Exiting a Cloud Workstation Session
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There are two mechanisms to exit a Cloud Workstation session - Hold and Shut Down. Both options sync new content created in the Cloud OWrkstation back to the Capsule. The primary difference lies in how they handle session preservation and installed packages.
Retains all installed packages and folders created during the session
When you return to the session, you can resume working without resintalling or recreating anything.
Does not preserve installed packages.
When the Cloud Workstation session is shutdown the system will display which packages were installed during the session and prompt you to add them to the Capsule's environment via the Package Managers.
If you want the packages available in the Cloud Workstation, you need to add them to the Capsule environment and rebuild the Capsule first.
When exiting a Cloud Workstation via Hold, the system will suspend the docker container from the Capsule. This will preserve all working spaces at the time when you leave the Cloud Workstation. The next time you access the Capsule, it will resume the Cloud Workstation session with all the command history, the files or folders you created, and the packages you installed in the previous session.
A Cloud Workstation on Hold will not save anything that would be lost when the kernel is shut down. This includes anything in memory (i.e., previously run Jupyter cells, etc.)
For reproducibility, it is strongly recommended to install packages using the Environment Editor.
To Exit a Cloud Workstation with Hold
Click the Shut Down button.
Click Hold to return to the Capsule and close the Cloud Workstation.
After the Cloud Workstation is held, the system redirects you to the Capsule view.
On the Capsule dashboard, you can see the status of the Capsule is 'CW on hold' when you hover over the Capsule.
You can edit a Capsule with a 'CW on Hold' status. You can add new files, execute a Reproducible Run, attach a secret and a Data Asset.
You can add packages in the Environment Editor, but since the Cloud Workstation is on hold (the Docker container for the computation is on hold), the changes will be effective when the Docker container is rebuilt.
In the Capsule view under the Reproducible Run button, you can choose to either Resume or Discard a held Cloud Workstation.
Resume: Restores the Cloud Workstation to its previous state and allows you to continue the session.
Discard: Shuts down the Cloud Workstation, ending the session entirely.
Collaborators with edit permissions can:
View files synced from a held Cloud Workstation session.
Resume the held Cloud Workstation to continue working from the previous session as shown below.
When exiting a Cloud Workstation via Shut Down, the system turns off the Docker container associated with the Capsule and syncs back all the content under the ~/capsule
directory, which includes the following folders:
/metadata
/environment
/code
/data
/scratch
/results
This means that it will not preserve any content created outside the "Capsule" folder, or any packages installed during the session. Installed packages will be suggested via a reminder in Package Suggestions, and you can choose to add them to the environment editor.
Content saved outside the ~/capsule
directory or within the /results
folder will not be synced back to the Capsule and will be lost in future sessions.
Note: A Cloud Workstation can be shut down, or put on hold either directly from the Cloud Workstation or from the Capsule Dashboard as shown below
The system detects new packages installed during your Cloud Workstation session. When you shut down the Cloud Workstation and return to the Capsule view, a reminder will appear indicating the new packages that were installed in the Cloud Workstation.
To reproduce the environment that you created in the Cloud Workstation, review the package suggestions and add the appropriate packages to via the Environment Editor. Refer to Package Managers and Adding Packages to learn more about installing packages in the Capsule view.
A Cloud Workstation session will be paused when it has run idle (<2% CPU usage) for 2 hours and the browser tab is inactive. Scenarios that will result in an inactive browser tab include: closing the tab, shutting down the browser, and shutting down the computer. Note that a computer’s sleep state doesn’t always result in an inactive browser tab as networking is still taking place. A Cloud Workstation session will continue running if the browser tab is active, even if it has run idle for over 2 hours.
Changes made to files written to /scratch
, /code
, and /data
Changes made to files written to /results
Data Assets attached in CW
Data Assets detached in CW
Occupied root volume
Installed Packages
Loaded Packages (R)
Created virtual environments
Linux environment variables set
Variable values
Output of previous Jupyter cells
R environment states/previously run lines
Unsaved changes written to R scripts
Note: the version of the file is subject to change
VSCode active debug sessions
Previous Actions in no-code app
VSCode - installed extensions
Preferences set in RStudio (Font size, theme color, etc.)
Preferences set in Jupyterlab (Dark/Light mode, UI Font size)