DevOps runbook automation
Turn operational knowledge into versioned, approved runbooks.
Shortspan gives recurring operational procedures a durable home beside the infrastructure and credentials they use. Teams can define steps, review versions, require a second administrator where appropriate, and execute the stored plan from the CLI.
Why teams change
A command sequence in chat is not an operational control.
Deployment, maintenance, and recovery steps often survive as shell history, private notes, or messages from the last incident. That makes the next execution depend on memory and leaves reviewers unable to tell which version actually ran.
Shortspan stores a runbook as a versioned project resource. The current plan can be inspected before use, execution can require approval, and each run produces history tied to the requester, target, approval, and outcome without writing sensitive secret values into the plan.
What Shortspan adds
Control around the workflow, not another workflow beside it.
Versioned plans
Keep immutable snapshots of operational steps so a reviewed procedure does not silently change underneath an approval.
Execution approval
Require an authorized second person before a sensitive runbook proceeds, with the decision attached to the execution.
Credential-aware execution
Reference approved project resources at runtime so procedures do not need plaintext secrets embedded in their stored commands.
The workflow
From registered resource to accountable use.
- 01
Define the procedure
Create named steps and associate the runbook with the project and targets it operates.
- 02
Review the current version
Inspect the immutable plan and configure whether execution needs a separate approval.
- 03
Run and retain the outcome
Execute from the CLI and keep the requester, approval state, timing, and result available for review.
Operational outcomes
Make the secure path the understandable path.
- Less operational knowledge trapped with one team member
- Reproducible procedures with immutable versions
- Four-eyes approval for sensitive actions
- Execution history linked to projects and actors
Common questions
Know where the boundary is.
- Are runbooks full configuration-management playbooks?
- Shortspan runbooks are focused operational command plans executed through the product workflow. They complement rather than replace a general-purpose infrastructure-as-code or configuration-management system.
- Can a runbook use secrets?
- A runbook can rely on approved project resources supplied at execution time. Secret plaintext should not be embedded in the stored plan or audit history.
- Can every runbook require approval?
- Approval policy is configurable per runbook, allowing teams to distinguish routine operations from procedures that need a second administrator.
Read the implementation details
Documentation for this workflow
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