operational-runbook-writing

---
name: operational-runbook-writing
description: Create or update an operational runbook for a recurring task or procedure. Use when documenting a task that on-call or ops needs to run repeatably, turning tribal knowledge into exact step-by-step commands, adding troubleshooting and rollback steps to an existing procedure, or writing escalation paths for when things go wrong.
argument-hint: <process or task name>
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  author: Anthropic
  source: anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/operations/skills/runbook
  source_url: https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/8f8779a1681ea2f8dc697a6b3063d5e3e7f7460c/operations/skills/runbook/SKILL.md
  upstream-commit: 8f8779a1681ea2f8dc697a6b3063d5e3e7f7460c
  original-name: runbook
  packaged-by: AutoGPT
  packaged-on: '2026-09-25'
---

> Packaging adaptation by AutoGPT, 2026-09-25. Original authorship and licence are retained. Changes are limited to the recorded name, metadata and local references; see ATTRIBUTION.md in this package.


# /runbook

> If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](references/CONNECTORS.md).

Create a step-by-step operational runbook for a recurring task or procedure.

## Usage

```
/runbook $ARGUMENTS
```

## Output

```markdown
## Runbook: [Task Name]
**Owner:** [Team/Person] | **Frequency:** [Daily/Weekly/Monthly/As Needed]
**Last Updated:** [Date] | **Last Run:** [Date]

### Purpose
[What this runbook accomplishes and when to use it]

### Prerequisites
- [ ] [Access or permission needed]
- [ ] [Tool or system required]
- [ ] [Data or input needed]

### Procedure

#### Step 1: [Name]
```
[Exact command, action, or instruction]
```
**Expected result:** [What should happen]
**If it fails:** [What to do]

#### Step 2: [Name]
```
[Exact command, action, or instruction]
```
**Expected result:** [What should happen]
**If it fails:** [What to do]

### Verification
- [ ] [How to confirm the task completed successfully]
- [ ] [What to check]

### Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------------|-----|
| [What you see] | [Why] | [What to do] |

### Rollback
[How to undo this if something goes wrong]

### Escalation
| Situation | Contact | Method |
|-----------|---------|--------|
| [When to escalate] | [Who] | [How to reach them] |

### History
| Date | Run By | Notes |
|------|--------|-------|
| [Date] | [Person] | [Any issues or observations] |
```

## If Connectors Available

If **~~knowledge base** is connected:
- Search for existing runbooks to update rather than create from scratch
- Publish the completed runbook to your ops wiki

If **~~ITSM** is connected:
- Link the runbook to related incident types and change requests
- Auto-populate escalation contacts from on-call schedules

## Tips

1. **Be painfully specific** — "Run the script" is not a step. "Run `python sync.py --prod --dry-run` from the ops server" is.
2. **Include failure modes** — What can go wrong at each step and what to do about it.
3. **Test the runbook** — Have someone unfamiliar with the process follow it. Fix where they get stuck.