Keep your server active with our 14-day lifecycle
Confirm your server for free every 2 weeks to keep your Discord bot running. One click resets the timer and keeps everything online.
Running a Discord bot requires a persistent server process that stays online around the clock. MonkeyBytes provides this infrastructure at no cost, but to keep our platform sustainable and performant for everyone, we need a way to identify which servers are still actively being used. The lifecycle system is our solution to that challenge. Rather than charging fees or imposing strict usage quotas, we simply ask that you confirm your server once every fourteen days. This lightweight activity check ensures that every server consuming resources on our network has an active owner behind it.
Lifecycle at a glance
What is the server lifecycle system?
The Server Lifecycle System keeps our network healthy by automatically removing inactive servers. Every server runs on a 14-day activity cycle that ensures only active, in-use servers stay online.
This system helps us provide the best possible service to all users by freeing up resources from abandoned or forgotten servers. As long as you confirm once every 2 weeks, your server stays online forever.
When a user creates a new server on MonkeyBytes, that server is allocated a share of physical hardware resources including CPU time, memory, and disk space. These resources are finite, and every idle server that sits unused is taking capacity away from someone who genuinely needs it. Over time, without any form of activity management, hosting platforms accumulate large numbers of abandoned servers created by users who signed up, experimented briefly, and then moved on. The lifecycle system prevents this buildup by automatically reclaiming resources from servers whose owners are no longer engaged.
The fourteen-day window was chosen after careful consideration. It is long enough that even users who only check on their bots occasionally will have no trouble confirming in time, but short enough to prevent resources from sitting idle for weeks or months. Most active bot developers interact with their dashboard far more frequently than once a fortnight, so for the majority of users, the lifecycle confirmation is something they handle in passing while performing other routine tasks like checking logs or updating configuration files.
It is worth emphasising that the lifecycle system is not a monetisation mechanism. Confirmation is completely free and does not require tokens, credits, or any form of payment. The sole purpose of the system is to verify that a real person still wants their server to exist. This approach allows MonkeyBytes to continue offering free hosting to the community without being overwhelmed by orphaned servers consuming hardware that could serve active users instead.
Free for life — just confirm your server
Your server is free for the entire lifetime of MonkeyBytes Hosting. No hidden fees, no upgrade deadlines, no surprise invoices. All you need to do is confirm your server once every 14 days using the lifecycle system.
When we say "free for life", we mean the life of MonkeyBytes Hosting as a platform — not your own personal lifetime. As long as MonkeyBytes Hosting continues to operate, your server remains completely free of charge. There is no point in the future where we will suddenly start charging you, ask for payment details, or downgrade your resources behind a paywall. The deal is simple: confirm your server every two weeks through the lifecycle system, and your hosting stays active at no cost whatsoever.
This commitment exists because MonkeyBytes is a not-for-profit, community-driven project. We are not building towards a paid tier or planning to convert free users into paying customers. The lifecycle confirmation is our only requirement — it keeps resources available for everyone by ensuring servers on our network are actively wanted by their owners. No tokens, no credits, and no money is needed to keep your server alive. Just one click every fortnight.
Lifetime refers to the operational life of MonkeyBytes Hosting as a service — not your own living life. Your server remains free for as long as MonkeyBytes exists and you continue to confirm it through the lifecycle system. We cannot guarantee the platform will run forever, but for as long as it does, your hosting is completely free.
How the 14-day cycle works
The lifecycle operates as a continuous repeating cycle. Each time you confirm your server, the timer resets to fourteen days and the process begins again. The cycle is divided into three distinct colour-coded zones that give you a clear visual indication of how much time remains before your next confirmation is needed. Understanding each zone helps you plan your confirmations and ensures you never accidentally let a server expire.
Day 1-7: Green zone
Your server is safe and running normally. The countdown timer shows more than 7 days remaining.
- Confirmation button is disabled
- Timer displays days, hours, and minutes
- Everything runs smoothly
During the green zone, there is nothing you need to do regarding the lifecycle system. Your server is fully operational and the confirmation button is intentionally disabled to prevent unnecessary early confirmations. This design choice ensures that all users experience a consistent cycle length and that the system accurately reflects genuine ongoing activity rather than anxious repeated clicking. The green zone is your window to focus entirely on developing and maintaining your bot without any lifecycle-related concerns.
Day 8-11: Amber zone
Your timer shows 7 days or less. The confirmation button becomes active.
