How to manage virtual environment lifecycle
Learn how to stop, resume, rename, and delete development networks without confusing saved state with running processes
Stop a network to release runtime resources while preserving saved state.
Deleting a Studio environment removes its state and snapshots. Deleting a localnet also removes its managed Docker containers and volumes.
Stop the environment instead if its state must be retained — deletion has no undo.
Prerequisites
Stop or resume work
The Environment settings icon at the bottom of the sidebar opens identity, endpoints, and runtime settings.
- Open Virtual environments and stop the selected environment from its row actions.
- Restart it when needed. The same environment retains its identity.
- To rename it, open the sidebar settings, edit Name, and select Save.
- To remove it permanently, open the settings' Danger zone, select Delete environment, and confirm.
A stopped environment still exposes settings and snapshot controls.
Press Ctrl+C in the simulator terminal. Resume committed state with the same database:
acton simulator start --port 5411 --db-path .acton/simulator.sqliteFor state beyond committed blocks, use simulator checkpoints. The standalone simulator CLI has no named-network rename or delete command.
acton localnet list
acton localnet stop dev
acton localnet start dev --detachUse the same --state-dir for commands managing a custom catalog. Resuming a named network preserves its blockchain state and does not replenish startup wallets.
To delete a network, run the interactive command and review its confirmation:
acton localnet delete devThe CLI has no rename subcommand. A name belongs to its saved network definition.
Verify the result
- A stopped network remains listed with its saved state.
- A deleted network disappears from the catalog.
- On restart, inspect the previous block and account state before continuing work.
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