# My space was paused and 503 when restart **URL:** \ **Category:** Beginners\ **Created:** [December 12, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474 "2025-12-12T15:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![35gplx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/439d5e/32.png) [@35gplx](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/35gplx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/1 "2025-12-12T15:05:03Z")
after just a few minutes after I created my new space,my space was paused and 503 when restart. ID:Root=1-693c2f0a-648372ed194a28d5316eb464 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/original/2X/d/de4155eb4aa4108ecb32a1389d7cc37ae69f88b7.png) [@system](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/2 "2025-12-12T15:05:04Z")
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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/original/2X/d/de4155eb4aa4108ecb32a1389d7cc37ae69f88b7.png) [@system](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/3 "2025-12-13T02:06:12Z")
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**Author:** ![mfajcik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/mfajcik/32/57681_2.png) [@mfajcik](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/mfajcik)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/4 "2026-02-02T11:25:38Z")
Same issue for our [BenCzechMark](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/) space. Any solution? ---
**Author:** ![John6666](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/john6666/32/27664_2.png) [@John6666](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/John6666)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/5 "2026-02-03T01:15:54Z")
That information alone isn’t enough to pinpoint the issue, but I recalled that Spaces’ default settings have been acting strangely lately, so I’m passing this along. For some reason, the Python version is set to `3.13`, which differs from the documentation… Adding `python_version: “3.10”` to `README.md` should create build conditions similar to those in 2025: ```auto --- title: 🇨🇿 BenCzechMark emoji: 📊 colorFrom: gray colorTo: blue sdk: gradio sdk_version: 4.42.0 python_version: "3.10" app_file: app.py ``` ---
**Author:** ![mfajcik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/mfajcik/32/57681_2.png) [@mfajcik](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/mfajcik)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/6 "2026-02-04T10:14:40Z")
Thank you for looking into it. I tried adding an explicit Python interpreter version. Restart/Factory Rebuild still produces ```auto 503 Something went wrong when restarting this Space. Request ID: Root=1-69831bb9-4871e7833794d02c2cb7a365 ``` Perhaps you could determine a specific issue from the log corresponding to the request id? Is there any more information I could provide? ---
**Author:** ![John6666](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/john6666/32/27664_2.png) [@John6666](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/John6666)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 10:37am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/7 "2026-02-04T10:37:53Z")
Only HF staff can tell anything from the request ID… Your space’s code is quite resilient to server-side changes. Even if I look for flaws, the only possibilities I can find are things like `bokeh` not being pinned, the contents of environment variables, or errors related to other datasets or servers it references… Anyway, if it doesn’t boot for some reason, I think it’ll result in a 503. If that’s logged in your container logs, I think we can pinpoint the cause. * * * ### “503 – Something went wrong when restarting this Space” This is a _generic_ front-end error that usually happens when Hugging Face cannot successfully complete one of these phases: 1. **Build phase fails** (dependency install, environment setup). 2. **Container starts but crashes** immediately (Python exception, missing env var, import error, etc.). 3. **Container stays up but never becomes “healthy”** (less common for Gradio; more common for Docker / wrong port / wrong host binding). The only reliable way to distinguish (1)/(2)/(3) is the Space’s **Open Logs → Build logs / Container logs**. HF’s docs explicitly point to these two log streams for debugging. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-docker-first-demo "Your First Docker Space: Text Generation with T5")) * * * ## The most likely failure points for _your_ Space (based on the repo) ### 1) Missing required environment variables (hard crash at import time) Your code reads several env vars with `os.environ["..."]`. If any are missing, Python raises `KeyError` and the container will crash immediately → restart yields 503. In `app.py`: - `HF_SPACE_TOKEN = os.environ["HF_SPACE_TOKEN"]` - `HF_SPACE_ID = os.environ["HF_SPACE_ID"]` ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/app.py "app.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) In `server.py`: - `HF_TOKEN = os.environ["HF_TOKEN"]` - `HF_RESULTS_DATASET = os.environ["HF_RESULTS_DATASET"]` ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/server.py "server.