| name | runbook |
| description | Create or load an operational runbook for a given topic. Searches `runbooks/` for an existing match; if none, scaffolds a new one from the standard template (Purpose / Prerequisites / Steps / Verification / Troubleshooting / Last Tested). Use when asked to "create a runbook", "load runbook for X", document a procedure, or look up an SOP. |
Runbook — Create or load an operational runbook
When invoked with a topic (e.g., /runbook ARI management group):
- Search
runbooks/ for existing runbooks matching the topic
- If found, load and display the runbook
- If not found, create a new one using this template:
# Runbook: {{title}}
## Purpose
[One sentence — when and why to use this]
## Prerequisites
-
## Steps
1.
## Verification
- [ ]
## Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
## Last Tested
{{date}}
Save to runbooks/ with a kebab-case filename.
Gotchas
- Stale runbooks are worse than no runbook: A runbook last tested 18 months ago lies confidently about command flags, dashboard URLs, and rollback paths. Treat anything past
Last Tested of 90 days as suspect and re-validate before trusting it under incident pressure.
- Untested rollback steps are decorative: "Run
terraform destroy" without ever having executed it from this state means you don't know if it works. Rollback steps must have been rehearsed at least once on a non-prod replica, not just written down.
- Missing prerequisites cause runbooks to fail at 2am: "Just run the script" assumes kubectl context, VPN, sudo on the bastion, and an active token. List every prerequisite with the exact verification command — the on-call engineer is not you with your terminal open.
- Copy-pasted steps that worked once are not procedure: A
kubectl patch command captured from a working session may hardcode a pod name, timestamp, or specific resource version. Parameterize anything that varies between executions or it will fail the second time.
- Verification checkboxes without commands are aspirational: "Verify the service is healthy" is not a step —
curl -fsS https://x/healthz | jq .status is. Every verification line should be a copy-pasteable command with the expected output noted.
- Runbooks rot silently when systems change: Renaming a deployment, rotating a key vault name, or changing an ingress host invalidates the runbook with no signal. Link each runbook from the system's IaC repo so changes to infrastructure trigger a runbook review.
