Instances is the central page for managing CanaryWP WordPress environments.
What an instance represents
Each instance is an individual WordPress testing environment.
An instance has its own identity and can include information such as:
- Name
- URL
- Current state
- Region
- Plan
- Tags
- Notes
- Runtime information
- Related activity
Finding an instance
For workspaces with many environments, use the available:
- Search
- Filters
- Sorting
- Tags
- Card view
- List view
Use descriptive instance names and tags so an environment can be identified without relying only on its URL.
Instance states
Creating
Provisioning or import is still in progress.
Running
The environment is available.
Stopped
The environment exists but must be resumed or started before normal use.
Error
A lifecycle action did not complete normally.
Destroying
Deletion is in progress.
Common actions
Depending on the state of an instance and your permissions, actions can include:
- Open
- Start
- Stop
- Restart
- Refresh
- Delete
Start
Use Start or Resume when a stopped environment needs to become available again.
Wait for the running state before testing the site.
Stop
Stop an environment when you want to retain it but do not need it actively running.
Stopping is different from deletion.
Restart
Restart can be useful after runtime or configuration changes.
If the site does not recover after restart, inspect logs and health information rather than repeatedly restarting it.
Refresh
Use refresh to retrieve the latest visible state when an operation has changed the instance in the background.
Clone
Where available, cloning creates another environment based on an existing instance.
Use clear naming to distinguish the clone from its source.
Delete
Deletion should be reserved for environments that are no longer needed.
Before deleting:
- Confirm the instance.
- Check whether test results or backups are still needed.
- Confirm that you are not deleting an environment another workspace member is actively using.
Deleting a CanaryWP testing instance does not mean deleting its original WordPress source site.
Instance detail page
Open an instance when you need tools beyond lifecycle management.
The detail page can provide access to:
- Overview
- Metrics
- Details
- Site Testing
- Canary Wizard
- Backup
- Plugins
- Themes
- Media
- Activity
- Metrics
- Logs
When an instance is in Error
Do not immediately delete it.
First review:
- The action that failed.
- Recent activity.
- Logs.
- Runtime state.
- Site Health, when the site is accessible.
Retry only after understanding whether the failed operation is safe to repeat.
If it’s still not working, contact rene@canarywp.com to address the issue or submit a report in the dashboard with proper documentation.