What Is a Runbook?

A documented procedure for handling a specific operational event — used live, under pressure.

Definition and examples

A runbook is a written, step-by-step procedure used by on-call or operations staff to execute a specific task — typically responding to an incident or handling a recurring operation. Good runbooks are concrete enough to follow at 3am with no prior context.

Database failover runbook: detection signals, switch commands, verification checks, rollback.
Customer outage comms runbook: triggers, status page template, exec notification thresholds.

Frequently asked questions

Runbook vs playbook?

Runbook = specific operational procedure. Playbook = broader collection covering many scenarios.

How often should runbooks be tested?

At least quarterly. A runbook that's never run will fail when you need it.