From 3b9a3226f3b2963bc16d978e7f3b2ff36c3f8822 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: sjmiller609 <7516283+sjmiller609@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2026 16:37:43 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Correct standby idle time to ten seconds --- browsers/standby.mdx | 4 ++-- index.mdx | 2 +- integrations/docker-sandboxes.mdx | 2 +- introduction/create.mdx | 2 +- overview/why-kernel.mdx | 2 +- 5 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/browsers/standby.mdx b/browsers/standby.mdx index a15bbcd2..fa66ec8d 100644 --- a/browsers/standby.mdx +++ b/browsers/standby.mdx @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: "Standby Mode" Kernel browsers enter standby mode during periods of inactivity. When a browser goes into standby mode, the browser's state remains the same but incurs zero usage costs. -Kernel browsers automatically enter standby after `five seconds` with no activity. After it enters standby, the browser's [timeout](/browsers/termination#automatic-deletion-via-timeout) countdown begins. +Kernel browsers automatically start entering standby after `ten seconds` with no activity. After it enters standby, the browser's [timeout](/browsers/termination#automatic-deletion-via-timeout) countdown begins. A browser is considered active while any of the following is happening: @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ A browser is considered active while any of the following is happening: - A [telemetry stream](/browsers/telemetry/streaming) is connected - A [computer controls](/browsers/computer-controls) API request is in flight (clicks, keypresses, screenshots, etc.) -Any of the above resets the standby idle timer. As soon as none are active for five seconds, the browser enters standby. +Any of the above resets the standby idle timer. Once none are active for ten seconds, the browser starts entering standby. That's the minimum idle time before standby can start. Usage is billed until the transition completes, which can take several more seconds. See [here](/browsers/termination) to learn about destroying browsers. GPU-accelerated browsers do not support standby mode. diff --git a/index.mdx b/index.mdx index 16fa4821..1a718630 100644 --- a/index.mdx +++ b/index.mdx @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ a unikernel carries the browser and nothing else, so there's little to boot or k - **lifecycle actions are fast.** a browser is created in about 30ms at p50 and 105ms at p99 ([benchmarks](https://www.kernel.sh/benchmarks)), so you can create one per task instead of keeping a warm pool alive to hide start-up time. - **code on the vm is safe to hand an agent.** every browser is its own vm, isolated at the hypervisor rather than sharing a host kernel with other tenants, so the [browser repl](/browsers/repl), [process execution](/browsers/process-execution), and root access over [ssh](/browsers/ssh) stay contained to that session. -- **idle browsers go into standby.** five seconds after the last client disconnects, a browser enters [standby](/browsers/standby): it keeps its state and stops accruing usage cost until a client reconnects. +- **idle browsers go into standby.** ten seconds after the last client disconnects, a browser starts entering [standby](/browsers/standby): it keeps its state and stops accruing usage cost until a client reconnects. ## open source diff --git a/integrations/docker-sandboxes.mdx b/integrations/docker-sandboxes.mdx index c08f9d41..41a95c36 100644 --- a/integrations/docker-sandboxes.mdx +++ b/integrations/docker-sandboxes.mdx @@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ The kit tells your agent to delete browsers when it's done. To delete a browser sbx exec kernel-demo kernel browsers delete ``` -A browser with nothing connected to it enters [standby](/browsers/standby) after five seconds, which stops billing, and Kernel deletes it when its timeout elapses (60 seconds by default). See [Termination & timeouts](/browsers/termination) for details. +A browser with nothing connected to it starts entering [standby](/browsers/standby) after ten seconds, which stops billing, and Kernel deletes it when its timeout elapses (60 seconds by default). See [Termination & timeouts](/browsers/termination) for details. Besides your stored key and its approval in `credentials.yaml`, the kit doesn't leave anything on your host. To remove your key and the sandbox, run: diff --git a/introduction/create.mdx b/introduction/create.mdx index e210da28..00308435 100644 --- a/introduction/create.mdx +++ b/introduction/create.mdx @@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ An acquired browser returns the same fields as one you created directly, so the ## Lifecycle -A browser stays alive as long as something is driving it — a CDP or WebDriver client, a [Live View](/browsers/live-view) viewer, or an in-flight [computer controls](/browsers/computer-controls) request. After five seconds with none of those active, it enters [standby](/browsers/standby) — state is preserved, billing stops. Once in standby, after the configurable timeout (60s by default) elapses it's deleted. +A browser stays alive as long as something is driving it — a CDP or WebDriver client, a [Live View](/browsers/live-view) viewer, or an in-flight [computer controls](/browsers/computer-controls) request. After ten seconds with none of those active, it starts entering [standby](/browsers/standby) — state is preserved, billing stops. Once in standby, after the configurable timeout (60s by default) elapses it's deleted. We recommend you delete a browser explicitly when you're done with it: diff --git a/overview/why-kernel.mdx b/overview/why-kernel.mdx index 6134de15..8274363e 100644 --- a/overview/why-kernel.mdx +++ b/overview/why-kernel.mdx @@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ You can. Running one Chrome locally is easy, and it's the right call while you'r | Isolation | Keep one session's page, files, and processes away from every other session on the same host | Each browser is a [microVM](/info/unikernels) with its own kernel and filesystem | | Bot detection | You maintain the patches, the fingerprints, and a proxy contract | [Anti-detection](/browsers/bot-detection/overview) on every browser, plus a managed solver and [proxies](/proxies/overview), including bring-your-own | | Sensitive credentials | Keep passwords and card details out of your agent's context and logs, and run the secret store that holds them | [Vaults](/vaults/overview) store sensitive information and fill it into the page without the values passing through your agent, [managed auth](/auth/overview) handles logins end to end, and [profiles](/browsers/profiles) persist state across sessions | -| Idle cost | Avoid paying for a running browser while you wait for end-user input | [Standby mode](/browsers/standby) suspends the browser and stops usage charges 5 seconds after the last client disconnects | +| Idle cost | Avoid paying for a running browser while you wait for end-user input | [Standby mode](/browsers/standby) starts suspending the browser 10 seconds after the last client disconnects, which stops usage charges | | Debugging a failure | Add your own logging and screen recording, then try to reproduce the failure | [Live view](/browsers/live-view), [replays](/browsers/replays), and [telemetry](/browsers/telemetry/overview) for the session that actually failed | | Scaling | Provision more hosts, then build the autoscaling, image pipeline, and cleanup jobs around them | [Upgrade your plan](/info/pricing) to raise your [concurrency limit and browser create rate](/browsers/concurrency-and-limits), with custom limits on Enterprise. | From b2b2b737ae7b7ffbb91caaeabbbd1c1327999a5a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Steven Miller Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2026 11:40:00 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Apply suggestion from @sjmiller609 --- browsers/standby.mdx | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/browsers/standby.mdx b/browsers/standby.mdx index fa66ec8d..b1c9ddbd 100644 --- a/browsers/standby.mdx +++ b/browsers/standby.mdx @@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ A browser is considered active while any of the following is happening: - A [telemetry stream](/browsers/telemetry/streaming) is connected - A [computer controls](/browsers/computer-controls) API request is in flight (clicks, keypresses, screenshots, etc.) -Any of the above resets the standby idle timer. Once none are active for ten seconds, the browser starts entering standby. That's the minimum idle time before standby can start. Usage is billed until the transition completes, which can take several more seconds. +Any of the above resets the standby idle timer. Once none are active for ten seconds, the browser starts entering standby. That's the minimum idle time before standby can start. Usage is billed until the transition completes, which may take several more seconds. See [here](/browsers/termination) to learn about destroying browsers. GPU-accelerated browsers do not support standby mode.