> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dcdeploy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Service Management

> Manage your services in DCDeploy by starting, stopping, restarting, or deleting them. This guide covers the full lifecycle of service management for maintenance, cost optimization, and operational control.

## When to Manage Services

* **Maintenance** – Temporarily stop, restart, or delete services for updates or troubleshooting.
* **Cost Optimization** – Stop or delete unused services to save resources.
* **Testing & Configuration Changes** – Restart services to apply configuration changes without redeploying.
* **Emergency Actions** – Stop or delete services immediately to prevent errors or security issues.

***

## Start, Stop & Restart Services

### How It Works

1. **Stop Service**
   * Stops all running containers.
   * Preserves configuration for later restart.
   * No traffic is routed to the service while stopped.

2. **Start Service**
   * Starts containers using the last deployed image and configuration.
   * Runs health checks before routing traffic.

3. **Restart Service**
   * Stops the service and immediately starts it again.
   * Useful for refreshing containers without a full rebuild.

### Dashboard Steps

1. Open the **DCDeploy dashboard**.
2. Navigate to workload tab in your environment.
3. Use the buttons in your workload quick action column:
   * **Stop Service** to halt containers.
   * **Start Service** to bring it online.
   * **Restart Service** to refresh containers.
4. Monitor logs and health checks in real-time.

### Comparison Table

| Action  | What Happens                               | Use Case                         |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------- |
| Start   | Starts containers from last deployed image | Bring service online             |
| Stop    | Stops all containers, no traffic routed    | Maintenance, save resources      |
| Restart | Stops and starts containers immediately    | Refresh service without redeploy |

### Delete Service

#### How It Works

* Permanently removes the selected service from the environment.
* Deletes all containers, associated resources, configuration, deployment history, and logs.
* Action is irreversible, so ensure the service is no longer needed.

#### Dashboard Steps

* Open the DCDeploy dashboard.
* Navigate to the Environment tab.
* Go to the Deploy section.
* Select the service you want to delete.
* Click Mark as Delete.
* Click Continue to confirm.
* Click Deploy to finalize deletion.
* The service will be permanently removed.

### Best Practices

* Always double-check the service before stopping or deleting.
* Backup important data before deletion.
* Use staging environments for testing service management actions.
* Combine restart with zero-downtime deployment to minimize user impact.
* Automate start/stop actions during off-peak hours via scripts or CI/CD pipelines.