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Stop, Resume & Delete

You've seen the sandbox pause automatically via idle timeout and TTL. This module covers doing it manually - and the crucial difference between pausing (reversible, data kept) and deleting (gone for good).

Prerequisite: Time to Live (TTL).

Stop = pause (data preserved)

docker offload stop
  • Your active context switches back to desktop-linux immediately.
  • The actual pause takes a few minutes to complete in the cloud - but billing stops as soon as the pause begins.
  • stop is account-wide: it affects the sandbox for all connected machines.
  • All data persists - containers, images, and volumes survive the pause.

Make stop the last step of every exercise

This is the single most effective cost control. The moment you're done with a sandbox, docker offload stop it. You keep all your state and pay nothing until you come back.

Resume - there is no resume command

A paused sandbox auto-resumes the instant you run an operational command. Any of these wake it:

docker run        docker start      docker exec
docker attach     docker logs       docker inspect
docker offload create

Query commands do not wake it: docker ps, docker images, and docker offload status all report the paused state without resuming.

What's unavailable while paused

During a pause: docker ps / docker images return nothing, forwarded ports and file sync are unavailable, and any attached or exec sessions are terminated. A fully-paused sandbox resumes within about a minute once you issue an operational command.

flowchart LR
    P[Paused] -->|docker run / start / exec /<br/>attach / logs / inspect / create| R[Running]
    P -. docker ps / images / status .-> P

Delete = destroy (data gone)

docker offload rm            # prompts for confirmation
docker offload rm --force    # skips the prompt
  • Removes the sandbox and all its contents, whether it's running or paused.
  • Like stop, this is account-wide.
  • The next docker offload create provisions a brand-new sandbox with the default 5-minute idle timeout.

rm is irreversible and account-wide

docker offload rm deletes containers, images, and volumes for everyone on the account. Push anything you want to keep to a registry first. Use stop when you just want to pause.

Stop vs. Delete - decision table

You want to… Command Data Billing
Take a break, come back later docker offload stop Kept Stops
Free the account entirely docker offload rm Destroyed Stops
Change CPU/memory docker offload create --recreate Destroyed Resets

✅ Checkpoint

  • [ ] Paused the sandbox with docker offload stop and saw the context revert to desktop-linux
  • [ ] Resumed it with an operational command (e.g. docker run) - and confirmed status alone does not resume
  • [ ] Understand rm destroys data account-wide and --force skips the prompt
  • [ ] Can articulate when to stop vs. rm

Next: Multi-Machine & Hybrid Workflows.

Sources: Manage Docker Offload sandboxes and Lifecycle, Idle Timeout & TTL.