Starting and Stopping Instances

Managing Your Instance

Once your instance is running, you can start, stop, and restart it from the instance dashboard. These controls are in the header area of the instance detail page.

The available actions depend on your instance's current status. Buttons only appear when the action is possible.

Starting an Instance

If your instance is stopped, click Start in the instance dashboard header.

Starting powers on the existing Hetzner VPS. Your data, configuration, and messaging channels are preserved exactly as they were when you stopped it. The instance keeps its IP address and subdomain.

Once started, the instance transitions to Running and begins incurring daily Claws costs again.

Requirements:

• Instance must be in Stopped status

Stopping an Instance

If your instance is running, click Stop in the instance dashboard header.

Stopping powers off the Hetzner VPS but keeps it allocated to your account. Your server, IP address, and all data remain intact. You can start it again at any time.

What happens when you stop:

1. The instance status changes to Stopped
2. Messaging channels (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.) disconnect
3. The web gateway becomes inaccessible
4. The VPS remains allocated to your account and daily billing continues.

When to stop vs. freeze vs. delete:

• Stop when you plan to use the instance again soon. The VPS stays allocated and starts up instantly, but billing continues at the full rate.
• Freeze when you want to keep the instance but reduce costs. The VPS is deleted and a snapshot is saved. Billing drops to 15 Claws/day. Unfreezing creates a new server with a new IP address.
• Delete when you no longer need the instance. The VPS is permanently removed and billing stops.

Restarting an Instance

If your instance is running, click Restart in the instance dashboard header.

Restarting reboots the Hetzner VPS. The instance stays in Running status throughout and continues to incur daily costs. Use this when the instance is unresponsive or behaving unexpectedly.

The restart takes a few seconds. Messaging channels briefly disconnect and reconnect automatically.

Automatic Pausing (Low Balance)

If your Claws balance drops below zero after the daily billing deduction (processed at 01:00 Berlin time), the system automatically pauses your instance.

What happens during automatic pause:

1. A snapshot of your instance is created (preserving all data and configuration)
2. The Hetzner VPS is deleted (freeing the IP address and server resources)
3. Daily billing stops
4. You receive an email notification

Your data is safe in the snapshot. Nothing is lost.

Grace period: Paused instances have a 3-day grace period. During this time, you receive daily countdown emails. After 3 days without resuming, the snapshot and instance data are permanently deleted.

Resuming a Paused Instance

To resume a paused instance:

1. Add Claws to your account (Dashboard → Add Funds)
2. Return to the instance dashboard
3. Click Resume

The system restores your snapshot to a new Hetzner VPS. This takes about 30-60 seconds. Your instance gets a new IP address but all data and configuration are preserved.

Resume is blocked when:

• Your Claws balance is still insufficient
• A payment failure is pending on a monthly subscription

Stopped vs. Paused

These two states both halt your instance, but they work differently:

	Stopped	Paused
Trigger	Manual (you click Stop)	Automatic (low Claws balance)
VPS	Kept allocated (same IP)	Deleted (new IP on resume)
Data	On the VPS disk	In a snapshot
Resume speed	Instant	30-60 seconds
Billing	Full daily charges continue	No daily charges
Grace period	None. Stays stopped indefinitely.	3 days before permanent deletion

Key difference: Stopping keeps your VPS reserved with its IP address, but daily billing continues at the full rate. Pausing deletes the VPS and saves a snapshot, which stops billing entirely but means you get a new IP address when you resume. To reduce costs without losing your instance, consider freezing instead (15 Claws/day).

Billing Impact

Action	Cost Impact
Start	Daily Claws charges resume
Stop	Daily charges continue (VPS stays allocated)
Restart	No change. Charges continue.
Freeze	Reduced rate (15 Claws/day)
Paused	Daily charges stop
Resume	Daily Claws charges resume
Delete	All charges stop

Daily costs depend on your tier:

Tier	Daily Cost
Budget	60 Claws
Balanced	105 Claws
Pro	175 Claws

Low Balance Warnings

The system sends warning emails when your balance falls below 3, 2, and 1 day of operating costs. These warnings give you time to add Claws before automatic pausing kicks in.

You can check your current balance and estimated remaining days on the main dashboard.

Monthly Subscription Instances

Monthly subscription instances work differently from daily billing instances:

• No automatic pausing for low Claws balance (billing goes through Stripe directly)
• If a Stripe payment fails, the instance is paused automatically
• Daily reminder emails are sent while the payment remains failed
• Resume is blocked until the payment issue is resolved
• If Stripe cannot collect payment after its retry period, the subscription is cancelled and the instance is deleted

To manage your subscription, use the billing portal link on the instance dashboard.

Related Documentation

• Instance Overview. Instance statuses, lifecycle, and tiers
• Billing Overview. How billing, Claws, and payments work
• Adding Funds. How to add Claws to your account
• Troubleshooting Common Issues. Solutions for frequent problems