# Computers

A computer is an isolated machine with a desktop, a shell and its own disk. Agents run commands on it, use its desktop and keep their work on its files.

## Create a computer

You give a computer its size when you create it, in `resources` and `storage`:

| Field                  | What it sets                        | Most    |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------- |
| `resources.vcpus`      | Virtual CPU cores                   | 8       |
| `resources.memory_mib` | Memory, in mebibytes                | 16 GiB  |
| `storage`              | The size its filesystem can grow to | 256 GiB |

Storage counts every byte the computer shows, including bytes it shares with the template or computer it came from.

## Between tasks

A computer has no start or stop for you to manage. When it is idle, it freezes: its processes stop where they are and it releases its vCPUs and memory. When work arrives, such as a command, it resumes with every process and file as it was.

Resuming takes a moment, so the first command after a pause can start a little later than the ones after it.

## What you pay for

| While the computer is | You pay for                                   |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| Running a task        | Active CPU, memory and storage                |
| Awake and idle        | Memory, storage and any CPU its processes use |
| Frozen                | Storage                                       |

Active CPU counts only the CPU time its code executes. See [Pricing](https://elios.ai/pricing).

## Status

| Status     | Meaning                                                |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `creating` | Elios is preparing it.                                 |
| `active`   | It is ready for work, whether awake or frozen.         |
| `deleting` | It is being deleted.                                   |
| `failed`   | It could not be created; `code` and `message` say why. |

## Next steps

* [Commands](/computer/concepts/commands): run shell commands on a computer
* [Templates](/computer/concepts/templates): prepare computers before an agent starts
* [Usage limits](/computer/concepts/usage-limits): act when a computer uses more than you expect