---
title: "Manage Workbench Instances"
url: "https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/manage-workbench-instances"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-23T08:55:38.396Z"
---

# Manage Workbench Instances

How administrators see the users' workbenches, restart or stop them, when Noreja stops them by itself, and which role actions control the workbench.

Each user who works with the workbench has one personal instance: a container with JupyterLab that starts when the user clicks **Workbench**. This page explains how administrators see the instances, restart or stop them, and when Noreja stops them by itself. How users work in the workbench is described in [Create and Use a Workbench (Jupyter Notebook)](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-use-a-workbench-jupyter-notebook).

> **Permissions:** feature **Workbench**: **Read** to see the list (your own instance), **Edit** to restart, **Delete** to stop. Customer admins see and manage all instances. Details in the table below. See [Create and Edit Roles](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-edit-roles).

### Open the List

Click the gear icon (**Settings**) in the top bar and choose **Workbenches** under **Environment**; see [Navigating Noreja](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/navigating-noreja).

![The list Workbenches with the buttons Stop all and Restart active, the reload icon, and one row with ID, User admin, Created and Last usage on Oct 20, 2026, Status Started, the Link icon and the actions Restart and Stop](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/7035e353-863c-4815-96f6-7ba6790cbeb2)

Customer admins see the instances of all users. Other users with access to the workbench see only their own instance.

| Column | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **ID** | The instance's ID. Click it to copy it. |
| **User** | Whose workbench it is. |
| **Created** | When the user started a workbench for the first time. |
| **Last usage** | When the workbench was last started or restarted. It doesn't show the last activity. |
| **Status** | **Started** or **Stopped**. While a workbench is being set up, the cell is empty. |
| **Link** | Opens the user's JupyterLab in a new browser tab. Anyone with this link can open that workbench, including its files, so don't pass it on. |
| **Actions** | **Restart** and **Stop**, for started workbenches only. |

### Restart or Stop a Workbench

-   **Restart** restarts the workbench, for example when it doesn't respond. Running notebooks are interrupted; saved files stay.
-   **Stop** ends the workbench and removes its container. Saved files stay, but unsaved changes, running notebooks and packages the user installed are lost. The next time the user opens the workbench, it is set up again, which takes a little longer.
-   **Stop all** and **Restart active** (customer admins only) do the same for all workbenches at once, for example before maintenance.

Ask users to save their work before you stop or restart their workbench. The reload icon updates the list.

### When Noreja Stops Workbenches by Itself

-   45 minutes after a user opened the workbench, Noreja asks whether to continue. Without an answer within 100 seconds, the workbench is stopped.
-   When the user leaves the Workbench page, the workbench is stopped after about six minutes and removed after about twelve.
-   When Noreja's workbench service is updated or restarted, all workbenches are stopped.

In all cases the users' saved files stay, and the workbench starts again when they click **Workbench**. A stopped workbench doesn't need to be restarted by an administrator.

### Who May Do What

Workbench access is set in the roles, feature **Workbench**:

| Action | Allows |
| --- | --- |
| **Create** | Using the workbench (the **Workbench** entry in the top menu). |
| **Read** | Seeing the list with the own instance. Added automatically with any other action. |
| **Edit** | **Restart**. |
| **Delete** | **Stop**, also from the user's own session dialog. |
| **Share** | Has no effect for the workbench. |

Administrators can't create workbenches for others or choose their size: a workbench is created when its user opens it. See [Create and Edit Roles](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-edit-roles).

### Related

-   [Create and Use a Workbench (Jupyter Notebook)](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-use-a-workbench-jupyter-notebook)
-   [Create and Edit Roles](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-edit-roles)