Source control and Developer Sandboxes

---
title: Source control and Developer Sandboxes
description: Use source control with Developer Sandboxes to enable parallel development and help avoid merge conflicts.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development/developer-sandboxes/dev-sandboxes-source-control.html
release: australia
product: Developer Sandboxes
classification: developer-sandboxes
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-10-27"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [Developer Sandboxes, source control, Git, Git credentials, branching strategy, parallel development, merge conflicts, version control, sandbox environments, ServiceNow Studio, legacy source control, base instance]
audience: developer
breadcrumb: [Explore, Developer Sandboxes, Build, AI Workflow Factory Prime, Agentic app development, Building applications]
---

# Source control and Developer Sandboxes

Use source control with Developer Sandboxes to enable parallel development and help avoid merge conflicts.

## Source control overview

Traditional, single-instance development is a model that requires ongoing oversight and maintenance. Sharing a single instance increases the risk of merge conflicts and restricts teams to a single version of code. Enterprise IT architecture standards increasingly require full version control for architectural compliance and IP management.

In support, use Developer Sandboxes in tandem with Git source control to synchronize changes between the base and sandbox environments.

You can use Developer Sandboxes with both legacy source control and the updated source control in ServiceNow Studio.

Using source control, developers can work on independent branches and merge them according to your organization's general guidelines.

\[Omitted image "dev-sbx-infographic-git.png"\] Alt text: Sample Git-based version control flow chart

## Git credentials

Each sandbox inherits Git credentials from the base instance. However, developers can add or change Git credentials locally within the sandbox. A new branch should be created for each sandbox.

Sandboxes inherit Git credentials from the base instance whether you use legacy source control or the new source control in ServiceNow Studio.

**Parent Topic:**[Exploring Developer Sandboxes](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/application-development/developer-sandboxes/exploring-sandboxes.md)