Runbook
A documented procedure for diagnosing or handling a recurring operational situation.
Plain English
Step-by-step instructions for operating or recovering a system.
In context
A runbook captures commands checks decisions escalation and rollback guidance for responders.
Example
“Follow the database failover runbook before escalating.”
When you'll hear this
- on-call
- incident response
- maintenance
Common misunderstanding
A runbook supports judgment; it cannot anticipate every incident condition.
Also known as
operational procedure
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-25
