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

# When your credit runs low

> How Suji handles low / zero credit balance: suspension (auto-recharge ON) and zero-balance termination with 7-day snapshot retention.

The behaviour when your credit balance gets low depends on **whether auto-recharge is enabled.** The two paths share the same terminal step but reach it differently.

## Path A — Auto-recharge ON

Recommended. Adds a "suspension" grace window before any destruction.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Auto-recharge attempts a top-up">
    Balance drops below your configured threshold → Suji charges your card for the configured top-up amount. On success, balance refilled and life continues.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Card declines → VMs suspended">
    If the recharge attempt fails (card declined, expired, monthly cap, etc.), running VMs are **powered off** and flagged as `suspended`.

    Important: **suspension does not stop billing.** The cloud provider still charges Suji for the powered-off server (the disk and IP stay reserved), and billing continues against your remaining credit. Your balance keeps decreasing.

    The user gets time equal to (remaining balance ÷ hourly rate) to fix the card.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fix card → click Resume">
    Update your payment method, then click **Resume**. The VM powers back on in \~60 seconds. Same disk, same IP, same subdomain, no data loss.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Credit hits €0 → terminate + retain snapshot">
    If you don't fix the card and credit reaches €0, the terminate flow runs (same as Path B below).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Path B — Auto-recharge OFF

No grace window. Balance hits €0 and the terminate flow runs immediately.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Balance approaches zero">
    Suji sends low-balance warning emails. The Billing page in the dashboard shows a persistent banner reminding you that auto-recharge is off.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Balance hits €0 → terminate + retain snapshot">
    The next metering pass after balance ≤ €0 runs **terminate** for every active VM in the org:

    1. Stop the VM gracefully.
    2. Take a **cold snapshot** of the disk.
    3. Mark the snapshot `type='termination'`, retention 7 days.
    4. Delete the cloud server (provider billing stops here).
    5. The instance row is marked `deprovisioning`; Suji tears down the tunnel + DNS.

    Suji emails you when this happens, with the recovery window and how to restore. Your data lives in the termination snapshot for the retention window.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Within 7 days → top up + restore">
    Top up to a positive balance, then go to **Snapshots** in the dashboard and restore the termination snapshot into a new VM. The new VM gets a new IP but the data is intact.

    Note: snapshot storage continues to bill against your credit during retention. With no VM running, the burn rate is tiny (a few cents/GB/month). It can push your balance slightly negative — that's expected, the top-up clears it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="After 7 days → snapshot deleted">
    Expired snapshots are cleaned up automatically (checked hourly). Once that's done, the snapshot is gone and your balance stops being debited for it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Side-by-side

|                                | **Auto-recharge ON**                                                | **Auto-recharge OFF**                 |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| Card fails                     | Suspension (VM powered off, billing continues)                      | N/A — no card to fail                 |
| Balance hits €0                | Terminate (cold snapshot + delete VM)                               | Terminate (cold snapshot + delete VM) |
| Snapshot retention             | 7 days                                                              | 7 days                                |
| Cost during suspension         | Billed at the regular hourly rate against your remaining credit     | N/A                                   |
| Cost during snapshot retention | Per-GB-month storage rate (tiny — balance may go slightly negative) | Same                                  |

## Recommendation

**Enable auto-recharge.** It gives you the suspension grace window between "card failed" and "balance gone", which is usually plenty of time to fix the card. Without it, a single missed top-up means immediate VM destruction (recoverable via snapshot for a week, but more work).

You set this up in **Billing → Payment methods → Auto-recharge**. Pick a threshold (when to top up) and an amount (how much to add).

## Notifications

We email you as your balance runs low — when you have only a few hours of runway left, or you've dropped below your auto-recharge threshold — and when a VM is suspended or an auto-recharge attempt fails.

Add additional notification recipients in **Organization → Notification preferences**.

## What about volumes and other billable resources?

Every stored resource gets the same 7-day retention treatment at €0: volumes (attached or detached) are detached and kept intact, and manual/migration snapshots are marked for deletion. Everything in retention is still billed at the storage rate. **Top up within the window and the retention marks are lifted automatically** — your snapshots and volumes are kept. After 7 days without a top-up, they're deleted and billing stops.

Per-resource lifecycle rules at €0:

| Resource                       | At balance = €0                              | Retention                           |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Running / suspended VM         | Cold snapshot + delete cloud server          | 7 days                              |
| Volume (attached or detached)  | Detached + marked for retention              | 7 days (kept if you top up in time) |
| Snapshot (manual or migration) | Marked for retention                         | 7 days (kept if you top up in time) |
| Snapshot (termination)         | N/A (this *is* the retention)                | 7 days from creation                |
| Outbound traffic overage       | Already billed monthly; no retention concept | —                                   |