Start, stop, and terminate agents

Lifecycle controls operate the cloud computer, not just the browser session. Closing the workspace or signing out does not stop the agent.

Start

Use Start for a stopped agent. The provider powers on the existing VM and attached boot disk. The card moves through starting, running, loading, and ready as the infrastructure and services recover.

A restart is normally faster than initial provisioning because packages, repositories, settings, and data remain on disk.

Stop

Use Stop to shut down compute without deleting the environment. The confirmation dialog shows an estimated idle boot-disk cost.

After the provider confirms the stop:

• CPU and GPU runtime charges stop;
• the boot disk stays attached and continues billing;
• configuration and local data remain available for the next start;
• the public or tailnet endpoint does not serve the workspace.

Do not assume billing stopped while the card still says stopping. Provider state must be confirmed first.

Terminate

Use Terminate only when the environment and its local data are no longer needed. Termination deletes the VM and boot disk and cleans up associated direct networking resources.

Termination is destructive and cannot be undone. Export or copy anything you need before confirming it.

The card moves to terminating and disappears after cleanup. If provisioning failed before a provider VM became usable, the card may show Delete instead, which removes the failed record and attempts any remaining cleanup.

Actions during transitions

The console disables incompatible actions while an agent is provisioning, starting, stopping, or terminating. Wait for the transition or an explicit error before retrying. Repeated lifecycle requests do not make the provider operation faster.

Recommended operating pattern

• Keep the agent running during periods when it must answer channels, fire scheduled assistant tasks, or remain immediately reachable.
• Use a Cloud schedule for predictable working windows.
• Stop it during longer idle periods when retained storage is still valuable.
• Terminate short-lived project agents after exporting required work.

For the exact display states, see agent statuses. For automated VM windows, see Cloud schedules.