Practice · Runbooks
What makes a good runbook?
A good runbook is a short, specific checklist linked directly from the alert. It names the likely causes in order, the exact dashboard to open, the safe first action with the command to run, how to tell it worked, and who to escalate to. It turns a scary page into a calm, well-lit walk.
How to get started with Runbooks
- 1 Link a runbook directly from every alert that can page.
- 2 Write likely causes in order, with the exact dashboard or query to confirm each one.
- 3 Give the safest first action as a copy-pasteable command, and how to verify it worked.
- 4 Name who to escalate to, and test the runbook in a game day.
The common mistake
What is the most common mistake with Runbooks?
Writing a long wiki page once and never touching it again. A stale runbook is worse than none, because it is trusted.
See it in action
Runbooks Resolved calmly
The Runbook That Worked
A new hire's first night page, resolved in ten calm minutes, because the alert linked straight to a runbook that named the dashboard, the likely cause, and the exact command to run.