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) **Why this matters:** even if the Space used to work, a rebuild/restart can expose missing secrets (or a renamed variable) instantly. **Workaround (code-hardening):** - Replace `os.environ["X"]` with `os.environ.get("X")` and fail _gracefully_ with a clear UI message (or disable affected features) instead of crashing the whole app. ### 2) Dataset download/auth failure on startup (token / permissions / typo) `LeaderboardServer. __init__ ()` runs on import in `app.py` and immediately calls `results_dataset_integrity_check()` and `update_leaderboard()`. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/app.py "app.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) `update_leaderboard()` calls `_update_models_and_tournament_results()`, which calls `snapshot_download(... token=HF_TOKEN ...)` into `local_dir="./"`. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/server.py "server.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) If: - `HF_RESULTS_DATASET` is wrong (typo, renamed dataset), - `HF_TOKEN` is invalid/expired, - the dataset became private/restricted to a different org, - hub requests fail due to transient infra/network, then startup can fail → Space can’t restart (503). **Workarounds:** - Temporarily wrap `snapshot_download` in `try/except` and show an “upstream unavailable” message while letting the UI boot. - Confirm that `HF_TOKEN` has permission to read/write the dataset repo referenced by `HF_RESULTS_DATASET`. ### 3) Self-restart loop if an external host is unreachable (can keep the Space perpetually unstable) Your UI includes logic to restart the Space if an external endpoint is not reachable: - `check_significance_is_reachable_hook()` calls `check_significance_is_reachable()` - If false: it sleeps 10s then calls `api.restart_space(repo_id=HF_SPACE_ID, token=HF_SPACE_TOKEN)` ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/app.py "app.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) - A timer periodically triggers this hook (`gr.Timer(...).tick(...)`). Separately, `server.py`’s `check_significance_is_reachable()` hits a fixed URL on `czechllm.fit.vutbr.cz`. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/server.py "server.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) If HF egress/DNS intermittently fails to that host (or that host is down), your app may repeatedly restart itself. This can look like “it never stays up” and can manifest as frequent 503s to users. **Workaround (strongly recommended):** - Do **not** restart the entire Space when the endpoint is down. - Instead: disable only the significance feature, show a warning banner, and retry with exponential backoff. ### 4) Dependency drift triggered by a rebuild (very plausible given your `requirements.txt`) Your `requirements.txt` is mostly pinned — except the last line: **`bokeh` is unpinned**. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/requirements.txt "requirements.txt · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) Your code uses Bokeh to generate HTML/iframes (e.g., `bokeh.embed.file_html(...)`, `CDN.render()`, etc.). ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/server.py "server.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) If a recent commit caused a rebuild (even a README edit), pip will install the _latest_ Bokeh at rebuild time. If Bokeh introduced a breaking change relative to what your code previously ran with, you can get a startup crash (or a crash during leaderboard generation) that did not exist before. **Workaround:** - Pin Bokeh to a known-good version (example: `bokeh==`). - Even better: generate `requirements.txt` via `pip-compile` / constraints to avoid “one unpinned package breaks everything”. ### 5) YAML/config typos or HF “restrictions” Your README metadata looks structurally correct for a Gradio Space (`sdk: gradio`, `app_file: app.py`, `python_version: '3.10'`, etc.). ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/README.md "README.md · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) So a simple YAML typo is _less likely_ here. Policy restrictions are possible in general, but nothing in this repo obviously screams “blocked category”. In practice, restrictions usually come with an explicit moderation banner or a message from HF; if you didn’t get that, treat it as lower probability. * * * ## Can I determine the specific issue from the Request ID? Not from the outside. That `Request ID: Root=...` is an internal tracing identifier. It can help **Hugging Face staff** locate the failing backend operation, but it’s not enough for external debugging without access to HF’s logs. What _you_ can provide that will usually pinpoint it in minutes: - **Build logs** (first failure; pip errors; resolution conflicts) - **Container logs** (Python traceback; missing env var; import error; HTTP failures) HF’s docs and forum guidance consistently point to “Open Logs → Build / Container” as the primary debugging path. