> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.spike.sh/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.spike.sh/incidents/what-is-an-incident.md). # What is an incident? An incident is any issue that needs to be investigated and resolved. When a connected monitoring tool detects a problem, Spike creates an incident and alerts the right person based on the [escalation policy](/escalations/introduction-to-escalations.md) attached to that integration. ## Examples Common examples of incidents include: * CPU or memory utilization crossing a critical threshold * Database monitoring alerts * Database backup failures * Billing process failures * Notification delivery failures * Dashboard loading errors * Website downtime {% hint style="info" %} You can also create incidents directly from your code using a [webhook integration](/integrations-guideline/integrating-with-webhooks.md). {% endhint %} ## Incident statuses Every incident has one of three statuses. See [incident statuses](/incidents/incident-statuses.md) for the full breakdown.
Incident statuses on Spike

The three incident statuses: Triggered, Acknowledged, and Resolved.

### Triggered A triggered incident means Spike has detected a problem and is actively alerting. Spike works through the escalation policy, sending alerts until someone acknowledges or resolves the incident. Repeat incidents are automatically suppressed to reduce [alert fatigue](/alerts/personal-alerts-management.md). ### Acknowledged An acknowledged incident means someone is working on a fix. Spike stops alerting and pauses the escalation policy. You can optionally set an [acknowledge timeout](/incidents/acknowledge-timeout.md): a time limit after which Spike moves the incident back to triggered and resumes alerting if it hasn't been resolved. ### Resolved A resolved incident means the issue is fixed. Spike stops all alerts and resets the escalation policy for any future incidents on that integration. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.spike.sh/incidents/what-is-an-incident.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.