> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vastai-80aa3a82-ltxv2-serverless.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Troubleshooting

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"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "HowTo",
"name": "How to Troubleshoot Common Vast.ai Issues",
"description": "Solutions for common problems with Vast.ai instances, SSH connections, and account limits.",
"step": [
  {
    "@type": "HowToStep",
    "name": "Fix Instance Stuck on Scheduling",
    "text": "When you stop an instance, the GPU(s) it was using may get reassigned. When you try to restart, it tries to get those GPU(s) back - that is the scheduling phase. If another high priority job is using any of the same GPU(s), your instance will be stuck until the conflicting jobs are done. We recommend not stopping an instance unless you are ok with the risk of waiting to restart it."
  },
  {
    "@type": "HowToStep",
    "name": "Resolve Instances Stopping Automatically",
    "text": "Check your credit balance. If it hits zero or below, your instances will be stopped automatically. Add more credits to your account to keep instances running."
  },
  {
    "@type": "HowToStep",
    "name": "Fix spend_rate_limit Error",
    "text": "There is a spend rate limit for new accounts. The limit is extremely small for unverified accounts, so make sure to verify your email first. The limit increases over time automatically. Try a cheaper instance type or wait a few hours. If still having trouble, use the online support chat in the lower right."
  },
  {
    "@type": "HowToStep",
    "name": "Fix SSH Password Prompt",
    "text": "There is no SSH password - we use SSH key authentication. If SSH asks for a password, there is something wrong with your SSH key or client configuration. On Ubuntu or Mac: 1) Generate keypair with ssh-keygen -t rsa 2) Load the key with ssh-add; ssh-add -l 3) Get public key with cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub 4) Copy the entire output (including ssh-rsa prefix and user@host suffix) and paste into your Keys section."
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### I stopped my instance, and now when I try to restart it the status is stuck on "scheduling". What is wrong?

When you stop an instance, the gpu(s) it was using may get reassigned. When you later then try to restart the instance, it tries to get those gpu(s) back - that is the "scheduling" phase. If another high priority job is currently using any of the same gpu(s), your instance will be stuck in "scheduling" phase until the conflicting jobs are done. We know this is not ideal, and we are working on ways to migrate containers across gpus and machines, but until then we recommend not stopping an instance unless you are ok with the risk of waiting a while to restart it."

### All my instances keep stopping, switching to inactive status, even though I didn't press the stop button. What's going on?

Check your credit balance. If it hits zero or below, your instances will be stopped automatically.

### I keep getting this error: spend\_rate\_limit. What's going on?

There is a spend rate limit for new accounts. The limit is extremely small for unverified accounts, so make sure to verify your email. The limit increases over time, so try a cheaper instance type or wait a few hours. If you are still having trouble, use the online support chat in the lower right.

### I tried to connect with ssh and it asked for a password. What is the password?

There is no ssh password, we use ssh key authentication. If ssh asks for a password, typically this means there is something wrong with the ssh key that you entered or your ssh client is misconfigured.

On Ubuntu or Mac, first you need to generate an rsa ssh public/private keypair using the command:

```text theme={null}
    ssh-keygen -t rsa
```

Next you may need to force the daemon to load the new private key, and confirm it's loaded:

```text theme={null}
    ssh-add; ssh-add -l
```

Then get the contents of the public key with:

```text theme={null}
    cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
```

Copy the entire output to your clipboard, then paste that into a new SSH Key in your [Keys section](https://cloud.vast.ai/manage-keys/). The key text *includes* the opening "ssh-rsa" part and the ending "user\@something" part. If you don't copy the entire thing, it won't work.

Example SSH key text:

```text theme={null}
    ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDdxWwxwN5Lz7ubkMrxM5FCHhVzOnZuLt5FHi7J8zFXCJHfr96w+ccBOBo2rtBBTTRDLnJjIsKLgBcC3+jGyZhpUNMFRVIJ7MeqdEHgHFvUUV/uBkb7RjbyyFcb4BCSYNggUZkMNNoNgEa3aqtBSzt47bnuGqqszs9bfDCaPFtr9Wo0b8p4IYil/gfOYBkuSVwkqrBCWrg53/+T2rAk/02mWNHXyBktJAu1q7qTWcyO68JTDd0sa+4apSu+CsJMBJs3FcDDRAl3bcpiKwRbCkQ+N6sol4xDV3zQRebUc98CJPh04Gnc41W02lmdqGL2XG5U/rV8/JM7CawKiIz3dbkv bob@velocity
```

###