> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.gofigr.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.gofigr.io/managed-compute/lifecycle.md).

# Lifecycle & Persistence

A managed compute instance moves between a handful of states over its life. This page explains what each one means, what's preserved when you stop an instance, and how idle auto-stop keeps costs down.

## Instance status

The status shown next to each instance tells you what it's doing:

| Status                | Meaning                                                                                                                               |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Launching**         | The cloud machine is starting up.                                                                                                     |
| **Initializing**      | The machine booted; first-time setup is running.                                                                                      |
| **Starting services** | The editors (Jupyter, code-server, R Server) are coming up.                                                                           |
| **Running**           | Ready to use—connect and start working. Compute is billing.                                                                           |
| **Stopping**          | The machine is shutting down.                                                                                                         |
| **Stopped**           | Parked. No compute charges; your files are preserved.                                                                                 |
| **Error**             | Something went wrong starting up (see [Troubleshooting](/managed-compute/troubleshooting.md)).                                        |
| **Pending deletion**  | You deleted the instance; it's in the recovery window before removal. See [Deleting & restoring](/managed-compute/delete-restore.md). |

A fresh launch walks through **Launching → Initializing → Starting services → Running**, which is why a cold start takes a few minutes.

## Stop and start

You control whether an instance is running:

* **Stop** parks the machine. Compute billing ends immediately, and your data volume—notebooks, files, installed packages—is kept intact. Storage continues to bill while stopped (see [Compute & storage charges](/billing-and-plans/compute-usage.md)).
* **Start** brings a stopped instance back. A restart is faster than the first launch because setup is already done.

Stop an instance whenever you're done for a while—there's no penalty, and nothing is lost.

## What persists

Each instance has a **data volume** mounted at your home directory (`/home/gofigr/notebooks`). Everything there—notebooks, scripts, data files, and packages you install with `pip` or `install.packages()`—**survives stop/start**.

The only thing that removes the data volume is **deleting** the instance. As long as the instance exists, your work is safe across any number of stop/start cycles.

{% hint style="warning" %}
The data volume is durable storage for an active instance—it is **not a backup**. Deleting an instance destroys its volume. Keep anything you can't lose in version control or publish it to GoFigr.
{% endhint %}

## Idle auto-stop

So you never pay for a machine you forgot about, instances **stop themselves after a period of inactivity**. By default the idle window is **60 minutes**.

You can adjust this per instance under **Auto-shutdown** in the launch dialog, or later via the **Auto-shutdown…** action:

* **Auto-stop on idle** — toggle the behavior on or off.
* **Idle window (minutes)** — how long the instance can sit idle before stopping.

A few rules apply:

* Your plan may **require** auto-stop, in which case you can't turn it off.
* Your plan may **cap** the idle window at a maximum.
* There's a **5-minute minimum** idle window.

Activity in any editor—running cells, editing files—resets the idle timer. If configured, you'll get a heads-up notification before an idle stop. Nothing is lost when an instance auto-stops; just start it again and your files are waiting.

## Other actions

From an instance's menu you can also:

* **Restart…** — stop and start in one step.
* **Rename…** — change the display name.
* **Change type…** — switch to a different [machine type](/managed-compute/tiers.md). Stop the instance first.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Change type** and some other actions require the instance to be stopped first. The menu will tell you when that's the case.
{% endhint %}