- Click "Confirm Server" to reset to 14 days
- Confirmation is 100% FREE
- No tokens required
The amber zone is the recommended window for performing your confirmation. As soon as you enter this zone, the confirmation button activates and you can reset your timer with a single click. There is no advantage to waiting longer once the button is available. Confirming during the amber phase gives you the most comfortable margin and means you will not need to worry about your server for another full two weeks. If you have multiple servers, the amber zone gives you a four-day window to log in and confirm all of them at your convenience.
Day 12-14: Red zone
Critical! Only 3 days or less remaining. Time to confirm your server.
- Urgent visual indicators
- Button is active and ready
- One click extends for another 14 days
Reaching the red zone means your server is approaching deletion and immediate action is recommended. The dashboard interface changes its visual styling to draw your attention to the urgency of the situation. While your server continues to operate normally during this phase, the risk of accidental expiration increases with each passing hour. If you find yourself regularly entering the red zone, consider setting a recurring reminder on your phone or calendar so that you can confirm during the amber window instead. The red zone exists as a safety net, not as a target.
Day 15+: Deletion
If the timer reaches zero without confirmation, your server will be automatically deleted.
- Server is removed to free up resources
- Plenty of warnings before this happens
- Easy to avoid by confirming regularly
Server deletion is permanent. Once the timer expires and the server is removed, the associated data, configuration, and runtime environment are all cleared from our systems. You would need to create a new server and redeploy your bot from scratch. This is why the system provides such a generous two-week window and multiple visual warnings at the amber and red stages. In practice, deletion only occurs when a server has been genuinely abandoned by its owner. Any user who is even occasionally active on the platform will have no difficulty keeping their servers alive.
Everything you need to stay active
The lifecycle system has been designed to be as unobtrusive as possible while still serving its purpose of identifying inactive servers. Every aspect of the interface, from the colour-coded zones to the single-click confirmation, was built with user convenience in mind. Below are the key features that make managing your server lifecycle straightforward and stress-free.
100% free
Confirmation costs absolutely zero tokens. Never pay to keep your server alive.
14-day cycle
Plenty of time to confirm your server. Check in once every 2 weeks and you're set.
Always visible timer
Check your countdown anytime in the Lifecycle tab. Know exactly where you stand.
Color-coded status
Green, amber, and red zones instantly show your server's status at a glance.
One-click confirmation
Takes 2 seconds to extend for another 14 days. Simple and straightforward.
Automatic reminders
Visual indicators change color to remind you when it's time to confirm.
Understanding Server Resource Management
Every server on MonkeyBytes is allocated a defined set of resources when it is created. These resources include CPU processing time, RAM allocation, and persistent disk storage. The specific amounts depend on the server type and any additional resource packs the user has applied through the token credits system. Understanding how these resources work helps explain why the lifecycle system is important and how it benefits the entire community.
Our physical infrastructure consists of dedicated hardware nodes that each support a fixed number of concurrent servers. When a server is created, its resource allocation is reserved on one of these nodes. Even if a bot is idle and not actively processing commands, the reserved memory and disk space remain committed to that server. This means that an abandoned server with a bot that nobody is using still prevents those resources from being available to a new user who genuinely needs them.
The lifecycle system directly addresses this by reclaiming resources from servers that are no longer actively maintained. When a server expires and is deleted, its CPU, memory, and disk allocations are returned to the shared pool and become available for new server creation. This process keeps our nodes running efficiently and ensures that wait times for new server provisioning remain low even as our user base grows.
Resource monitoring on MonkeyBytes is handled through the dashboard, where you can view your server's current CPU and memory usage in real time. These metrics help you understand whether your bot is performing within its allocated limits. If your bot consistently approaches its resource caps, you may want to optimise your code or consider applying additional resource credits to increase your allocation. Conversely, if your bot uses very little of its allocation, that is perfectly normal for smaller bots that primarily respond to commands rather than performing continuous background processing.
It is also worth understanding that resource allocation is not the same as resource consumption. Your server is guaranteed access to its allocated resources, but it only consumes what it actually needs at any given moment. Idle bots use minimal CPU and a baseline amount of memory to keep the process alive. This efficient model allows us to host a large number of servers on each node, but only as long as abandoned servers are cleared out regularly through the lifecycle system.
Tips for Long-Term Bot Maintenance
Keeping your Discord bot healthy over weeks, months, and years requires more than just confirming your server lifecycle. While the lifecycle system ensures your server stays active on our platform, the long-term reliability of your bot depends on regular maintenance practices that address code quality, dependency management, and operational awareness.
