Skip to main content

Create Incidents

When you spot a problem — whether from a customer report, degraded performance, or a teammate flagging something — you can declare an incident in Harness AI SRE.

The AI-powered Quick Start feature analyzes your problem description and auto-populates incident fields, so you can get an incident up and running in seconds.

Create Incidents from the UI​

Step 1: Access Incident Creation​

  1. Navigate to Incidents from the left panel.
  2. Choose your creation method:
    • Click New Incident for a blank incident.
    • Select an Incident Type from the dropdown next to "New Incident" to use a pre-configured template.

Step 2: Select Incident Type​

  1. Choose the appropriate Incident Type from the available options.
  2. This will pre-populate relevant fields and associate appropriate runbooks.
  3. If you're unsure which type to pick, check with your team lead — incident types are configured by your administrator to match your organization's response processes.

Step 3: Describe the Problem​

  1. Use the Quick Start block to describe the problem in plain language.
  2. Provide a clear, concise description including affected services, symptoms, and impact.
  3. The AI system will analyze your description and suggest field values automatically.

Step 4: Generate Incident Fields​

  1. Click the up arrow to process your description.
  2. AI will automatically populate incident fields (severity, priority, etc.) based on what you wrote.

Step 5: Review and Customize​

  1. Review all auto-generated field values.
  2. Manually adjust anything that needs correction:
    • Title and description
    • Severity and priority levels
    • Assignee
    • Any custom fields specific to the incident type
  3. Click Save to create the incident.

Create Incidents from Slack​

You can also create incidents directly from Slack using the /harness create command. This is especially useful during on-call shifts when you want to stay in your communication tool.

See Managing Incidents in Slack for the full command reference.

Best Practices for Incident Creation​

  • Choose the right incident type — Select the most specific type available to get the right runbooks and field configuration.
  • Write a clear description — Good Quick Start descriptions lead to more accurate AI field suggestions. Include what's affected, what you're observing, and when it started.
  • Verify auto-generated fields — Always review and adjust AI-suggested values to ensure accuracy.
  • Set correct severity levels — Align severity with actual business impact and response time requirements.

What Happens Next​

Once you save the incident:

  • An incident channel is automatically created in your communication tool (Slack or Teams).
  • Relevant team members are notified based on the incident type's configuration.
  • Any runbooks associated with the incident type may be auto-attached.
  • The Incident Details page opens, where you'll manage the incident through resolution.

To learn how to work through an active incident, see Managing an Active Incident.