Rebuilding an Instance

Overview

Rebuilding an instance performs a factory reset. It wipes all configuration and data from the container, then reinstalls from a clean snapshot. The server itself stays the same — your IP address and subdomain do not change — but the container is replaced with a fresh one.

After a rebuild, the instance is in a "Pending Configuration" state. You need to reconfigure your LLM API key, reconnect messenger channels, and re-enable SSH access if needed.

What Gets Preserved

The rebuild keeps everything that belongs to the server and your ClawHosters account:

Preserved	Details
Instance name	The name you chose when creating the instance
Tier	Budget, Balanced, or Pro — unchanged
Billing mode	Daily or monthly subscription — unchanged
Subdomain	Your *.clawhosters.com subdomain stays the same
Gateway token	The authentication token for your instance
Web access password	HTTP basic auth password for the gateway interface
Server IP	The VPS IP address does not change

What Gets Wiped

Everything inside the container is permanently deleted:

Wiped	Details
LLM API keys	Any configured OpenAI, Anthropic, or other provider keys
Messenger configurations	Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and Slack tokens and settings
SSH access settings	Custom SSH keys and access configuration
Health metrics	Historical health check data and resource usage metrics
Container data	All files and data stored inside the Docker container
Chat history	Any conversation history stored on the instance
Custom modifications	Packages installed via SSH, custom scripts, modified configs

When to Rebuild

Rebuilding is useful when:

• Instance is stuck in an error state and restarting does not resolve it
• Configuration is corrupted and the instance behaves unexpectedly
• You want a clean start without creating a new instance
• Deploy failed and retrying the deployment does not work

Try restarting your instance first. Rebuilding is a more drastic step that erases all configuration.

How to Rebuild

1. Go to your instance dashboard
2. Scroll down to the Danger Zone section
3. Click Rebuild Instance
4. Read the warnings carefully — all data will be permanently deleted
5. Type your instance name to confirm
6. Click Confirm
7. The instance status changes to Provisioning
8. Wait for re-provisioning to complete (approximately 60 seconds)
9. Reconfigure your LLM API key and messenger channels

Allowed States for Rebuild

Rebuilding is only available when the instance is in certain states:

State	Rebuild Allowed
Running	Yes
Stopped	Yes
Deploy Failed	Yes
Error	Yes
Pending Configuration	Yes
Provisioning	No — wait for provisioning to finish
Deploying	No — wait for deployment to finish
Paused	No — resume the instance first

If your instance is currently provisioning or deploying, wait for the process to complete before attempting a rebuild.

After Rebuilding

Once the rebuild completes, your instance is in the Pending Configuration state. To get it running again:

1. Configure your LLM API key — Go to instance settings and enter your API key
2. Reconnect messenger channels — Set up Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, or Slack tokens again
3. Re-enable SSH access — If you previously had SSH access, configure it again
4. Reconfigure any custom settings — Web access, instance name display, and other preferences

The instance starts accepting requests once you configure an LLM API key.

Billing Impact

Rebuilding does not affect billing:

• Daily billing — Continues as normal. You are billed for each day the instance exists, regardless of rebuilds.
• Monthly subscriptions — Unaffected. Your subscription period and renewal date do not change.

A rebuild does not count as creating a new instance. No additional charges apply.

Important Warnings

• All data on the instance is permanently deleted. There is no way to recover wiped configuration, chat history, or custom modifications after a rebuild.
• Custom SSH modifications are lost. Any packages you installed, scripts you created, or configuration files you changed via SSH will not survive a rebuild.
• This action cannot be undone. Once you confirm the rebuild, the process starts immediately.
• Back up important data first. If you have configuration values you want to preserve (API keys, tokens), note them down before rebuilding.

Related Documentation

• Instance Overview — Instance statuses, lifecycle, and tiers
• Instance Settings and Configuration — LLM, messaging, and web access settings
• Deleting an Instance — Permanently removing an instance
• Troubleshooting Common Issues — Solutions for frequent problems