One of the most important habits to develop is keeping your bot's dependencies up to date. Whether you are running a Node.js bot with npm packages or a Python bot with pip modules, the libraries your bot relies on receive regular updates that include security patches, bug fixes, and compatibility improvements. Outdated dependencies can introduce vulnerabilities or cause unexpected failures when Discord updates its API. Set a reminder to check for dependency updates at least once a month and test your bot after applying them to ensure nothing breaks.
Monitoring your bot's logs is another critical maintenance practice. The MonkeyBytes dashboard provides access to your server's console output, where you can see error messages, warnings, and general runtime information. Reviewing these logs periodically helps you catch issues before they become serious problems. A small error that appears once an hour might not seem urgent, but over time it could indicate a memory leak, a failing API call, or a logic bug that will eventually crash your bot.
Discord itself evolves continuously, with new features, API versions, and gateway changes rolling out throughout the year. Major Discord library updates, such as new versions of discord.js or discord.py, sometimes introduce breaking changes that require you to update your bot's code. Staying informed about these changes through your library's changelog or community channels helps you plan updates before they become urgent. A proactive approach to Discord API changes prevents situations where your bot suddenly stops functioning after a deprecation deadline passes.
If your bot stores any persistent data, such as user preferences, server configurations, or command statistics, make sure you have a backup strategy in place. While MonkeyBytes servers include persistent disk storage, having an external backup of your important data files or database adds an additional layer of protection. You can periodically download your data files through the dashboard's file manager or use your bot's code to export data to an external location.
Finally, consider documenting your bot's setup process and configuration requirements. If you ever need to redeploy your bot, whether due to a lifecycle expiration, a platform migration, or simply setting up a development copy, having clear notes about environment variables, file structure, and startup commands saves significant time and frustration. A simple text file in your bot's project directory listing the steps to get it running from scratch is one of the most valuable maintenance investments you can make.
Best practices to avoid server deletion
Following a few simple habits will ensure that your server never reaches expiration. The most common reason servers get deleted is not that the owner stopped caring about their bot, but that they simply forgot to log in during a busy period. The tips below are designed to help you build a routine that makes lifecycle confirmation second nature.
Add a recurring reminder on your phone or calendar for every 10-12 days. This way you'll never miss a confirmation.
Make it a habit to open the Lifecycle tab when you log in to the dashboard. The timer is always visible.
Don't wait until red zone. Confirm as soon as the button becomes active at 7 days or less.
Each server has its own timer. Make sure to confirm all of your servers before they expire.
How to confirm
Go to your server's Lifecycle tab in the dashboard. The countdown timer and confirmation button are right there.
The confirmation process is intentionally simple. Once you navigate to the Lifecycle tab, the current state of your timer is displayed prominently along with the colour-coded zone indicator. If the confirmation button is active, clicking it immediately resets your timer to the full fourteen days. There is no secondary confirmation dialog or waiting period. The entire process, from opening the dashboard to completing the confirmation, typically takes less than ten seconds.
- Open your server in the dashboard
- Click the "Lifecycle" tab
- See the countdown timer
- Click "Confirm Server" when amber or red
- Timer resets to 14 days
Frequently asked questions
Below are answers to the most common questions we receive about the lifecycle system. If your question is not covered here, visit our main FAQ page for additional information or reach out through our community channels for direct support.
Does confirmation cost tokens?
No! Confirmation is 100% FREE. You never pay tokens to keep your server alive. It's just a simple activity check.
What happens if I forget to confirm?
If the timer reaches 0:00, your server will be automatically deleted. However, you get plenty of warnings - the timer goes amber at 7 days and red at 3 days.
Can I confirm early?
The button only becomes active when you have 7 days or less remaining. This ensures the system works fairly for everyone.
Where do I confirm my server?
Go to your server's Lifecycle tab in the dashboard. You'll see the countdown timer and confirmation button there.
Does this affect existing servers?
Yes, all servers are on the lifecycle system. Your current servers already have their timers running, so check your Lifecycle tab to see your remaining time.
Can I disable the lifecycle timer?
Only admins can disable timers for specific servers. Regular users need to confirm every 14 days to keep their servers active.
Manage your server lifecycle today
Check your server timers and confirm them to keep everything running smoothly. It takes 2 seconds and keeps your bots online.
Whether you are a new user setting up your first Discord bot or a long-time member managing multiple servers, the lifecycle system works the same way for everyone. Log in to your dashboard, navigate to the Lifecycle tab for each of your servers, and confirm any that are in the amber or red zone. Building this into your regular routine ensures uninterrupted hosting for all of your bots with minimal effort on your part.
Confirmation checklist
- Open dashboard
- Select your server
- Click "Lifecycle" tab
- Check timer status
- Click "Confirm Server" if amber/red
- Timer resets to 14 days