Start, stop, and restart an instance

Lifecycle controls let you power on, shut down, or restart a running cloud instance. The controls available depend on the instance's current status.

Before you start

• You must be signed in.
• The instance must be assigned to your account.
• The instance must be in a status that allows the action you want to take.

Available actions by status

Current status	Start	Stop	Restart	Force stop
Running	—	✓	✓	✓
Stopped	✓	—	—	—
Error	✓	—	—	—
Pending / Creating / Stopping / Restarting / Deleting	—	—	—	—

When an action is not available, the button is disabled or hidden.

Start an instance

1. Open the instance detail view.
2. Select Start.
3. The status changes to a transitional state and then moves to Running.

Stop an instance

1. Open the instance detail view.
2. Select Stop.
3. Confirm the action in the dialog.
4. The status moves to Stopping and then to Stopped.

Unsaved work

Stopping an instance is a graceful shutdown. Running processes receive a shutdown signal, but any unsaved work inside the instance may be lost. Save your work before stopping.

Restart an instance

1. Open the instance detail view.
2. Select Restart.
3. Confirm the action in the dialog.
4. The status moves to Restarting and then returns to Running.

Force stop an instance

If a graceful stop does not complete, you can force the instance to power off immediately.

1. Open the instance detail view.
2. Select Force Stop.
3. Confirm the action in the dialog.
4. The instance powers off without waiting for a graceful shutdown.

Data risk

Force stopping an instance is equivalent to pulling the power plug. Processes do not receive a shutdown signal and in-progress writes may be lost or corrupted. Use force stop only when a normal stop is not responding.

What happens next

• After starting or restarting, the instance returns to Running and the web terminal becomes available.
• After stopping, the instance keeps its data and configuration. You can start it again at any time.
• Status changes appear in real time — you do not need to refresh the page.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
The Start button is disabled	The instance may be in a transitional state. Wait for the current operation to complete.
The Stop or Restart button is disabled	The instance may already be stopped or in a transitional state. Check the status badge.
The instance stays in a transitional state for a long time	Refresh the page. If the status does not change after several minutes, note the correlation ID from any error message and contact support.
An error appears after starting	See the troubleshooting page for common error causes.

Related

• Instance status
• Web terminal
• Troubleshooting