---
title: "Start and Check the Stack"
url: "https://docs.caracal.run/runtime-console/stack/"
markdown_url: "https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/runtime-console/stack.md"
description: "Use caracal up, down, status, and purge to manage the local runtime stack."
page_type: "reference"
concepts: []
requires: []
---

# Start and Check the Stack

Canonical URL: https://docs.caracal.run/runtime-console/stack/
Markdown URL: https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/runtime-console/stack.md
Description: Use caracal up, down, status, and purge to manage the local runtime stack.
Page type: reference
Concepts: none
Requires: none

---

Runtime lifecycle commands manage local infrastructure only. They delegate to Docker Compose and keep product state changes in the Console.

## Service Layout

| Service | Default local port |
| --- | --- |
| API | `3000` |
| STS | `8080` |
| Gateway | `8081` |
| Audit | `9090` |
| Coordinator | `4000` |

Control runtime exposure is managed through the Console `control` menu, not by targeting a stack service directly from the runtime CLI.

## Start

```bash
caracal up
```

Development mode rebuilds local images. Release modes use installed compose assets and the selected Caracal version.

## Stop

```bash
caracal down
caracal down -v
```

Use `-v` only when you intend to remove Docker volumes.

## Check Health and Readiness

```bash
caracal status
caracal status --ready
caracal status --ready --json
```

`status` probes service health endpoints. `status --ready` probes readiness endpoints and dependencies. The command exits `0` only when the selected probes pass.

## Purge Local State

```bash
caracal purge
```

`purge` can remove stack artifacts, volumes, logs, config, runtime state, secrets, example containers and images, cached assets, or all local runtime state depending on the selected purge target. Use it when you intentionally want a clean local environment.

After a full purge, recreate product state through the Console: zones, applications, providers, resources, policies, Control keys, and generated runtime profiles.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause |
| --- | --- |
| `status` passes but `status --ready` fails | A service is alive but one of its dependencies or readiness checks is not ready. |
| Console cannot connect after `up` | Check `caracal status --ready`; custom deployments should confirm the Management API URL override. |
| Workloads cannot exchange tokens | Readiness for STS, Gateway, and audit must pass before debugging workload config. |
| Local tokens are stale after `purge` and `up` | Prefer local generated secret files over exported shell tokens for localhost Console sessions. |

## Next Step

Continue to [Use the Console](/runtime-console/console/) to create the first zone, application, provider, resource, policy, and runtime profile.