Runbook Creator

Name: Runbook Creator
Rating: 78
Author: hmcts

Creates or enhances properly structured operational runbooks for the HMCTS Platform Operations team following repository conventions and contribution guidelines.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

•Create new operational runbooks or how-to guides
•Edit and enhance existing documentation with new sections
•Generate troubleshooting documentation
•Document upgrade, patching, or maintenance procedures
•Create quick reference guides
•Set up index pages for new documentation sections
•Add related content to existing runbooks

Critical: Read Contribution Guides First

ALWAYS read the following files before creating any documentation:

•
Main Guide: source/Contribution-Guide/index.html.md.erb
- •Understand the benefits and best practices
•
Adding Pages: source/Contribution-Guide/addingpages.html.md.erb
- •File naming conventions (.html.md.erb extension)
- •YAML frontmatter requirements
- •Weight parameter usage
- •Core sections structure
•
Guide Templates: source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/
- •how-to-guide.html.md.erb - For operational procedures
- •troubleshooting-guide.html.md.erb - For diagnostic guides
- •maintenance-guide.html.md.erb - For routine maintenance tasks
•
Testing Guide: source/Contribution-Guide/testing.html.md.erb
- •How to preview changes locally

File Conventions

Extension (CRITICAL)

MUST use .html.md.erb extension - NOT .md

Common mistake:

•❌ filename.md.erb
•✅ filename.html.md.erb

Location

Files go in source/ directory under appropriate subdirectory:

Complete Directory Structure:

•source/Access-and-Permissions/ - Access control, RBAC, conditional access policies
•source/acr/ - Azure Container Registry operations and synchronization
•source/aks/ - AKS cluster operations, upgrades, patching, maintenance
•source/AppAttach/ - App attach scripts and VM configuration
•source/azure-pipelines/ - Azure DevOps pipeline issues and troubleshooting
•source/BAIS/ - BAIS-specific documentation
•source/BAU-Live-Services/ - Business as usual and live service operations
•source/Camunda/ - Camunda-specific procedures
•source/Certificates/ - Certificate management and renewal procedures
•source/Change-Requests/ - Change request procedures and templates
•source/Contribution-Guide/ - Documentation contribution guides and templates
•source/Crime/ - Crime service documentation
•source/database/ - Database operations, maintenance, and troubleshooting
•source/DLRM/ - DLRM-specific documentation
•source/Domain-Services/ - Domain services procedures
•source/Elastic-Search-and-Logstash/ - Elasticsearch and Logstash operations
•source/FinOps/ - Financial operations and cost management
•source/FSLogix-Application-Masking/ - FSLogix configuration
•source/heritage/ - Legacy system documentation
•source/Java-Upgrade/ - Java upgrade procedures
•source/jenkins/ - Jenkins operations and troubleshooting
•source/monitoring/ - Monitoring, alerts, observability, and Dynatrace
•source/network/ - Networking, VPN, DNS, connectivity, and AppGateway
•source/neuvector/ - NeuVector security operations
•source/onboarding/ - Onboarding procedures and guides
•source/oncall/ - On-call procedures and incident response
•source/Patching/ - Patching procedures and schedules
•source/PlatOps-Toolkit/ - Platform operations toolkit
•source/SAS-Token/ - SAS token management
•source/Security/ - Security procedures and policies
•source/Services/ - Service-specific documentation
•source/Terraform/ - Infrastructure as Code and Terraform operations
•source/Testing-Changes/ - Testing procedures and validation
•source/vendor-support/ - Vendor support procedures

Required YAML Frontmatter

yaml

---
title: Descriptive Action-Oriented Title
last_reviewed_on: 2026-02-02
review_in: 12 months
weight: [increment by 10 from existing files]
---

Content Structure

erb

# <%= current_page.data.title %>

[Brief description]

## Prerequisites
...

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Clarify Requirements

Ask the user:

•What is the runbook topic?
•What type? (how-to, troubleshooting, maintenance, reference)
•Which environments? (CFT, SDS, or both)
•Is this a production procedure? (needs Change Request notice)

