# Idle shutdown

> An idle workspace goes to sleep, keeps its files, and wakes on the next request. Learn what you see while it wakes and how to make restarts smooth.

A workspace that nobody is using does not stay running forever. After a quiet spell it goes to sleep. Its files and installed tools are saved, and it wakes when you or the assistant need it again.

## What sleep means

| | While asleep | After it wakes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Files | Saved | There, as you left them |
| Installed tools | Saved | There, with no setup to repeat |
| Running programs | Stopped | Not running, start them again |
| Open terminals | Closed | Open a new one |

Programs the assistant started, such as a development server, do not survive sleep. The Coder starts them again when it needs them.

> [!NOTE]
> Sleep is not a shutdown of your account or your team. Chat, Jobs, Approvals, and your integrations all keep working while a workspace sleeps.

## When does it sleep?

A workspace sleeps after it has been idle for a short while, meaning no task is running in it and no one is using its terminal. A workspace never goes to sleep in the middle of a command, so a long task is not cut off. The exact length of the quiet spell is set by StellarFirm and may change, so these docs do not promise a number.

## What wakes it

- **A new task.** The assistant wakes its workspace when it has work. You do not need to do anything.
- **You open it.** Press **Wake the computer** on [the Computer page](https://stellarfirm.ai/app/computer), or open the **Computer** tab in a chat.
- **A follow-up in the same chat.** Sending a message that needs the workspace wakes it.

## What you see while it wakes

The state badge changes from **Asleep** to **Setting up** and then to **Ready**. Waking a saved workspace is much quicker than the first start, because the tools are already installed. The view refreshes by itself, so you do not need to reload.

If a wake does not finish, the badge says **Setup stopped**. Press **Try setup again**. Your files are still there.

## Tips

- Expect a short pause at the start of a task after a quiet period. This is normal.
- If you want a long-running job to carry on, leave it running. A running task keeps its workspace awake.
- Do not rely on a program staying up between tasks. Ask the assistant to start it again.
- Save work you care about in your repository, through a pull request, rather than only in the workspace.
- Use **Reset** only when you want to delete the workspace and its files. Sleep never deletes anything.

> [!WARNING]
> Reset removes the workspace and everything in it. Sleep does not. Do not confuse them.

## Prompts

```prompt title="Resume after a break"
Coder, we paused [task] earlier. Check your workspace, tell me what state it is in, start whatever you need, and continue.
```

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Source: https://stellarfirm.ai/docs/workspaces/idle-shutdown