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Session Inspector

View your current ServiceNow session details including user info, roles, groups, and update set.

The Session Inspector gives you a complete view of your current ServiceNow session at a glance. Instead of navigating to sys_user, checking the update set picker, or running scripts to inspect your roles, everything is available in one floating panel.

Session Inspector showing user details, roles, groups, and update set <!-- Screenshot needed: Session Inspector with user info, roles list, groups list, update set -->

Opening the Session Inspector

Use the slash command /sksession or open Sidekick and select the Session tab.

What's Displayed

User Information

  • User name and user ID
  • Email address
  • Department and location
  • Time zone and language settings

Roles

A complete list of all roles assigned to your user, including:

  • Directly assigned roles
  • Roles inherited through group membership
  • Elevated roles (if applicable)

Groups

All groups you belong to, with quick links to the group records.

Update Set

Your currently selected update set, including:

  • Name and state (In Progress, Complete, etc.)
  • Application scope — Which scope you're working in
  • Quick link to the update set record

Use Cases

Verifying Permissions

Before testing a feature or debugging an access issue:

  1. Open Session Inspector
  2. Check if the expected roles are present
  3. Verify group membership
  4. Confirm you're in the right scope and update set

Debugging "Access Denied" Issues

When something doesn't work as expected:

  1. Open Session Inspector
  2. Compare your roles against the ACL requirements
  3. Check if you're missing a required group membership
  4. Verify your scope matches the application

Quick Context Check

During development, you often need to confirm basic session details:

  • "Am I impersonating the right user?"
  • "Is my update set set to the right one?"
  • "What scope am I in?"

Session Inspector answers all of these without navigating away from your work.

Tips

  • Click to copy — Click on any value (role name, group name, sys_id) to copy it to your clipboard.
  • Quick links — Role and group names link directly to their records in ServiceNow.
  • Combine with impersonation — Use the /impersonate slash command, then open Session Inspector to verify the impersonated user's context.