How to Interpret GitHub's Enhanced Status Page for Better Service Transparency

<h2>What You Need</h2><ul><li>A web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)</li><li>Access to <a href="https://status.github.com">GitHub's Status Page</a></li><li>Basic understanding of service health metrics (optional but helpful)</li></ul><h2>Step 1: Understand the New Three-Tier Severity System</h2><p>GitHub recently introduced a <strong>Degraded Performance</strong> state, joining <strong>Partial Outage</strong> and <strong>Major Outage</strong> to form a three-tier classification. This change provides more accurate incident descriptions. Here's what each means:</p><figure style="margin:20px 0"><img src="https://github.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-DarkMode-4.png?resize=800%2C425" alt="How to Interpret GitHub&#039;s Enhanced Status Page for Better Service Transparency" style="width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:8px" loading="lazy"><figcaption style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin-top:5px">Source: github.blog</figcaption></figure><ul><li><strong>Degraded Performance</strong> – The service works but may have higher latency, reduced functionality, or intermittent errors affecting a small percentage of requests. It does <em>not</em> count as downtime in uptime calculations.</li><li><strong>Partial Outage</strong> – A significant portion of the service is unavailable or severely impacted for many users. This counts as 30% of the incident duration in downtime calculations.</li><li><strong>Major Outage</strong> – The service is broadly unavailable affecting most or all users. This counts as 100% downtime.</li></ul><p>Previously, even minor glitches were labeled as partial outages, causing confusion. Now you can quickly gauge the real impact.</p><h2>Step 2: Locate Per-Service Uptime Percentages</h2><p>On the status page, scroll down to find the list of GitHub services (e.g., Actions, Copilot, Issues). Each service now shows its <strong>uptime percentage over the last 90 days</strong>. This data is updated regularly and gives a clear snapshot of recent reliability. Look for green bars or percentages; they indicate high availability.</p><h2>Step 3: Decode How Uptime Is Calculated</h2><p>The uptime percentage isn't simply raw uptime. Each severity level carries a different weight in the calculation:</p><ul><li>Major Outage – full duration counts as downtime (weight 100%)</li><li>Partial Outage – only 30% of the duration counts as downtime</li><li>Degraded Performance – 0% counts as downtime (it's not considered downtime)</li></ul><p>For example, a 1-hour partial outage over 90 days equals 18 minutes of effective downtime in the uptime formula. This method reflects that a partial outage affects fewer users than a major one. You can use this to realistically assess service reliability.</p><figure style="margin:20px 0"><img src="https://github.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Enterprise-DarkMode-3.png?resize=800%2C425" alt="How to Interpret GitHub&#039;s Enhanced Status Page for Better Service Transparency" style="width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:8px" loading="lazy"><figcaption style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin-top:5px">Source: github.blog</figcaption></figure><h2>Step 4: Use the Granular Copilot Component</h2><p>GitHub has added a dedicated component for <strong>Copilot AI Model Providers</strong> on the status page. This gives specific visibility into availability issues related to the AI models Copilot uses. If you rely on Copilot, check this component for real-time updates on model provider health. It helps you distinguish between a Copilot-specific problem and a general GitHub outage.</p><h2>Step 5: Respond to Incidents with Better Context</h2><p>When an incident occurs, note its severity level and the affected service. Use the per-service uptime percentages to see if the incident is an anomaly or part of a pattern. For degraded performance, you can anticipate minor slowdowns without panic. For partial or major outages, check the status page for estimated resolution times and subscribe to notifications for updates.</p><h2>Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Status Page</h2><ul><li><strong>Bookmark the status page</strong> so you can quickly access it during incidents.</li><li><strong>Enable notifications</strong> via email or webhook to receive alerts about changes in service health.</li><li><strong>Review the 90-day uptime trend</strong> before planning major deployments or migrations.</li><li><strong>Use the Copilot component</strong> if you rely heavily on AI features – it isolates model provider issues from broader GitHub problems.</li><li><strong>Remember that Degraded Performance does not affect uptime percentages</strong>, so a service may appear fully available even if you experience some slowness.</li></ul>