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Tool Name: create_incidentCategory: IncidentsMode: Write (requires --enable-write-tools flag)

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Overview

The create_incident tool allows you to manually create a new incident in PagerDuty. This is useful when you need to report an issue that wasn’t automatically detected by monitoring systems.
This tool requires write mode to be enabled. See Write Mode Configuration for details.

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Parameters

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incident
IncidentCreate
required
The incident creation request object.
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title
string
required
The title of the incident. Should be a succinct description of the issue.Example: "Database connection timeout on production"
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service
ServiceReference
required
The service associated with the incident.
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id
string
required
The ID of the service.Example: "PXXXXXX"
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type
string
default:"service_reference"
Always “service_reference”
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urgency
string
default:"high"
The urgency level of the incident.Allowed values:
  • high - High urgency (default)
  • low - Low urgency
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body
IncidentBody
Additional details about the incident.
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details
string
required
Free-form text providing more context about the incident.Example: "Users are experiencing 504 Gateway Timeout errors when accessing the dashboard. Database connection pool appears to be exhausted."
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type
string
default:"incident_body"
Always “incident_body”
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type
string
default:"incident"
Always “incident” (automatically set)

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Usage Examples

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Create a high urgency incident

{
  "incident": {
    "title": "Production API returning 500 errors",
    "service": {
      "id": "PXXXXXX",
      "type": "service_reference"
    },
    "urgency": "high",
    "body": {
      "details": "Multiple customers reporting 500 errors on /api/users endpoint. Started approximately 10 minutes ago.",
      "type": "incident_body"
    }
  }
}

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Create a low urgency incident

{
  "incident": {
    "title": "Slow query performance on analytics database",
    "service": {
      "id": "PYYYYYY",
      "type": "service_reference"
    },
    "urgency": "low",
    "body": {
      "details": "Analytics dashboard queries are taking 5-10 seconds. Not customer-facing but should be investigated.",
      "type": "incident_body"
    }
  }
}

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Create a minimal incident

{
  "incident": {
    "title": "SSL certificate expiring in 7 days",
    "service": {
      "id": "PZZZZZZ",
      "type": "service_reference"
    }
  }
}

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Response Format

Returns the created Incident object.
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id
string
The unique ID of the newly created incident.
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incident_number
integer
The incident number (unique across your account).
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status
string
Will be triggered for newly created incidents.
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title
string
The title of the incident.
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created_at
datetime
When the incident was created.
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updated_at
datetime
When the incident was last updated.
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service
ServiceReference
The service the incident is associated with.
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assignments
list[Assignment]
Initial assignments based on the service’s escalation policy.

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Common Errors

Write mode not enabledIf write tools are not enabled:
Write operations are disabled. Enable with --enable-write-tools flag.
Solution: Restart the MCP server with the --enable-write-tools flag.
Invalid service IDIf the service doesn’t exist:
404 Not Found: Service not found
Solution: Verify the service ID using the list_services or get_service tool.
Missing required fieldsIf required fields are missing:
Validation Error: title is required
Solution: Ensure all required fields (title, service) are provided.

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Best Practices

  • Use descriptive, actionable titles that clearly indicate the problem
  • Include detailed context in the body to help responders triage quickly
  • Set appropriate urgency based on business impact
  • Verify the service ID before creating the incident
  • Consider using automatic incident creation through monitoring integrations for routine issues

manage_incidents

Update incident status or assignment

add_note_to_incident

Add notes to track investigation

add_responders

Request additional responders

list_services

Find the correct service ID

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Source Reference

Function: create_incident in pagerduty_mcp/tools/incidents.py:72 Models: IncidentCreateRequest, IncidentCreate, Incident in pagerduty_mcp/models/incidents.py

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