_name" ]]; then echo "ERROR: No MID version found in the API response." >&2 exit 1 fi if [[ ! "$release_name" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$ ]]; then echo "ERROR: Unexpected MID release name." >&2 exit 1 fi # The last date in the release name identifies the recipe directory. build_date=$(printf '%s\n' "$release_name" | grep -oE '[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}|[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{4}' | tail -n 1 || true) if [[ -z "$build_date" ]]; then echo "ERROR: MID release name has no build date." >&2 exit 1 fi IFS='-' read -r first second third <<< "$build_date" if [[ "$first" =~ ^[0-9]{4}$ ]]; then rel_year="$first" rel_month="$second" rel_day="$third" else rel_month="$first" rel_day="$second" rel_year="$third" fi filename="mid-linux-container-recipe.${release_name}.linux.x86-64.zip" recipe_url="https://install.service-now.com/glide/distribution/builds/package/app-signed/mid-linux-container-recipe/${rel_year}/${rel_month}/${rel_day}/${filename}" work_dir=$(mktemp -d) trap 'rm -rf -- "$work_dir"' EXIT echo "Downloading ${filename}..." curl -fSL --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 300 "$recipe_url" -o "${work_dir}/${filename}" unzip -q "${work_dir}/${filename}" -d "${work_dir}/recipe" image="${mid_server_name}:${release_name}" docker build --tag "$image" "${work_dir}/recipe" mkdir -p ./export # Docker Compose substitutes these values at startup. Do not write passwords into the YAML. export MID_INSTANCE_URL="${instance_url}/" export MID_INSTANCE_USERNAME="$mid_username" export MID_INSTANCE_PASSWORD="$mid_password" export MID_SERVER_NAME="$mid_display_name" umask 077 cat > docker-compose.yaml <