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Idle shutdown
Colab Enterprise runtimes shut down after 180 minutes of
inactivity by default. This page describes the idle shutdown feature and how to
change the default idle shutdown settings or turn the feature off
when you create a runtime template.
Overview
To help manage costs, Colab Enterprise runtimes
shut down after being idle for a specific time period by default.
You can change the amount of time or turn this feature off when you create a
runtime template.
After you create a runtime template, its configuration can't be changed.
Therefore, you can't change a runtime or runtime template's
idle shutdown settings. To use a runtime with different idle shutdown settings,
you must create a runtime template with the settings that you want, and then
use a runtime generated from that runtime template.
Before you begin
Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to
Google Cloud,
create an account to evaluate how our products perform in
real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to
run, test, and deploy workloads.
In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,
select or create a Google Cloud project.
Your runtime shuts down when the following conditions are met:
There's no kernel activity for the specified time period.
The runtime isn't connected to a notebook.
To disconnect a runtime from a notebook, close the notebook. Leaving a
notebook open while connected to a runtime prevents the runtime
from shutting down.
For information on charges generated by runtimes, see
Runtime charges.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eColab Enterprise runtimes automatically shut down after 180 minutes of inactivity to manage costs, which can be adjusted or disabled.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIdle shutdown settings are configured during runtime template creation and cannot be modified after the template is created.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo change idle shutdown settings, users must create a new runtime template with the desired settings and then create a runtime from that updated template.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIdle shutdown can be disabled or configured for any inactivity duration between 10 and 1440 minutes in the Google Cloud console or using the Google Cloud CLI, with \u003ccode\u003e0s\u003c/code\u003e turning off the idle shutdown feature.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eRuntimes only shut down due to inactivity when there is no kernel activity and they aren't connected to a notebook.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Idle shutdown\n=============\n\nColab Enterprise runtimes shut down after 180 minutes of\ninactivity by default. This page describes the idle shutdown feature and how to\nchange the default idle shutdown settings or turn the feature off\nwhen you create a runtime template.\n\nOverview\n--------\n\nTo help manage costs, Colab Enterprise runtimes\nshut down after being idle for a specific time period by default.\nYou can change the amount of time or turn this feature off when you create a\nruntime template.\n\nAfter you create a runtime template, its configuration can't be changed.\nTherefore, you can't change a runtime or runtime template's\nidle shutdown settings. To use a runtime with different idle shutdown settings,\nyou must create a runtime template with the settings that you want, and then\nuse a runtime generated from that runtime template.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\n- Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to Google Cloud, [create an account](https://console.cloud.google.com/freetrial) to evaluate how our products perform in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.\n- In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,\n select or create a Google Cloud project.\n\n | **Note**: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.\n\n [Go to project selector](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectselector2/home/dashboard)\n-\n [Verify that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project](/billing/docs/how-to/verify-billing-enabled#confirm_billing_is_enabled_on_a_project).\n\n-\n\n\n Enable the Vertex AI, Dataform, and Compute Engine APIs.\n\n\n [Enable the APIs](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=aiplatform.googleapis.com, dataform.googleapis.com, compute.googleapis.com&redirect=https://console.cloud.google.com)\n\n- In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,\n select or create a Google Cloud project.\n\n | **Note**: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.\n\n [Go to project selector](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectselector2/home/dashboard)\n-\n [Verify that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project](/billing/docs/how-to/verify-billing-enabled#confirm_billing_is_enabled_on_a_project).\n\n-\n\n\n Enable the Vertex AI, Dataform, and Compute Engine APIs.\n\n\n [Enable the APIs](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=aiplatform.googleapis.com, dataform.googleapis.com, compute.googleapis.com&redirect=https://console.cloud.google.com)\n\n### Required roles\n\n\nTo get the permissions that\nyou need to create a runtime in Colab Enterprise,\n\nask your administrator to grant you the\n\n\nColab Enterprise Admin ([`roles/aiplatform.colabEnterpriseAdmin`](/vertex-ai/docs/general/access-control#aiplatform.colabEnterpriseAdmin))\nIAM role on the project.\n\n\nFor more information about granting roles, see [Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations](/iam/docs/granting-changing-revoking-access).