---
name: "runbook-generator"
description: "Use when a service needs runbooks for deploy, incident response, maintenance or rollback, before launch. Generates them per environment with runbook_generator.py."
---
# Runbook Generator
**Tier:** POWERFUL
**Category:** Engineering
**Domain:** DevOps / Site Reliability Engineering
---
## Overview
Generate operational runbooks quickly from a service name, then customize for deployment, incident response, maintenance, and rollback workflows.
## Core Capabilities
- Runbook skeleton generation from a CLI
- Standard sections for start/stop/health/rollback
- Structured escalation and incident handling placeholders
- Reference templates for deployment and incident playbooks
---
## When to Use
- A service has no runbook and needs a baseline immediately
- Existing runbooks are inconsistent across teams
- On-call onboarding requires standardized operations docs
- You need repeatable runbook scaffolding for new services
---
## Quick Start
```bash
# Print runbook to stdout
python3 scripts/runbook_generator.py payments-api
# Write runbook file
python3 scripts/runbook_generator.py payments-api --owner platform --output docs/runbooks/payments-api.md
```
---
## Recommended Workflow
1. Generate the initial skeleton with `scripts/runbook_generator.py`.
2. Fill in service-specific commands and URLs.
3. Add verification checks and rollback triggers.
4. Dry-run in staging.
5. Store runbook in version control near service code.
---
## Reference Docs
- `references/runbook-templates.md`
---
## Common Pitfalls
- Missing rollback triggers or rollback commands
- Steps without expected output checks
- Stale ownership/escalation contacts
- Runbooks never tested outside of incidents
## Best Practices
1. Keep every command copy-pasteable.
2. Include health checks after every critical step.
3. Validate runbooks on a fixed review cadence.
4. Update runbook content after incidents and postmortems.