> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.happyuptime.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create incident

Open a new incident with an initial severity, status, and message.

# Create incident

POST `/incidents`

Create a new incident.

**Auth:** Bearer token (`write` scope)

## Body parameters

Incident title.

Severity: `critical`, `major`, `minor`.

Initial status.

Initial status update message (shown to subscribers).

IDs of affected monitors.

## Request

```bash cURL
curl -X POST https://happyuptime.com/api/v1/incidents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer hu_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Database connectivity issues",
    "severity": "major",
    "status": "investigating",
    "message": "We are investigating slow database queries."
  }'
```

```bash CLI
happy incidents create \
  --title "Database connectivity issues" \
  --severity major \
  --message "We are investigating slow database queries."
```

```javascript Node
const res = await fetch("https://happyuptime.com/api/v1/incidents", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer " + process.env.HAPPYUPTIME_API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    title: "Database connectivity issues",
    severity: "major",
    status: "investigating",
    message: "We are investigating slow database queries.",
  }),
});
```

## Response

```json
{
  "data": {
    "id": "inc_848",
    "project_id": "proj_xyz",
    "title": "Payment processing delays",
    "status": "investigating",
    "severity": "major",
    "started_at": "2026-03-07T16:00:00Z",
    "resolved_at": null,
    "created_at": "2026-03-07T16:00:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2026-03-07T16:00:00Z"
  }
}
```

Happy Uptime also creates incidents automatically when monitors go down. Severity is derived from how many regions are affected: all regions = `critical`, some regions = `major`, one region = `minor`.