Create comprehensive operational runbooks that provide step-by-step procedures for common operational tasks, incident response, and system maintenance.
When to Use
Incident response procedures
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
On-call playbooks
System maintenance guides
Disaster recovery procedures
Deployment runbooks
Escalation procedures
Service restoration guides
Quick Start
Minimal working example:
# Incident Response Runbook
## Quick Reference
**Severity Levels:**
- P0 (Critical): Complete outage, data loss, security breach
- P1 (High): Major feature down, significant user impact
- P2 (Medium): Minor feature degradation, limited user impact
- P3 (Low): Cosmetic issues, minimal user impact
**Response Times:**
- P0: Immediate (24/7)
- P1: 15 minutes (business hours), 1 hour (after hours)
- P2: 4 hours (business hours)
- P3: Next business day
**Escalation Contacts:**
- On-call Engineer: PagerDuty rotation
- Engineering Manager: +1-555-0100
- VP Engineering: +1-555-0101
- CTO: +1-555-0102
// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)
```
## Reference Guides
Detailed implementations in the `references/` directory:
| Guide | Contents |
|---|---|
| [Symptoms](references/symptoms.md) | Symptoms, Severity: P0 (Critical), Initial Response (5 minutes) |
| [Investigation Steps](references/investigation-steps.md) | Investigation Steps |
| [Resolution Steps](references/resolution-steps.md) | Resolution Steps |
| [Verification](references/verification.md) | Verification |
| [Communication](references/communication.md) | Communication |
| [Post-Incident](references/post-incident.md) | Post-Incident |
## Best Practices
### ✅ DO
- Include quick reference section at top
- Provide exact commands to run
- Document expected outputs
- Include verification steps
- Add communication templates
- Define severity levels clearly
- Document escalation paths
- Include useful links and contacts
- Keep runbooks up-to-date
- Test runbooks regularly
- Include screenshots/diagrams
- Document common gotchas
### ❌ DON'T
- Use vague instructions
- Skip verification steps
- Forget to document prerequisites
- Assume knowledge of tools
- Skip communication guidelines
- Forget to update after incidents
---
> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/aj-geddes) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.
<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->
1---2name: aj-geddes-useful-ai-prompts-runbook-creation3description: Runbook Creation4---56# Runbook Creation78## Table of Contents910- [Overview](#overview)11- [When to Use](#when-to-use)12- [Quick Start](#quick-start)13- [Reference Guides](#reference-guides)14- [Best Practices](#best-practices)1516## Overview1718Create comprehensive operational runbooks that provide step-by-step procedures for common operational tasks, incident response, and system maintenance.1920## When to Use2122- Incident response procedures23- Standard operating procedures (SOPs)24- On-call playbooks25- System maintenance guides26- Disaster recovery procedures27- Deployment runbooks28- Escalation procedures29- Service restoration guides3031## Quick Start3233Minimal working example:3435````markdown36# Incident Response Runbook3738## Quick Reference3940**Severity Levels:**4142- P0 (Critical): Complete outage, data loss, security breach43- P1 (High): Major feature down, significant user impact44- P2 (Medium): Minor feature degradation, limited user impact45- P3 (Low): Cosmetic issues, minimal user impact4647**Response Times:**4849- P0: Immediate (24/7)50- P1: 15 minutes (business hours), 1 hour (after hours)51- P2: 4 hours (business hours)52- P3: Next business day5354**Escalation Contacts:**5556- On-call Engineer: PagerDuty rotation57- Engineering Manager: +1-555-010058- VP Engineering: +1-555-010159- CTO: +1-555-01026061// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)62```6364## Reference Guides6566Detailed implementations in the `references/` directory:6768| Guide | Contents |69|---|---|70| [Symptoms](references/symptoms.md) | Symptoms, Severity: P0 (Critical), Initial Response (5 minutes) |71| [Investigation Steps](references/investigation-steps.md) | Investigation Steps |72| [Resolution Steps](references/resolution-steps.md) | Resolution Steps |73| [Verification](references/verification.md) | Verification |74| [Communication](references/communication.md) | Communication |75| [Post-Incident](references/post-incident.md) | Post-Incident |7677## Best Practices7879### ✅ DO8081- Include quick reference section at top82- Provide exact commands to run83- Document expected outputs84- Include verification steps85- Add communication templates86- Define severity levels clearly87- Document escalation paths88- Include useful links and contacts89- Keep runbooks up-to-date90- Test runbooks regularly91- Include screenshots/diagrams92- Document common gotchas9394### ❌ DON'T9596- Use vague instructions97- Skip verification steps98- Forget to document prerequisites99- Assume knowledge of tools100- Skip communication guidelines101- Forget to update after incidents102103---104> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/aj-geddes) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.105<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->
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Runbook Creation It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.
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