> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ona.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Auto-stop timeout > Limit auto-stop timeout options to control resource usage and costs. > [!NOTE] > > Requires [Core plan](https://ona.com/pricing) or higher. Limit how long environments can stay idle before auto-stopping. Useful when: * Controlling cloud infrastructure costs from forgotten environments * Ensuring resources are available for other team members * Preventing "never timeout" settings that waste compute ## Configuration Set the maximum auto-stop timeout to 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 8 hours, or No max timeout. ## Effect on users Users only see auto-stop timeout options up to the policy maximum. For example, with a 3-hour maximum, users can select 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 3 hours. ![Auto-stop timeout options in VS Code](https://mintcdn.com/gitpod-13c83c2b/2OOzw0HWmK9TllJv/images/docs/flex/organizations/vscode-auto-stop-timeout-menu.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=2OOzw0HWmK9TllJv\&q=85\&s=1da76f1d44730007736801729a71abe3) ### Set a default auto-stop timeout > [!NOTE] > > Available on the Core plan and higher. [Contact sales](https://ona.com/contact/sales) to learn more. Each user can choose the auto-stop timeout applied when they create an environment: 1. Open **Account settings**. 2. Under **Preferences**, select a **Default auto-stop timeout**. The available choices are 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 8 hours, and Never. Choices above the organization's maximum auto-stop timeout are not available. If no preference is set, new environments use a 30-minute auto-stop timeout. Changing this preference affects only environments created afterward. It does not update existing environments. An auto-stop timeout supplied when creating an individual environment overrides the user preference. Users can also set an environment's auto-stop timeout from the CLI when creating or updating an environment: ```bash theme={null} ona environment create https://github.com/org/repo --class-id --inactivity-timeout 1h ona environment update --inactivity-timeout 3h ona environment update --inactivity-timeout 0s ``` `0s` requests that auto-stop is disabled. The CLI is subject to the same plan and organization policy limits as the UI. ## When an environment is idle An environment is **not idle** as long as any of the following are true: * **Plain SSH session is open**: Any open SSH connection (terminal, SCP, SFTP, tunnels) prevents the environment from going idle, regardless of user interaction. Connection presence alone is enough. Note: VS Code Desktop opens an SSH connection to the environment, but that connection is excluded from activity tracking. VS Code uses its own activity signals instead. * **VS Code is active (Desktop or Browser)**: The VS Code extension sends activity signals based on keyboard and mouse interaction. After a short period without interaction, VS Code stops signaling and the environment is considered idle. * **JetBrains Gateway is active**: JetBrains sends activity signals based on keyboard and mouse interaction in the IDE. After approximately 5 minutes without interaction, JetBrains stops signaling and the environment is considered idle. * **An agent is running**: The environment is not idle while an agent session is executing a task. * **CLI keep-alive is active**: The `ona environment keep-alive` command prevents idle as long as a watched process is running (see [below](#keep-environment-alive-during-long-running-tasks)). The following do **not** prevent an environment from going idle: * Background processes running inside the environment (builds, servers, cron jobs) * Port forwarding and shared/exposed port traffic (HTTP requests to forwarded ports) * File system changes * CPU or memory usage > [!NOTE] > > Activity is tracked in 5-minute intervals. After the configured auto-stop timeout elapses, the environment may take several more minutes to stop. For example, with a 30-minute timeout, if you go idle at 2:00 PM the environment may stop around 2:35 PM. ### Common scenarios | Scenario | Will it be considered idle? | | - | - | | VS Code open, idle (Desktop or Browser) | Yes. VS Code stops sending activity signals after a short period without keyboard or mouse interaction | | JetBrains open, idle | Yes. JetBrains stops sending activity signals after approximately 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse interaction | | Editor closed, terminal SSH session open | No. An open SSH connection prevents idle | | All editor/SSH sessions closed, background build running | Yes. Background processes do not prevent idle | | Laptop goes to sleep with VS Code open | Depends. If the sleep duration exceeds the configured timeout, the environment may auto-stop before VS Code can resume. JS timers freeze during sleep, so no activity signals are sent until the laptop wakes | | Laptop goes to sleep with JetBrains open | Yes. JetBrains stops signaling during sleep, so the environment will auto-stop after the configured timeout | ## Keep environment alive during long-running tasks For long-running tasks like simulations, builds, or data processing that may exceed the timeout, use the CLI `keep-alive` command to prevent automatic shutdown while a process is running. ```bash theme={null} # Watch an existing process by PID ona environment keep-alive --pid 1234 # Execute and watch a command ona environment keep-alive -- python simulation.py # Run in quiet mode (suppress output except errors) ona environment keep-alive -q -- ./long-running-script.sh ``` | Flag | Description | | - | - | | `--pid` | PID of an existing process to watch | | `--interval` | Interval between activity signals (default: 5m) | | `--source` | Source identifier for activity signals | | `-q, --quiet` | Suppress output except errors | | `--environment-id` | Environment ID (auto-detected inside environments) | The command prevents the environment from going idle by sending signals every 5 minutes while the watched process is alive. When the process terminates, the command exits (propagating the exit code if a command was executed). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.