• RECOVERY
  • CLEANUP
  • LOGS
  • HUMAN

How to restart hung application services with your AI

Connect Porter PaaS to your agent to manage your running apps. Once connected, your AI can handle service recovery through direct API calls.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How do I restart a hung service using my AI?

Your AI triggers a pod restart via the Porter API to clear memory leaks or frozen processes. This moves you from identifying a hang to fixing it in a single chat command. You'll get a fresh instance of your service immediately.

Recovery outcomes.

Where every issue lands.

What happens after your AI acts.

RECOVERY

Service is back online

The AI executes a restart, killing the hung process and spinning up a clean pod. Your application returns to a healthy state.

CLEANUP

Leaks are cleared

By cycling the pod, the AI wipes away accumulated connection leaks or memory bloat. This prevents the service from hanging again shortly after.

LOGS

Error context captured

The AI can help you identify why the hang happened before it triggers the restart. You get the context needed to fix the root cause later.

HUMAN

Manual intervention needed

If the restart fails to fix the issue, the AI will tell you. You'll need to step in to check your code or infrastructure settings.

The workflow

What your AI does when a service hangs.

The AI handles the heavy lifting of interacting with the Porter API to restore your uptime.

  1. Detect the hang

    Your AI analyzes the service status or error logs you provide to confirm the application is unresponsive.

    restart_app

  2. Identify the target

    The agent locates the specific application in your Porter account that needs attention.

    restart_app

  3. Trigger the restart

    The AI sends the command to the Porter API to cycle the pods for that specific app.

    restart_app

  4. Verify recovery

    The AI checks if the new pod is running and accepting connections to ensure the fix worked.

    restart_app

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to kick off a recovery task.

Starting points

These are basic starting lines. Swap out the app names for your actual Porter service names.

Porter Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_97HRl70OC90xV4WamIvMCoFpPgzxIQZ45L5KjFmm/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Porter capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "porter-paas-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_97HRl70OC90xV4WamIvMCoFpPgzxIQZ45L5KjFmm/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Restart my 'api-gateway' service in Porter.

  • My 'web-frontend' app is hanging, can you restart it?

  • Check if the 'worker-node' is unresponsive and restart it if it is.

  • I'm seeing connection leaks in 'auth-service', please trigger a restart.

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect Porter PaaS once, then ask.

Just link your Porter account. Your credentials stay encrypted and secure, and you can immediately start managing your apps through your AI client.

Connect Porter PaaS to your AI

FAQ

How the task behaves.

  • 01

    Can the AI delete my entire application?

    No. The AI only has the capability to restart existing applications.

  • 02

    Will this restart cause downtime?

    Yes, a pod restart involves a brief period where the old pod is killed before the new one is ready. This is standard for a restart command.

  • 03

    Can the AI change my environment variables?

    No. The AI can only trigger the restart_app tool; it cannot modify your app configuration or settings.

  • 04

    Does the AI need my Porter password?

    No. You connect via a secure link, and your login details are never exposed to the AI.

  • 05

    What if the restart doesn't work?

    If the restart fails to resolve the hang, the AI will report the error. At that point, you'll need to investigate your code or logs manually.

  • More questions about Porter PaaS? The Connector page answers them. See everything the Porter PaaS Connector can do

Connect Porter to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more