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-docker-first-demo "Your First Docker Space: Text Generation with T5")) * * * ## Concrete triage plan for _your_ repo (fastest path to root cause) 1. **Open Logs → Build** 2. **Open Logs → Container** 3. **Quick workaround to get _something_ running** 4. **If logs show nothing useful and restart still fails** * * * ## Similar cases & useful references (with context) ### HF forum threads matching the same symptom (“paused + 503 restart”) - **“Can’t restart or rebuild the space”** (Oct 2025): same generic 503 restart failure reported; suggests checking logs and considering infra issues. ([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/cant-restart-or-rebuild-the-space/169109 "Can't restart or rebuild the space")) - **“Spaces Docker Build Pauses and 503 Error on Restart”** (Dec 2025): illustrates that “503 on restart” often means the container never gets healthy or crashes. ([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/spaces-docker-build-pauses-and-503-error-on-restart/171149 "Spaces Docker Build Pauses and 503 Error on Restart")) - **“HF Space Stopped Working After Pinning”** (Dec 2025): rebuild after a change caused breakage; consistent with dependency drift / infra sensitivity. ([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/hf-space-stopped-working-after-pinning/171484 "HF Space Stopped Working After Pinning")) - **“The Space Does not Restart”** (Nov 2025): explains the meaning of “Paused + 503 restart” and the usual build/runtime failure interpretation. ([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/the-space-does-not-restart/170406 "The Space Does not Restart - Beginners")) - **“My space was paused and 503 when I restart”** (Dec 2025): shows common root causes (startup/health/port patterns), though more Docker-focused. ([Hugging Face Forums](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-i-restart/171477 "My space was paused and 503 when I restart - Beginners")) ### Official docs you’ll likely use while fixing it - **Debugging via Build logs and Container logs** (HF docs). ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-sdks-docker-first-demo "Your First Docker Space: Text Generation with T5")) - **CPU-basic sleep behavior (~48h inactivity)**. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/docs/hub/en/spaces-gpus "Using GPU Spaces")) - **Managing Space runtime and state via `huggingface_hub` (restart/pause/sleep time, etc.)**. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/docs/huggingface_hub/en/package_reference/space_runtime "Managing your Space runtime")) * * * ## Most probable causes 1. **One of the required env vars is missing or renamed** (`HF_TOKEN`, `HF_RESULTS_DATASET`, `HF_SPACE_TOKEN`, `HF_SPACE_ID`). ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/app.py "app.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) 2. **`HF_TOKEN` no longer has correct permissions** for `HF_RESULTS_DATASET`, causing `snapshot_download` to fail at startup. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/server.py "server.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) 3. **External endpoint reachability triggers a restart loop** (your code explicitly restarts the Space when unreachable). ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/app.py "app.py · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) 4. **Rebuild pulled a new incompatible Bokeh** because `bokeh` is unpinned. ([Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark/blob/main/requirements.txt "requirements.txt · CZLC/BenCzechMark at main")) ---
**Author:** ![mfajcik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/mfajcik/32/57681_2.png) [@mfajcik](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/mfajcik)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/8 "2026-02-09T13:43:10Z")
Unfortunately, I do not think the issue lies in repo directly. We had a parallel repo turned on, with the exactly same code: [🇨🇿 BenCzechMark - a Hugging Face Space by CZLC](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark-unstable) - and it was working fine (except for the python version issue you pointed out, which we fixed in both repos now). The problem is that current repo even has empty log. Due to inactivity from huggingface support, we decided to simple create a new space [🇨🇿 BenCzechMark - a Hugging Face Space by CZLC](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark) with a same functionality. Unfortunately, we lost likes and traffic info. ---
**Author:** ![mfajcik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/mfajcik/32/57681_2.png) [@mfajcik](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/mfajcik)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 1:45pm UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/9 "2026-02-09T13:45:01Z")
Just in case, we also kept old space alive (though still not functional ☹ ). Available here": > **[🇨🇿 BenCzechMark - a Hugging Face Space by CZLC](https://huggingface.co/spaces/CZLC/BenCzechMark-faulty_space)** > > Submit your model details and results to be ranked on a leaderboard. Users need to provide team name, model name, parameters, and other details. The app will display the leaderboard, scatter plot, ... ---
**Author:** ![michellehbn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/michellehbn/32/58964_2.png) [@michellehbn](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/michellehbn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 8:28am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/10 "2026-02-13T08:28:21Z")
Hi, Thanks for reporting. You’ll need to update the version of next.js to latest or a fixed version per [https://nextjs.org/blog/CVE-2025-66478](https://nextjs.org/blog/CVE-2025-66478). Let us know if you run into further issues - happy to help! ---
**Author:** ![John6666](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/hellohellohello/user_avatar/discuss.huggingface.co/john6666/32/27664_2.png) [@John6666](https://discuss.huggingface.co/u/John6666)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 10:26am UTC](https://discuss.huggingface.co/t/my-space-was-paused-and-503-when-restart/171474/11 "2026-02-13T10:26:42Z")
Thanks, michellehbn!