# open

URL: /business/nouns/incident/open · Id: `verb:Incident.open` · Call: `await $.Incident.open({ … })` (SDK) or the `do` tool at `https://api.sb/mcp`. Inputs says what to pass, Outputs what returns, When it waits who approves.

> Open starts an Incident from a failing Monitor, an error spike or a Metric past its threshold, and pages the on-call Worker.

Open starts an [Incident](/business/nouns/incident) from a failing [Monitor](/business/nouns/monitor), an error spike or a [Metric](/business/nouns/metric) past its threshold, and pages the on-call [Worker](/business/nouns/worker).

## Inputs
| Input | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `severity` | `string` | Yes | `sev1` stops Customers, `sev2` degrades a core path, `sev3` degrades one feature. |
| `cause` | `string` | Yes | The Monitor, error group or Metric that tripped it. |

## Outputs
| Output | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `incident` | [Incident](/business/nouns/incident) | Yes | The open Incident. |

## Effects
- Emits [`Incident.opened`](/business/events/Incident.opened).
- Performed by the [Reliability Engineer](/agents/engineering/reliability-engineer).
- Two-way: it runs at once, in the `try`, `send` and `do` modes.
- Pages the on-call Worker, agent first, and a Human after five minutes unacknowledged.
- Never holds a rollback or a guardrail stop.
- Posts `sev1` and `sev2` Incidents to the status page.

## Refuses when
| Check | Error | Fix | Then call |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The key is valid, but its scopes do not allow this operation. | [`forbidden`](/code/api/errors/forbidden) | Use a key whose scopes cover the operation, or ask an owner of the namespace to grant them. | [Incident.open](/business/nouns/incident/open) |

## When it waits
| Gate | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Decision class | Low: two-way, nothing at stake |
| [Delay window](/systems/trust-and-governance/controls/one-way-windows) | None: it runs once review passes. |
| Limit | The call [Limit](/business/nouns/limit) of the [Permission](/business/nouns/permission) it runs under. |
| Over the Limit | It waits `pending` for an [Approval](/business/nouns/approval) from the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder). Approved, it runs; refused, it ends `refused` with [`limit-exceeded`](/code/api/errors/limit-exceeded); unanswered by its deadline, it ends `canceled`. |

## Example

**Ask**

```text
Open the latest incident.
```

**API**

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/incidents/open \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"severity":"sev1","cause":"Example cause"}'
```

```json
{
  "api": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com",
  "incident": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/incidents/incident_1",
    "$type": "Incident",
    "status": "pending",
    "mode": "try",
    "severity": "minor",
    "detectedAt": "2026-10-22T12:00:00Z"
  },
  "action": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/actions/action_1",
    "operation": "Incident.open",
    "status": "done"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/actions/action_1"
  }
}
```

**SDK**

```ts
import { $ } from 'startup-builder'

const incident = await $.Incident.open({ severity: 'sev1', cause: 'Example cause' })
```

**CLI**

```bash
npx startup-builder do Incident.open --json '{"severity":"sev1","cause":"Example cause"}'
```

**MCP**

```json
{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Incident.open({ severity: 'sev1', cause: 'Example cause' })"
  }
}
```