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Configure Incident Fields for Runbooks

This guide explains how to configure and use incident fields in your runbook workflows.

Overview​

Incident fields allow you to pass contextual information from incidents to your runbook actions. This enables dynamic, context-aware automation based on incident details.

Available Field Types​

System Fields​

These are automatically available in all runbooks:

  • Incident ID
  • Severity
  • Status
  • Creation Time
  • Last Updated Time
  • Source
  • Service
  • Environment

Custom Fields​

You can define custom fields to capture additional information:

  • Text fields
  • Number fields
  • Boolean fields
  • Dropdown fields
  • Multi-select fields
  • Date/Time fields

Using Fields in Runbooks​

Field References​

Access field values in your runbook actions using the following syntax:

[incident.field_name]

Example usages:

  • Slack message: "🚨 [incident.severity] incident detected in [incident.service]"
  • Pipeline variable: service_name: [incident.service]
  • Jira ticket: "Issue in [incident.environment]"

Dynamic Behavior​

Fields can be used to:

  • Route notifications to different channels
  • Set priority levels in tickets
  • Control pipeline behavior
  • Determine escalation paths

Best Practices​

Field Naming​

  • Use clear, descriptive names
  • Follow a consistent naming convention
  • Avoid special characters
  • Keep names concise

Field Values​

  • Define clear value ranges
  • Use consistent formats
  • Include default values
  • Document valid options

Field Usage​

  • Only create necessary fields
  • Reuse fields when possible
  • Group related fields
  • Maintain field descriptions

Examples​

Service Routing​

# Example field configuration
Field Name: affected_service
Type: Dropdown
Options:
  - API Gateway
  - Database
  - Frontend
  - Backend

Environment Classification​

# Example field configuration
Field Name: environment
Type: Multi-select
Options:
  - Production
  - Staging
  - Development
  - QA

Impact Assessment​

# Example field configuration
Field Name: business_impact
Type: Dropdown
Options:
  - Customer Facing
  - Internal Only
  - Revenue Impact
  - Security Risk

Field Configuration Steps​

  1. Navigate to Field Settings

    • Go to Settings → Incident Fields
    • Click + New Field

  2. Define Field Properties

    • Name
    • Type
    • Description
    • Default Value
    • Required/Optional

  3. Configure Field Options

    • For dropdown/multi-select:
      • Add options
      • Set default selections
      • Order options

  4. Set Field Visibility

    • Choose when field appears
    • Set edit permissions
    • Configure field dependencies

  5. Test Field Configuration

    • Create test incident
    • Verify field behavior
    • Check runbook integration

Common Use Cases​

Integration Examples​

Slack Notifications​

if [incident.severity] == "P1" then
  notify: #sre-urgent
  message: "🚨 [incident.service] incident in [incident.environment]"
else
  notify: #sre-standard

Jira Tickets​

ticket_template: "[incident.service]-incident-[incident.id]"
description: "Issue in [incident.service] affecting [incident.environment]"
priority: "[incident.severity]"

Teams Channels​

channel_name: "incident-[incident.id]-[incident.service]"
description: "[incident.severity] incident in [incident.environment]"

Next Steps​

Documentation​

Integration Guides​