Troubleshooting & FAQ

If SSH connections are failing, check the following:

1. Verify your key is uploaded. Run particle key list and confirm your key is listed.
2. Make sure the particle is running. Check with particle list — if it's stopped, start it with particle start <name>.
3. Use the correct SSH address. The format is ssh <name>@runparticle.com (or use particle ssh <name>).

$ particle key list
FINGERPRINT                    ADDED
SHA256:a1b2c3d4e5f6...         2026-03-06

If your particle fails to start, the most common causes are:

1. Insufficient balance. Check your balance with particle account. Particles can't start if your balance is below $5. Top up with particle topup.
2. Disk space issues. If the particle's disk is corrupted or full, try creating a new particle instead.

$ particle account
Account:    SHA256:a1b2c3...
Balance:    $9.76
Particles:  1 running, 0 stopped

If your app isn't accessible at its subdomain URL, check:

1. The particle must be running. Verify with particle list.
2. Your app must listen on port 80 or 8080. Traffic is routed to these ports inside the VM.
3. Use the correct URL format. Your app is available at <name>-<account_short>.runparticle.com.

root@myapp:~# python3 -m http.server 80
Serving HTTP on 0.0.0.0 port 80 ...

If you've lost your ~/.config/particle/credentials file or are on a new machine:

1. If you set a recovery email, run particle login to recover access via email verification.
2. Set a recovery email proactively with particle account email you@example.com so you can recover in the future.

$ particle login
Enter your recovery email: user@example.com
Check your email for a verification link...
✓ Logged in. API key stored in ~/.config/particle/credentials

Particles are automatically stopped when your account balance drops below $5. This protects you from running out of funds entirely.

To keep your particles running, top up your balance:

$ particle topup
Opening Stripe checkout in your browser...
✓ $10.00 added to your account

Your stopped particles and their data are preserved. Once you top up, start them again with particle start <name>.

Idle policies control what happens when your particle has no active SSH or HTTP connections. By default, particles stop after 2 minutes of inactivity. Change the policy with particle idle <name> <policy>.

$ particle idle myapp sleep
✓ Idle policy for 'myapp' set to: sleep

No. Your account is automatically created the first time you run a particle command. Your SSH key serves as your identity — no email, no password, no signup form.

RunParticle uses a prepaid balance model. You add funds with particle topup, and you're charged per hour while a particle is running and a smaller per-month rate for disk storage while stopped. There are no monthly fees or commitments.

Check your current balance and burn rate anytime with particle account.

Particles come in five tiers from p1 (1 vCPU, 2GB RAM) to p16 (16 vCPUs, 32GB RAM). See the Pricing page for full specs and rates.

Yes. SSH connections to a stopped particle will automatically start it first. You'll connect as soon as it boots — usually a few seconds.

Start a web server listening on port 80 or 8080 inside your particle. It's automatically accessible at <name>-<account_short>.runparticle.com. No configuration needed.

All particles run Ubuntu minimal with a lightweight Linux kernel. You get full root access and can install any packages you need.

Yes. SCP and SFTP work through the SSH proxy, so you can transfer files the same way you would with any remote server:

$ scp ./myfile.txt myapp@runparticle.com:~/
myfile.txt                      100%  42KB  1.2MB/s   00:00

If you've set a recovery email, you can regain access from any machine with particle login. We strongly recommend setting a recovery email as soon as you create your account:

$ particle account email you@example.com
✓ Recovery email set

Without a recovery email, you won't be able to access your account if you lose your API key and SSH key.