Cluster Lifecycle
This page describes two lifecycle behaviors on hosted clusters: how a free-tier control plane that sits completely unused is eventually reclaimed, and what happens if a paid plan's payment fails.
Early access
The hosted control plane is in early access. Idle reclamation applies to free-tier hosted clusters only; the non-payment behavior below applies to paid plans.
Free-tier idle reclamation
Free hosted control planes run on a shared pool. To keep that pool healthy for people who are actively using it, a free control plane that shows no activity at all is eventually reclaimed. This applies only to the free tier — paid clusters are never idle-reclaimed.
Nothing here happens suddenly. Reclamation runs on a long, clearly-signposted schedule, and any activity resets it immediately.
What counts as activity
Any one of these keeps a cluster alive — or instantly resumes a paused one:
- Downloading the kubeconfig from the dashboard.
- Changing cluster settings.
- Adding or changing workers.
- The cluster heartbeating — a running, connected cluster reports in on its own.
There is nothing to click to "stay active," no form and no support ticket: any of the above resets the clock automatically.
The schedule
| Stage | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Idle warning | after ~14 days with no activity | We email you that the cluster looks unused. It keeps running normally. |
| Paused | ~7 days later, if still unused | The cluster is paused and a 30-day removal countdown starts. You get a second email. |
| Removed | at the end of the 30-day countdown, if still unused | The managed control plane is permanently removed. A final email confirms it. |
At any stage, a single piece of activity stops the process and — if the cluster was paused — resumes it.
Your data
Your Kubernetes workloads and their data live on your own workers, on your Hetzner account — reclamation removes the managed control plane, after the long grace period above. If you no longer need the cluster, you can simply let it lapse. If you might want it, export or migrate anything you need during the countdown (see Migration), or take a single activity to keep the cluster.
Non-payment on paid plans
Note: billing is not switched on yet (no payment provider is connected — see Pricing), so no payments run today. This describes the behaviour once billing opens.
Once billing is live, hosted plans are billed per the Pricing page. When a payment fails on a paid plan, service does not stop immediately:
- Grace period — we email you about the failed payment, and your clusters keep running while you resolve it.
- Suspended — if it stays unresolved, the account is suspended: existing clusters keep running, but creating or changing resources is blocked.
- Restored — settling the payment restores full access automatically — there is nothing else to do.
Next steps
- Setup — plans, pricing, and what's live today.
- Migration — export and move workloads off a cluster.
- Worker Pools — your workers and their data live here.
Doc status
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| State | early access — idle reclamation live (free tier); dunning live (paid plans) |
| Last reviewed | 2026-07-14 |