Step 1.5: Check for Existing Documentation (CRITICAL)

ALWAYS check before creating new files:

•
Semantic Search: Search for related content
code
```
Search for: "[topic keyword]" in the codebase
```
•
Directory Check: Look in the logical directory
- •AKS topics: source/aks/
- •Flux topics: source/aks/flux/
- •Jenkins: source/jenkins/
- •Monitoring: source/monitoring/
- •etc.
•
Read Candidates: If relevant files found, read them fully
•
Decision Logic:

✅ EDIT existing file if:
- •Content is related/complementary to existing documentation
- •Adding a new scenario, use case, or troubleshooting step
- •Enhancing existing sections (prerequisites, verification, known issues)
- •File is <500 lines and has logical room for addition
- •New content fits naturally into existing structure
Examples to EDIT:
- •flux-image-automation.html.md.erb ← Add troubleshooting section
- •upgrading-aks-clusters.html.md.erb ← Add new pre-flight check
- •patching-traefik.html.md.erb ← Add known issue and workaround
- •jenkins/troubleshooting-pipeline-failures.html.md.erb ← Add new failure scenario
✅ CREATE new file if:
- •Topic is distinct/different system component
- •Existing file would become too long (>500 lines)
- •No relevant documentation exists
- •Creating a new major procedure or workflow
- •Setting up index page for new section
Examples to CREATE:
- •Flux Source Controller (different from Image Automation)
- •New tool/component not yet documented
- •Completely different maintenance procedure

Step 1.6: Inform User of Decision

If editing:

code

I found existing documentation: [filename]
I'll add a new [section/troubleshooting step/etc.] to enhance this file.

If creating:

code

No existing documentation found for this topic.
I'll create a new runbook: [proposed filename]

Step 2: Read Contribution Guides

Use read tool to load:

•source/Contribution-Guide/addingpages.html.md.erb
•Appropriate template from source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/

Step 3: Determine Location

•Identify appropriate directory in source/
•Use list_dir to check existing files
•Identify next weight value (increment by 10)

Step 4: Select Template

For How-To/Operational Procedures: Use template from source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/how-to-guide.html.md.erb:

markdown

## How to [Perform Specific Task]
Brief description

## Prerequisites
- Access level required
- Necessary tools
- Required knowledge

## How-to steps
1. First step (include screenshots and example commands/PRs)
2. Second step
3. Third step

## Verification
How to verify success
- Third-party team involvement?

## Troubleshooting
Common issues and resolutions

## Additional Information
- Related tasks
- Links to documentation
- Best practices

For Troubleshooting Guides: Use template from source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/troubleshooting-guide.html.md.erb:

markdown

## Troubleshooting [System/Application]
Diagnostic and resolution steps

## Prerequisites
- Log access
- Administrative access
- Understanding of technologies

## Common Issues and Solutions

### Issue 1: [Description]
1. Diagnostic step
2. Resolution step
3. Verification step

### Issue 2: [Description]
...

## Escalation Procedure
Steps if unresolved

## Additional Information
- Documentation links
- Contact information

For Maintenance/Upgrade Procedures: Use template from source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/maintenance-guide.html.md.erb:

markdown

## [System] Maintenance Guide
Routine maintenance tasks

## Prerequisites
- Administrative access
- Maintenance window
- Backup of current state
- Change process required?

## Maintenance Tasks

### Task 1: [Description]
Frequency: [Schedule]
1. Step one
2. Step two

### Task 2: [Description]
...

## Verification
Success criteria
- Third-party verification needed?

## Rollback Procedure
Revert steps if issues arise

## Additional Information
- Maintenance schedule
- System availability impact
- Support contacts

Step 5: Add HMCTS-Specific Context

Apply HMCTS-specific patterns as defined in .github/copilot-instructions.md:

•Cluster naming conventions (CFT: cft-*-aks, SDS: ss-*-aks)
•Environment progression order
•Repository references (cnp-flux-config, sds-flux-config, etc.)
•Jenkins URLs
•PR example formats
•Change Request notices for production procedures
•Command formatting with backticks or code blocks
•Image references in subdirectories

Step 6: Create or Edit the File

If Creating New File: Use create_file tool with:

•Correct path: source/[directory]/[filename].html.md.erb
•YAML frontmatter with current date (2026-02-02)
•Template-based content structure
•HMCTS-specific patterns
•Appropriate weight value

If Editing Existing File: Use replace_string_in_file or multi_replace_string_in_file to:

•Read the entire file first to understand structure
•Identify the best location for new content
•Match existing formatting style
•Update last_reviewed_on to current date (2026-02-02)
•Add new sections with appropriate markdown hierarchy
•Maintain consistency with file's existing patterns
•Preserve YAML frontmatter (especially weight)
•Keep environment separation patterns (CFT/SDS)

Editing Pattern Examples:

markdown

# Adding a troubleshooting section:
## Troubleshooting

### Issue 1: [Existing Issue]
...

### Issue 2: [NEW ISSUE YOU'RE ADDING]
**Symptoms**: ...
**Cause**: ...
**Resolution**: ...

markdown

# Adding to known issues:
## Known Issues

- **Issue 1**: [Existing]
- **[NEW ISSUE]**: Description and workaround

markdown

# Adding verification steps:
## Verification
- [ ] Existing check
- [ ] [NEW CHECK YOU'RE ADDING]

Step 7: Provide Testing Instructions

If Created New File:

code

Runbook created: source/[directory]/[filename].html.md.erb
Based on: source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/[template].html.md.erb

Test locally:
  bundle exec middleman server
  Visit http://localhost:4567/[path-to-file]

Next steps:
- Add specific cluster names/IPs
- Update PR links
- Test commands
- Add screenshots to images/

If Edited Existing File:

code

Enhanced: source/[directory]/[filename].html.md.erb
Added: [description of what was added]
Updated: last_reviewed_on to 2026-02-02

Test locally:
  bundle exec middleman server
  Visit http://localhost:4567/[path-to-file]
  Scroll to: [section name]

Next steps:
- Review new section for accuracy
- Test any new commands
- Update specific examples/PR links

Quality Checklist

Before creating, verify:

Common Patterns

Environment-Specific Sections

markdown

## CFT Environments
[CFT-specific steps]
- [CFT example](https://github.com/hmcts/cnp-flux-config/pull/XXXXX)

## SDS Environments
[SDS-specific steps]
- [SDS example](https://github.com/hmcts/sds-flux-config/pull/XXXXX)

Pre-flight Checks

markdown

## Pre-upgrade Health Checks
kubectl config current-context
kubectl get pods -A | wc -l
kubectl get pods -A | awk '!/(Running|Succeeded|Completed)/'
kubectl get hr -A | awk '/(Unknown|False)/'

Verification Checklist

markdown

## Verification
- [ ] Component running
- [ ] No CrashLoopBackOff
- [ ] Functionality working
- [ ] No alerts firing

Anti-Patterns (AVOID)

•❌ Using .md or .md.erb extension (must be .html.md.erb)
•❌ Skipping YAML frontmatter
•❌ Not reading contribution guides first
•❌ Forgetting to set last_reviewed_on date
•❌ Using absolute URLs for internal links
•❌ Missing verification steps
•❌ Not updating both CFT and SDS when applicable

Reference Files to Read

Always check these before creating documentation:

•source/Contribution-Guide/index.html.md.erb - Main guide
•source/Contribution-Guide/addingpages.html.md.erb - Page creation rules
•source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/how-to-guide.html.md.erb - How-to template
•source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/troubleshooting-guide.html.md.erb - Troubleshooting template
•source/Contribution-Guide/guide-examples/maintenance-guide.html.md.erb - Maintenance template
•source/Contribution-Guide/testing.html.md.erb - Testing instructions
•source/Contribution-Guide/troubleshooting.html.md.erb - Common file issues