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Overview

The start_incident_workflow tool manually starts a workflow instance for a specific incident. This allows you to execute automated workflow steps on-demand, even if the workflow wasn’t triggered automatically.
This is a write tool that creates a workflow instance. You must enable write tools with the --enable-write-tools flag to use this tool.

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Parameters

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workflow_id
string
required
The unique identifier of the incident workflow to start.Example: "PZYX123"
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incident_reference
object
required
Reference to the incident on which to start the workflow.
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id
string
An optional identifier to help differentiate between workflow executions. This is useful for tracking or debugging purposes.Example: "manual-trigger-001"

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Response

Returns the created incident workflow instance.
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id
string
The unique identifier of the incident workflow instance
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type
string
Always returns "incident_workflow_instance"
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incident
object
Reference to the incident on which the workflow was started

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Example Usage

"Start the major incident workflow for incident Q1ABCDEF"

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Use Cases

  • Manual workflow execution - Trigger workflows that weren’t automatically started
  • Test workflows - Verify workflow behavior on specific incidents
  • Re-run workflows - Execute workflows again if needed
  • Incident response - Manually kick off escalation or notification workflows
  • Compliance - Ensure required workflows are executed on critical incidents

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Response Example

{
  "id": "PWINST123",
  "type": "incident_workflow_instance",
  "incident": {
    "id": "Q1ABCDEF",
    "type": "incident_reference"
  }
}

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Important Notes

  • Workflows must be enabled to be started manually
  • The incident must exist and be accessible
  • Some workflow actions may only execute once per incident
  • Check workflow step configuration to understand what will happen

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