---
title: "Start and Check the Stack"
url: "https://docs.caracal.run/v1.0/runtime-console/stack/"
markdown_url: "https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/v1.0/runtime-console/stack.md"
description: "Start local Caracal services, distinguish health from readiness, open the packaged console, and reset state deliberately."
page_type: "workflow"
concepts: []
requires: []
---

# Start and Check the Stack

Canonical URL: https://docs.caracal.run/v1.0/runtime-console/stack/
Markdown URL: https://docs.caracal.run/markdown/v1.0/runtime-console/stack.md
Description: Start local Caracal services, distinguish health from readiness, open the packaged console, and reset state deliberately.
Page type: workflow
Concepts: none
Requires: none

---

The stack is the set of containers `caracal up` manages: Caracal's services, PostgreSQL, Redis, and the packaged web console. This page covers its day-to-day lifecycle; [Install Caracal](/v1.0/get-started/install-caracal/) covers getting the CLI and Docker in place.

## Start

```bash
caracal up
caracal status --ready
```

`caracal up` starts the stack in the background. Development mode builds local images; release modes use the installed runtime assets. Continue only when `status --ready` exits `0`.

`caracal status` checks liveness. `caracal status --ready` also checks service dependencies. A service can be healthy while Postgres, Redis, policy state, or another required dependency is not ready.

For machine-readable checks:

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

## Open the Packaged Console

Open [http://localhost:3001](http://localhost:3001). Compose maps loopback port `3001` to the combined web/auth service on container port `3002`.

The other loopback bindings are API `3000`, Coordinator `4000`, STS `8080`, Gateway `8081`, and Audit `9090`. They are useful for documented clients and probes, not substitutes for console workflows.

## Stop or Reset

```bash
caracal down
```

This stops the stack while preserving volumes. `caracal down -v` also removes Compose volumes. Use `caracal purge` only when intentionally removing selected local artifacts or all local runtime state. A destructive reset can invalidate generated tokens and remove product data; rebuild zones and product objects through the console afterward.

## Recover Common Startup Failures

| Result                                     | Meaning                                                              | Next action                                                                   |
| ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `status` fails                             | At least one service is not live.                                    | Inspect container/service logs and port conflicts.                            |
| `status` passes but `status --ready` fails | A live service cannot satisfy a dependency or readiness threshold.   | Open Diagnostics if available; otherwise inspect the failing readiness probe. |
| Console does not open but readiness passes | Host port `3001` is occupied or the web service failed separately.   | Check the web service and local listener.                                     |
| Credentials fail after reset               | A shell variable or file contains a credential from the prior state. | Use freshly generated local secret files or rotate the affected credential.   |

For infrastructure diagnosis, use [Debug Infrastructure Issues](/v1.0/operations/debugging/).

## Development Console Launcher

`caracal web` is for console development. It stops the packaged web container to avoid a port collision, starts the local UI and auth backend, and leaves the packaged container stopped when it exits. Run `caracal up` afterward to restore the packaged console.

`caracal web --allow-offline` permits UI or sign-in development while runtime services are unavailable. Product views still cannot perform their backend work.

## Next Step

[Control Console Access](/v1.0/runtime-console/console-access/).