# Lifecycle actions

> Lifecycle actions - Lifecycle actions for Workloads. Start, stop, delete, and how the draft TTL
> interacts.

This Markdown file sits beside the HTML page at the same path (with a `.md` suffix). It summarizes the topic and lists links for tools and LLM context.

Companion generated at `2026-06-22T16:50:38.253276+00:00` (UTC).

## Primary page

- [Lifecycle actions](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md): Full documentation for this topic (Markdown sidecar).

## Sections on this page

- [Start](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md#start): In-page section heading.
- [Stop](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md#stop): In-page section heading.
- [Delete](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md#delete): In-page section heading.
- [Draft TTL](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md#draft-ttl): In-page section heading.

## Related documentation

- [Workload API](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/index.html.md): Linked from this page.
- [Operate running Workloads](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/index.html.md): Linked from this page.
- [Workload concepts: Lifetime policies](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/create-workloads/workload-concepts.html.md#lifetime-policies): Linked from this page.
- [Promote to production](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/update-workloads/promote-production.html.md): Linked from this page.
- [Hello, Workload](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/get-started-workloads/tutorial-hello-world.html.md): Linked from this page.

## Documentation content

This page covers the action verbs that change a Workload's runtime state. For the underlying lifetime policies—draft TTL (time-to-live), locked indefinite lifetime, and the Workloads-per-artifact rules—see [Workload concepts: Lifetime policies](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/create-workloads/workload-concepts.html.md#lifetime-policies).

## Start

Start a stopped Workload with `POST /workloads/{id}/start`. The platform schedules the proton and returns `202` with a `WorkloadOperationResponse`; poll `GET /workloads/{id}` to observe the status transition through `submitted -> provisioning -> launching -> running`.

```
curl -X POST "${DATAROBOT_ENDPOINT}/workloads/${WORKLOAD_ID}/start" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DATAROBOT_API_TOKEN}"
```

## Stop

Stop a running Workload with `POST /workloads/{id}/stop`. The platform begins graceful shutdown; the Workload object and its metadata persist, and you can restart it later. Restarting a draft Workload resets the 8-hour TTL.

```
curl -X POST "${DATAROBOT_ENDPOINT}/workloads/${WORKLOAD_ID}/stop" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DATAROBOT_API_TOKEN}"
```

## Delete

Use stop when you want to pause execution but keep the Workload object and its metadata. Use delete to remove the Workload entirely; delete tears down protons and invoke routing for that identity.

```
curl -X DELETE "${DATAROBOT_ENDPOINT}/workloads/${WORKLOAD_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DATAROBOT_API_TOKEN}"
```

Deletion returns:

- A 204 on clean deletion.
- 502 with a detail message if the Workload was deleted but one or more protons could not be stopped.

Draft Workloads still honor the 8-hour TTL described in [Draft TTL](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/operate-workloads/lifecycle-actions.html.md#draft-ttl); use delete to remove them sooner.

## Draft TTL

A Workload's TTL (time-to-live) is the timer that controls when the platform auto-terminates it. Draft-artifact Workloads have an 8-hour TTL: the Workload is removed 8 hours after creation, freeing the resources for other work. See [Workload concepts: Draft (ephemeral)](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/create-workloads/workload-concepts.html.md#draft-ephemeral) for how the TTL supports fast iteration.

The TTL resets to 8 hours each time the Workload restarts, so a stopped-then-started draft Workload gets another 8-hour window. To remove the TTL on a Workload you've already created, promote it: [Promote to production](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/update-workloads/promote-production.html.md) locks the artifact and switches the Workload to indefinite lifetime in place. Locked Workloads have no TTL and run until you stop or delete them.

For the full draft and locked policy rules, see [Workload concepts: Lifetime policies](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/create-workloads/workload-concepts.html.md#lifetime-policies). For a minimal example of stopping a draft hello-world Workload before its TTL elapses, see [Hello, Workload](https://docs.datarobot.com/en/docs/workload-api/get-started-workloads/tutorial-hello-world.html.md).