Instance Management
Your OpenBoxes instance is the core of your Lift account. From the Instance section of the portal, you can monitor its status, manage your subdomain, and control its lifecycle.
Instance Status
The portal displays your instance status with a color-coded indicator. Here is what each status means:
| Status | Indicator | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Running | Green | Your instance is live and accepting connections |
| Starting | Blue (pulsing) | Your instance is booting up (typically 1-2 minutes) |
| Provisioning | Blue (pulsing) | Initial setup in progress (first time only, 2-5 minutes) |
| Stopped | Gray | Your instance is shut down and not accessible |
| Maintenance | Yellow | A platform update or migration is in progress |
| Error | Red | Something went wrong --- contact support |
When your instance is Running, you can launch OpenBoxes directly by clicking the Launch button or visiting your subdomain URL.
Starting and Stopping Your Instance
You can stop your instance when it is not in use and start it again when needed.
Stopping
- Go to Instance in the portal sidebar
- Click Stop Instance
- Confirm the action
When stopped:
- Your OpenBoxes instance is not accessible
- Your data is fully preserved
- No usage is accumulated
Starting
- Go to Instance in the portal sidebar
- Click Start Instance
- Wait for the status to change to Running (typically 1-2 minutes)
Your instance comes back with all data intact, exactly as you left it.
Subdomain Configuration
Every Lift instance gets a custom subdomain:
https://your-company.openboxes.cloud
Choosing a Subdomain
You select your subdomain during signup. Subdomains must be:
- Between 3 and 50 characters
- Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
- Cannot start or end with a hyphen
- Unique across all Lift accounts
Changing Your Subdomain
To change your subdomain after signup:
- Go to Instance > Settings
- Click Change Subdomain
- Enter your new subdomain
- Click Save
The change takes effect within a few minutes. Your old subdomain will stop working immediately, so make sure to notify your team of the new URL. Bookmarks and saved links to the old subdomain will need to be updated.
Instance Details
The Instance page shows key information about your deployment:
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Subdomain | Your instance URL |
| Plan | Current subscription tier |
| OpenBoxes version | The version of OpenBoxes running on your instance |
| Region | Data center location (US East) |
| Created | When your instance was first provisioned |
| Last accessed | When someone last launched OpenBoxes |
Upgrading Tiers
When your organization outgrows your current plan, you can upgrade from the Billing page. Here is what happens to your instance during each upgrade path.
Shared to Dedicated
This is the most significant upgrade because your data moves from a shared database to a dedicated one:
- You confirm the upgrade in Billing
- A dedicated database is provisioned for your account
- Your data is migrated from the shared schema to the new database
- Your instance restarts on the dedicated infrastructure
Migration duration: 15-30 minutes depending on data size. During this window, your instance is briefly unavailable. We recommend scheduling upgrades during off-hours.
What carries over:
- All OpenBoxes data (products, locations, shipments, orders, users)
- All configuration and settings
- Your subdomain URL (no change)
Dedicated to Enterprise
This upgrade is seamless because both tiers use dedicated infrastructure:
- You work with our sales team to set up your Enterprise contract
- Enterprise features (audit logs, IP allowlisting, SAML) are enabled on your account
- No downtime or data migration required
Backups
Lift automatically backs up your data based on your plan.
| Plan | Backup Frequency | Retention | On-Demand Backups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared | Weekly | 7 days | Not available |
| Dedicated | Daily | 30 days | Yes |
| Enterprise | Daily | 90 days | Yes |
Dedicated and Enterprise Backups
[Dedicated] [Enterprise]
On Dedicated and Enterprise tiers, backups include:
- Full database snapshots taken daily during your maintenance window
- Point-in-time recovery capability
- On-demand backups that you can trigger from the portal
To create an on-demand backup:
- Go to Instance > Backups
- Click Create Backup
- Add an optional label (e.g., "Before yearly inventory")
- Click Confirm
On-demand backups count toward your retention limit.
Restore from Backup
To restore from a backup, contact Lift support. Restores replace your current data with the backup snapshot, so we handle them carefully to prevent accidental data loss.
OpenBoxes Version
Lift keeps your OpenBoxes instance up to date with the latest stable release. Updates are applied during your configured maintenance window to minimize disruption.
Maintenance Window
Your maintenance window defaults to Sunday 2:00-4:00 AM UTC. On [Dedicated] and [Enterprise] tiers, you can customize this:
- Go to Instance > Settings
- Under Maintenance Window, select your preferred day and time
- Click Save
Updates during the maintenance window typically cause less than 5 minutes of downtime.
Troubleshooting
Instance stuck in "Provisioning"
New instances typically finish provisioning within 5 minutes. If your instance has been provisioning for more than 15 minutes, contact support.
Instance shows "Error" status
This usually indicates a temporary infrastructure issue. Try clicking Restart Instance. If the error persists, contact support with your instance details.
Cannot access instance after starting
After clicking Start, wait for the status to show Running (1-2 minutes). If the instance shows Running but you still cannot access it, try clearing your browser cache or using an incognito window.