Server Recovery Kit

Why

When a server dies, the person rebuilding it is rarely the person who built it. This kit does not contain your documentation. It contains the prompts that get an AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, anything that can read pasted text) to write it with you, from the real server, in an afternoon.

What you end up with

• 01-project-overview.md: what the server does, who depends on it, recovery objectives, who to call
• 02-server-inventory.md: versions, paths, ports, DNS, services, cron, backups, exactly as the server reports them
• 03-recovery-runbook.md: numbered steps to rebuild from nothing, each with a script in scripts/
• 04-verification-checklist.md: checkbox proof that the rebuild works before DNS moves
• 05-secrets-and-accounts.md: where every password and key lives, never the values
• a whole-kit review that finds the contradictions and gaps

How it works

Each prompt file tells you what to collect first (commands to run on the server, with the output pasted in), then gives you the prompt. Work through them in order, save each answer as the file it names, and finish with the review prompt. Re-run the inventory and review whenever the server changes.

The ground rules prompt

Paste this at the start of every session. Everything else builds on it.

You are helping me write recovery documentation for one server, so that someone who has never seen it can rebuild it from backups.

Ground rules for everything you write for me:
- Write in plain English. Short sentences. No marketing language.
- Use Markdown with the exact headings I give you, in that order, so the files match each other.
- Never invent a fact about my server. If you need something you do not have, put a line "TODO: <what to check and how>" instead of guessing.
- Never ask me for a password, key or token. When a secret is involved, write where it is stored and who holds it, not the value.
- Every command you give must be copy-pasteable, one per line, with a one-line comment above it saying what it does.
- Scripts must start with `set -euo pipefail`, print each step before doing it, and stop on the first error.
- Assume the reader is competent but tired, stressed, and possibly not the person who built this. Spell out the obvious.
- When I paste command output, treat it as the truth about the server and use it. Quote version numbers and paths exactly as they appear.
- At the end of each document add a section "Open questions" listing anything you were unsure about.

Confirm you understand, then wait for my next message.

The inventory prompt (sample)

The kit's inventory step first has you run a block of read-only commands on the server, then paste the output into this:

## Prompt

The runbook, checklist, secrets-map, script-review and whole-kit-review prompts are in the download, each with its collect-first commands and a template for the file it produces.

Rules that keep this safe

• Never paste a secret into an assistant. The prompts ask where secrets live, not what they are. Redact env files before pasting.
• Read every script the assistant writes before you run it. The prompts ask for scripts that stop on error and announce each step.
• The verification checklist is not optional. A runbook that has never been rehearsed is a guess.

License

CC BY 4.0. Copy it, change it, share it. A link back is appreciated.