---
checkId: check.release.rollback.readiness
plugin: stellaops.doctor.release
severity: warn
tags: [release, rollback, disaster-recovery, production]
---
# Rollback Readiness

## What It Checks
Queries the Release Orchestrator at `/api/v1/environments/rollback-status` (with fallback to `/api/v1/environments`) and evaluates rollback capability for production environments:

- **Cannot rollback**: fail if a production environment has a previous version but cannot roll back (e.g., irreversible migration, artifacts purged).
- **No previous version**: warn if a production environment has no previous deployment to roll back to.
- **Missing health probe**: warn if a production environment lacks a health probe (prevents auto-rollback on failure).

Only production environments (type "prod" or "production") are evaluated. Non-production environments are not checked.

Evidence collected: `prod_environment_count`, `rollback_ready_count`, `cannot_rollback_count`, `no_previous_version_count`, `no_health_probe_count`, `cannot_rollback_environments`, `rollback_blocker`.

The check requires `ReleaseOrchestrator:Url` or `Release:Orchestrator:Url` to be configured.

## Why It Matters
Rollback is the primary recovery mechanism when a production deployment introduces a critical issue. If rollback is unavailable, the only options are an emergency forward-fix or extended downtime. Missing health probes prevent automatic rollback on deployment failure, requiring manual intervention during incidents. In regulated environments, rollback readiness is often a compliance requirement for change management.

## Common Causes
- Previous deployment artifacts not retained (artifact retention policy too aggressive)
- Database migration not reversible (destructive schema change)
- Breaking API change deployed that prevents running the previous version
- Rollback manually disabled for the environment
- First deployment to environment (no previous version exists)
- Deployment history cleared during maintenance
- Health probe URL not configured for auto-rollback
- Auto-rollback on failure not enabled

## How to Fix

### Docker Compose
```bash
# Check rollback status for a specific environment
stella env rollback-status <environment-name>

# View deployment history
stella env history <environment-name>

# Configure artifact retention to keep previous versions
```

```yaml
services:
  orchestrator:
    environment:
      Release__ArtifactRetention__Count: "5"
      Release__ArtifactRetention__Days: "30"
```

Configure health probes:

```bash
# Set health probe for a production environment
stella env configure <environment-name> --health-probe-url "http://<app>:8080/health"

# Enable auto-rollback on failure
stella env configure <environment-name> --auto-rollback-on-failure
```

### Bare Metal / systemd
```bash
# Check rollback blockers
stella env rollback-status <environment-name>

# View deployment history
stella env history <environment-name>

# Configure health probe
stella env configure <environment-name> --health-probe-url "http://localhost:8080/health"

# Enable auto-rollback
stella env configure <environment-name> --auto-rollback-on-failure
```

Edit `/etc/stellaops/orchestrator/appsettings.json`:

```json
{
  "Release": {
    "ArtifactRetention": {
      "Count": 5,
      "Days": 30
    }
  }
}
```

### Kubernetes / Helm
```bash
# Check rollback status
kubectl exec -it <orchestrator-pod> -- stella env rollback-status <environment-name>

# View deployment history
kubectl exec -it <orchestrator-pod> -- stella env history <environment-name>
```

Set in Helm `values.yaml`:

```yaml
releaseOrchestrator:
  artifactRetention:
    count: 5
    days: 30
  environments:
    production:
      healthProbeUrl: "http://app:8080/health"
      autoRollbackOnFailure: true
```

## Verification
```
stella doctor run --check check.release.rollback.readiness
```

## Related Checks
- `check.release.active` -- failed releases may require rollback
- `check.release.environment.readiness` -- environment health affects rollback execution
- `check.release.configuration` -- workflow configuration defines rollback behavior