\n\n\nYou might also be able to get\nthe required permissions through [custom\nroles](/iam/docs/creating-custom-roles) or other [predefined\nroles](/iam/docs/roles-overview#predefined).\n| One or more of the required roles includes the `dataform.repositories.list` permission. Users who are granted the `dataform.repositories.list` permission or the [Code Creator\n| (`roles/dataform.codeCreator`)](/iam/docs/understanding-roles#dataform.codeCreator) role in a project can list the names of code assets in that project by using the Dataform API or the Dataform command-line interface (CLI). Non-administrators using BigQuery Studio can only see code assets that they created or that were shared with them.\n\nCreate a runtime template with specific idle shutdown settings\n--------------------------------------------------------------\n\nTo create a runtime template with specific idle shutdown settings, you can\nuse the Google Cloud console or the Google Cloud CLI. \n\n### Console\n\nTo create a runtime template with specific idle shutdown settings:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to\n the Colab Enterprise **Runtime templates** page.\n\n [Go to Runtime templates](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/colab/runtime-templates)\n2. Click add_box **New\n template**.\n\n The **Create new runtime template** dialog appears.\n3. In the **Runtime basics** section, enter\n a **Display name**.\n\n4. In the **Region** menu, select the region where you want\n your runtime template.\n\n5. To change the idle shutdown settings, click the\n **Configure compute** section, and complete the\n following step.\n\n6. In the **Idle shutdown** section:\n\n - To turn off idle shutdown, clear\n **Enable idle shutdown**.\n\n - To change the inactivity time period, in\n **Time of inactivity before shutdown (Minutes)**,\n change the number to the number of minutes of inactivity that\n you want. In the Google Cloud console, this setting can be set\n to any integer value from 10 to 1440.\n\n7. In the **Environment** section, select an **Environment** .\n The default is **Latest** (currently Python 3.11).\n\n8. Click **Continue**.\n\n9. Complete the rest of the creation dialog.\n\n10. Click **Create** to finish creating the runtime template.\n\n Your runtime template appears in the list on\n the **Runtime templates** tab.\n\n### gcloud\n\n\nBefore using any of the command data below,\nmake the following replacements:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDISPLAY_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the display name of your runtime template.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eINACTIVITY_DURATION\u003c/var\u003e: the duration of inactivity before the runtime shuts down. An input of `0s` turns off the idle shutdown feature. The valid range of values is from 10 minutes (`10m`) to 24 hours (`24h`).\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT_ID\u003c/var\u003e: your project ID.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eREGION\u003c/var\u003e: the region where you want your runtime template.\n\n\nExecute the\n\nfollowing\n\ncommand:\n\n#### Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell\n\n**Note:** Ensure you have initialized the Google Cloud CLI with authentication and a project by running either [gcloud init](/sdk/gcloud/reference/init); or [gcloud auth login](/sdk/gcloud/reference/auth/login) and [gcloud config set project](/sdk/gcloud/reference/config/set). \n\n```bash\ngcloud colab runtime-templates create --display-name=DISPLAY_NAME \\\n --idle-shutdown-timeout=INACTIVITY_DURATION \\\n --project=PROJECT_ID \\\n --region=REGION\n```\n\n#### Windows (PowerShell)\n\n**Note:** Ensure you have initialized the Google Cloud CLI with authentication and a project by running either [gcloud init](/sdk/gcloud/reference/init); or [gcloud auth login](/sdk/gcloud/reference/auth/login) and [gcloud config set project](/sdk/gcloud/reference/config/set). \n\n```bash\ngcloud colab runtime-templates create --display-name=DISPLAY_NAME `\n --idle-shutdown-timeout=INACTIVITY_DURATION `\n --project=PROJECT_ID `\n --region=REGION\n```\n\n#### Windows (cmd.exe)\n\n**Note:** Ensure you have initialized the Google Cloud CLI with authentication and a project by running either [gcloud init](/sdk/gcloud/reference/init); or [gcloud auth login](/sdk/gcloud/reference/auth/login) and [gcloud config set project](/sdk/gcloud/reference/config/set). \n\n```bash\ngcloud colab runtime-templates create --display-name=DISPLAY_NAME ^\n --idle-shutdown-timeout=INACTIVITY_DURATION ^\n --project=PROJECT_ID ^\n --region=REGION\n```\n\nFor more information about the command for creating a\nruntime template from the command line, see the [gcloud CLI\ndocumentation](/sdk/gcloud/reference/colab/runtime-templates/create).\n\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nHow idle shutdown works\n-----------------------\n\nYour runtime shuts down when the following conditions are met:\n\n- There's no kernel activity for the specified time period.\n\n- The runtime isn't connected to a notebook.\n\nTo disconnect a runtime from a notebook, close the notebook. Leaving a\nnotebook open while connected to a runtime prevents the runtime\nfrom shutting down.\n\nFor information on charges generated by runtimes, see\n[Runtime charges](/colab/docs/runtimes#runtime-charges).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn more about [runtimes and runtime templates](/colab/docs/runtimes).\n- Learn how to [create a runtime](/colab/docs/create-runtime) based on a runtime template.\n- To find a notebook that can help you get your project started quickly, see the [notebook gallery](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/colab/notebook-gallery)."]]
