By name: knowledge-base description: Search runbooks, documentation, and knowledge base articles from Confluence. Use when looking for incident response procedures, service documentation, post-mortems, or troubleshooting guides. allowed-tools: Bash(python *)
Knowledge Base - Confluence Integration
Authentication
IMPORTANT: Credentials are injected automatically by a proxy layer. Do NOT check for CONFLUENCE_API_TOKEN in environment variables - it won't be visible to you. Just run the scripts directly; authentication is handled transparently.
Why Confluence Matters During Incidents
Before diving deep into technical investigation:
- Is there a runbook? Find documented procedures for this service/alert
- Has this happened before? Search for related post-mortems
- What's the architecture? Find service documentation
- What's the mitigation? Look for incident response guides
Available Scripts
All scripts are in .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/
search_pages.py - General Search
Search across all Confluence pages for any topic.
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_pages.py --query SEARCH_QUERY [--space SPACE_KEY] [--limit N]
# Examples:
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_pages.py --query "payment service timeout"
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_pages.py --query "database connection" --space SRE
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_pages.py --query "api error" --limit 20
find_runbooks.py - Find Runbooks
Find runbooks for a specific service or alert. Searches for pages labeled as runbooks, playbooks, or SOPs.
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_runbooks.py [--service SERVICE] [--alert ALERT_NAME] [--space SPACE_KEY] [--limit N]
# Examples:
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_runbooks.py --service payment
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_runbooks.py --alert "HighErrorRate"
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_runbooks.py --service checkout --space OPS
find_postmortems.py - Find Post-mortems
Find incident post-mortems to understand historical patterns.
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_postmortems.py [--service SERVICE] [--days N] [--space SPACE_KEY] [--limit N]
# Examples:
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_postmortems.py --service payment
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_postmortems.py --service payment --days 180
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/find_postmortems.py --space SRE
get_page.py - Read Full Page Content
Get the full content of a specific Confluence page.
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/get_page.py --page-id PAGE_ID
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/get_page.py --title "Page Title" --space SPACE_KEY
# Examples:
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/get_page.py --page-id 123456789
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/get_page.py --title "Payment Service Runbook" --space SRE
search_cql.py - Advanced CQL Search
Use Confluence Query Language for advanced searches with filters.
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_cql.py --cql "CQL_QUERY" [--limit N]
# Examples:
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_cql.py --cql 'type = page AND label = "runbook"'
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_cql.py --cql 'space = "SRE" AND lastModified >= now("-30d")'
python .claude/skills/knowledge-base/scripts/search_cql.py --cql 'text ~ "payment" AND label = "postmortem"'
Common CQL Patterns
| Pattern | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Find by label | type = page AND label = "runbook" |
Pages with specific labels |
| Space filter | space = "SRE" AND type = page |
Pages in a specific space |
| Recent docs | lastModified >= now("-30d") |
Recently updated pages |
| Combined | space = "OPS" AND label = "incident" AND text ~ "payment" |
Complex queries |
| Post-mortems | label = "postmortem" OR title ~ "Post-mortem" |
Incident reviews |
Common Workflows
1. Find Runbook for Alert
# Step 1: Search for runbook by alert name
python find_runbooks.py --alert "HighErrorRate"
# Step 2: If found, read the full runbook
python get_page.py --page-id 123456789
2. Investigate Service Issues
# Step 1: Find service documentation
python search_pages.py --query "payment service architecture"
# Step 2: Check for runbooks
python find_runbooks.py --service payment
# Step 3: Look for historical incidents
python find_postmortems.py --service payment --days 90
3. Learn from Past Incidents
# Step 1: Find similar post-mortems
python find_postmortems.py --service checkout --days 180
# Step 2: Read specific post-mortem
python get_page.py --page-id 987654321
# Step 3: Search for related issues
python search_cql.py --cql 'space = "SRE" AND text ~ "checkout timeout" AND lastModified >= now("-180d")'
4. Check for Known Issues
# Search for known issues documentation
python search_pages.py --query "known issues" --space SRE
# Look for troubleshooting guides
python search_cql.py --cql 'title ~ "troubleshooting" OR label = "troubleshooting"'
Quick Commands Reference
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Find runbook | find_runbooks.py --service SERVICE |
| Find post-mortems | find_postmortems.py --service SERVICE |
| General search | search_pages.py --query "QUERY" |
| Read full page | get_page.py --page-id ID |
| Advanced search | search_cql.py --cql "CQL" |
Best Practices
When to Use Knowledge Base
- Start of investigation - Check for existing runbooks before deep diving
- Unknown service - Find architecture docs to understand the system
- Recurring alerts - Look for post-mortems about similar incidents
- Before remediation - Verify documented procedures exist
Search Strategy
- Start broad - Use general search first (
search_pages.py) - Narrow down - Use specific tools (
find_runbooks.py,find_postmortems.py) - Read details - Get full page content only when needed
- Check recency - Look for recent post-mortems to find patterns
Labels to Look For
Common Confluence labels in SRE/Ops teams:
runbook,playbook,sop- Operational procedurespostmortem,post-mortem,incident-review- Incident analysisarchitecture,design-doc- System designtroubleshooting,debugging- Diagnostic guides
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- ❌ Reading full pages first - Start with search/find, then read details
- ❌ Ignoring runbooks - Check knowledge base before manual investigation
- ❌ Not learning from history - Post-mortems prevent repeated mistakes
- ❌ Searching without space filters - Narrow results with
--spacewhen possible
Integration with Other Skills
Combine knowledge base with other investigation tools:
# 1. Find runbook
python find_runbooks.py --alert "HighMemoryUsage"
# 2. Follow runbook instructions, e.g., check pod resources
python .claude/skills/infrastructure/kubernetes/scripts/describe_pod.py payment-xxx -n otel-demo
# 3. Document findings for future post-mortem
# (Manual step - create post-mortem page after incident resolution)
Tips for Effective Searches
- Use service names - Include the service name in queries
- Check multiple spaces - Try SRE, OPS, Engineering spaces
- Look for patterns - Post-mortems reveal recurring issues
- Verify freshness - Recent docs are more accurate
- Follow links - Runbooks often link to related documentation