Business Segments - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023 Location Country Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of operating segments \| Segment	4
Number of reportable segments \| Segment	3
United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of locations	105
Canada [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of locations	40
International [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of locations	20
Number of countries \| Country	15

Number of locations.

No definition available.

Name:	dnow_NumberOfLocations
Namespace Prefix:	dnow_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of countries in which the entity operates as of balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfCountriesInWhichEntityOperates
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise: (a) that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise), (b) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and (c) for which discrete financial information is available. An operating segment may engage in business activities for which it has yet to earn revenues, for example, start-up operations may be operating segments before earning revenues.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 18
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482810/280-10-50-18

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfOperatingSegments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfReportableSegments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SegmentReportingInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_US
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_CA
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=dnow_InternationalMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: