> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/ai-sre/3.0/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/severities-priorities.md).

# Configure Severity and Priority Labels

Configure severity levels for incidents and priority levels for alerts to match your organization's terminology and classification system.

### Overview <a href="#overview" id="overview"></a>

By default, Harness AI SRE uses standard severity and priority labels. You can configure these labels organization-wide to:

* Match your existing incident management terminology
* Provide clearer context for your team
* Align with your organization's severity classification standards
* Improve consistency across incident response workflows

**Important:** Custom labels only change the display text. The underlying severity/priority values remain the same, ensuring compatibility with integrations, APIs, and historical data.

***

### Access custom options <a href="#access-custom-options" id="access-custom-options"></a>

To open the severity and priority configuration:

1. Navigate to **Organization Settings**
2. Under **Settings mainly used in AI SRE**, click **Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
3. Use the tabs to configure:
   * **Incidents tab** - Configure severity levels
   * **Alerts tab** - Configure priority levels

***

### Configure incident severity levels <a href="#configure-incident-severity-levels" id="configure-incident-severity-levels"></a>

#### Default severity labels <a href="#default-severity-labels" id="default-severity-labels"></a>

| Level | ID    | Default Label  | Description       |
| ----- | ----- | -------------- | ----------------- |
| SEV0  | `"0"` | SEV0: Critical | Highest severity  |
| SEV1  | `"1"` | SEV1: Major    | High severity     |
| SEV2  | `"2"` | SEV2: Moderate | Moderate severity |
| SEV3  | `"3"` | SEV3: Minor    | Low severity      |
| SEV4  | `"4"` | SEV4: Cosmetic | Lowest severity   |

#### Configure severity labels <a href="#configure-severity-labels" id="configure-severity-labels"></a>

To configure severity labels:

1. Go to **Organization Settings → Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
2. Select the **Incidents** tab
3. Click the **Edit** icon next to any severity level
4. Update the:
   * **Label** - The display name (max 20 characters)
   * **Description** - Additional context for your team
5. Click **Save**

**Example customizations:**

* Change "SEV0: Critical" to "P0: Business Critical"
* Change "SEV1: Major" to "P1: Production Down"
* Change "SEV2: Moderate" to "P2: Degraded Service"

#### Use custom severity in workflows <a href="#use-custom-severity-in-workflows" id="use-custom-severity-in-workflows"></a>

Custom labels appear throughout AI SRE:

* Incident cards and detail pages
* Filters and search
* Status updates
* Reports and analytics
* Slack notifications
* Email notifications

**API and integration usage:**\
When using the API or configuring runbook triggers, always use the original ID values (`"0"`, `"1"`, `"2"`, `"3"`, `"4"`), not the custom labels.

```yaml
# Runbook trigger example <a href="#runbook-trigger-example" id="runbook-trigger-example"></a>
trigger:
  condition:
    field: severity
    operator: equals
    value: "0"  # Use ID, not custom label
```

Go to [Incident fields](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-fields.md#severity-field-values) to understand how to use severity values in integrations.

***

### Configure alert priority levels <a href="#configure-alert-priority-levels" id="configure-alert-priority-levels"></a>

#### Default priority labels <a href="#default-priority-labels" id="default-priority-labels"></a>

| Level | ID            | Default Label | Description       |
| ----- | ------------- | ------------- | ----------------- |
| P1    | `p1_critical` | P1: Critical  | Critical priority |
| P2    | `p2_error`    | P2: Error     | High priority     |
| P3    | `p3_warning`  | P3: Warning   | Medium priority   |
| P4    | `p4_info`     | P4: Info      | Low priority      |

#### Configure priority labels <a href="#configure-priority-labels" id="configure-priority-labels"></a>

To configure priority labels:

1. Go to **Organization Settings → Severities & Statuses for AI SRE**
2. Select the **Alerts** tab
3. Click the **Edit** icon next to any priority level
4. Update the:
   * **Label** - The display name (max 20 characters)
   * **Description** - Additional context for your team
5. Click **Save**

**Example customizations:**

* Change "P1: Critical" to "Urgent"
* Change "P2: Error" to "High"
* Change "P3: Warning" to "Medium"
* Change "P4: Info" to "Low"

#### Use custom priority in workflows <a href="#use-custom-priority-in-workflows" id="use-custom-priority-in-workflows"></a>

Custom labels appear throughout AI SRE:

* Alert cards and detail pages
* Alert rules
* Filters and search
* Reports and analytics
* Slack notifications
* Email notifications

**API and integration usage:**\
When using the API or configuring route alerts, always use the original ID values (`p1_critical`, `p2_error`, `p3_warning`, `p4_info`), not the custom labels.

```yaml
# Alert rule example <a href="#alert-rule-example" id="alert-rule-example"></a>
alert_rule:
  condition:
    priority: p1_critical  # Use ID, not custom label
  action:
    create_incident: true
```

***

### Best practices <a href="#best-practices" id="best-practices"></a>

#### Label design <a href="#label-design" id="label-design"></a>

* **Keep labels concise:** Maximum 20 characters
* **Use consistent naming:** Follow a standard pattern (e.g., "P0: Business Critical", "P1: Production Down")
* **Avoid abbreviations:** Unless universally understood in your organization
* **Include severity level:** Help users understand the hierarchy at a glance

#### Descriptions <a href="#descriptions" id="descriptions"></a>

* **Add context:** Explain when to use each severity/priority level
* **Define impact:** Describe the typical impact for each level
* **Provide examples:** Include example scenarios
* **Update regularly:** Keep descriptions current as processes evolve

#### Team alignment <a href="#team-alignment" id="team-alignment"></a>

* **Document changes:** Announce custom labels to your team
* **Train responders:** Ensure everyone understands the new terminology
* **Update runbooks:** Reference custom labels in response procedures
* **Gather feedback:** Periodically review effectiveness with your team

#### API and integration considerations <a href="#api-and-integration-considerations" id="api-and-integration-considerations"></a>

* **Test integrations:** Verify external systems work with custom labels
* **Document mappings:** Create a reference showing ID to label mappings
* **Update documentation:** Update internal runbooks and procedures
* **Monitor for issues:** Check that custom labels do not break workflows

***

### Important notes <a href="#important-notes" id="important-notes"></a>

#### What changes <a href="#what-changes" id="what-changes"></a>

* Display labels throughout the UI
* Labels in notifications (Slack, email)
* Labels in exports and reports
* Labels in search and filters

#### What does not change <a href="#what-does-not-change" id="what-does-not-change"></a>

* Underlying ID values
* API request/response formats
* Integration mappings
* Historical data
* Database storage format

#### Organization-wide impact <a href="#organization-wide-impact" id="organization-wide-impact"></a>

Custom severity and priority labels apply to:

* All projects in the organization
* All teams and users
* All incidents and alerts (past and future)
* All integrations and workflows

***

### Troubleshooting <a href="#troubleshooting" id="troubleshooting"></a>

<details>

<summary>Custom severity or priority labels not appearing in AI SRE</summary>

Refresh the page after saving, clear the browser cache or use a private window, and verify you have organization admin permissions.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Integrations sending incorrect severity values in Harness AI SRE</summary>

Integrations send original severity ID values, not custom labels. Custom labels are applied on display only. Check integration mappings in the Incident fields reference.

</details>

<details>

<summary>API requests failing when using custom severity or priority labels in AI SRE</summary>

Always use ID values in API calls, never custom labels. Review the correct ID values in the Incident fields reference.

</details>

***

### Example configurations <a href="#example-configurations" id="example-configurations"></a>

#### Enterprise standard <a href="#enterprise-standard" id="enterprise-standard"></a>

```
SEV0 → "P0: Business Critical"
SEV1 → "P1: Major Incident"  
SEV2 → "P2: Significant Issue"
SEV3 → "P3: Minor Issue"
SEV4 → "P4: Informational"
```

#### SRE team <a href="#sre-team" id="sre-team"></a>

```
SEV0 → "Critical: All hands"
SEV1 → "High: Oncall + Manager"
SEV2 → "Medium: Oncall"
SEV3 → "Low: Best effort"
SEV4 → "Info: Track only"
```

#### Customer impact based <a href="#customer-impact-based" id="customer-impact-based"></a>

```
SEV0 → "Total Outage"
SEV1 → "Major Degradation"
SEV2 → "Partial Impact"
SEV3 → "Minimal Impact"
SEV4 → "No Customer Impact"
```

***

### Next steps <a href="#next-steps" id="next-steps"></a>

#### Documentation <a href="#documentation" id="documentation"></a>

* [Configure incident fields](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-fields.md): Customize fields captured on incidents.
* [Incident types](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-types.md): Standardize incident classification.
* [Route alerts](/ai-sre/3.0/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-alert-management/alert-rules/overview.md): Route alerts to incidents.

#### Related topics <a href="#related-topics" id="related-topics"></a>

* [Incident workflows](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/incident-workflows.md): Automate incident response.
* [Status updates](/ai-sre/ai-sre-for-administrators/set-up-incident-management/status-updates.md): Communicate with stakeholders.