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

# Servers

> Understand and manage the Minecraft server instances running in your network.

A server instance is one running Minecraft server or proxy. Every instance is created from either a [server group](/docs/en/manual/setup/server-groups) or a [persistent server](/docs/en/manual/setup/persistent-servers):

* A server group can run several replaceable instances, such as `lobby-1` and `lobby-2`.
* A persistent server runs as a single instance and keeps its files between starts.

Open **Servers** in the dashboard to see the instances currently in your network.

## Find a server

The **Servers** page shows each instance's name, status, players, memory usage, and serverhost. Select an instance to inspect it, open its console, view its files, or check its performance.

The status shows where the instance is in its lifecycle:

* **Queued**, **Preparing**, or **Starting** means it is not ready for players yet.
* **Available** means it is ready, while **Ingame** means players are connected.
* **Stopping** or **Cleanup** means it is shutting down.

You can find the same information with the CLI:

```bash theme={null}
sc server list
sc server info lobby 1
```

In these commands, `lobby 1` identifies the `lobby-1` instance. You can copy an instance's server ID from its actions menu and use that instead.

## Stop a server

Open the server's actions menu in the dashboard and hold **Stop**, or run:

```bash theme={null}
sc server stop lobby 1
```

<Warning>
  Stopping an instance does not change its group or persistent server configuration. An active group may create a replacement to meet its scaling settings, and an enabled persistent server starts again. Deactivate the group or disable the persistent server when you want it to stay offline.
</Warning>

To restart a group, use its rolling restart action. SimpleCloud replaces its instances one at a time so the group can remain available. To restart a persistent server, open the persistent server and choose **Restart** from its actions menu.

## View logs and performance

Select an instance in the dashboard, then open **Console** to read its logs or send Minecraft console commands. Open **Monitoring** to check its CPU and memory usage.

From the CLI, run:

```bash theme={null}
sc server logs lobby 1
sc server logs lobby 1 --follow
```

If an instance does not finish starting, check its console first. Then confirm that its serverhost is online and has enough free memory.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Configure a server group" icon="layer-group" href="/docs/en/manual/setup/server-groups">
    Configure replaceable instances and how they scale.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configure a persistent server" icon="hard-drive" href="/docs/en/manual/setup/persistent-servers">
    Configure one server that keeps its files between starts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>