---
title: Enabling and scheduling maintenance mode
intro: 'Some standard maintenance procedures, such as upgrading {% data variables.product.product_location %} or restoring backups, require the instance to be taken offline for normal use.'
redirect_from:
  - /enterprise/admin/maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/categories/maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/articles/maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/articles/enabling-maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/articles/disabling-maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/guides/installation/maintenance-mode/
  - /enterprise/admin/installation/enabling-and-scheduling-maintenance-mode
  - /enterprise/admin/configuration/enabling-and-scheduling-maintenance-mode
  - /admin/configuration/enabling-and-scheduling-maintenance-mode
versions:
  ghes: '*'
type: how_to
topics:
  - Enterprise
  - Fundamentals
  - Maintenance
  - Upgrades
shortTitle: Configure maintenance mode
---
## About maintenance mode

Some types of operations require that you take {% data variables.product.product_location %} offline and put it into maintenance mode:
- Upgrading to a new version of {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %}
- Increasing CPU, memory, or storage resources allocated to the virtual machine
- Migrating data from one virtual machine to another
- Restoring data from a {% data variables.product.prodname_enterprise_backup_utilities %} snapshot
- Troubleshooting certain types of critical application issues

We recommend that you schedule a maintenance window for at least 30 minutes in the future to give users time to prepare. When a maintenance window is scheduled, all users will see a banner when accessing the site.

![End user banner about scheduled maintenance](/assets/images/enterprise/maintenance/maintenance-scheduled.png)

When the instance is in maintenance mode, all normal HTTP and Git access is refused. Git fetch, clone, and push operations are also rejected with an error message indicating that the site is temporarily unavailable. GitHub Actions jobs will not be executed. Visiting the site in a browser results in a maintenance page.

![The maintenance mode splash screen](/assets/images/enterprise/maintenance/maintenance-mode-maintenance-page.png)

## Enabling maintenance mode immediately or scheduling a maintenance window for a later time

{% data reusables.enterprise_site_admin_settings.access-settings %}
{% data reusables.enterprise_site_admin_settings.management-console %}
2. At the top of the {% data variables.enterprise.management_console %}, click **Maintenance**.
  ![Maintenance tab](/assets/images/enterprise/management-console/maintenance-tab.png)
3. Under "Enable and schedule", decide whether to enable maintenance mode immediately or to schedule a maintenance window for a future time.
    - To enable maintenance mode immediately, use the drop-down menu and click **now**.
    ![Drop-down menu with the option to enable maintenance mode now selected](/assets/images/enterprise/maintenance/enable-maintenance-mode-now.png)
    - To schedule a maintenance window for a future time, use the drop-down menu and click a start time.
    ![Drop-down menu with the option to schedule a maintenance window in two hours selected](/assets/images/enterprise/maintenance/schedule-maintenance-mode-two-hours.png)
4. Select **Enable maintenance mode**.
  ![Checkbox for enabling or scheduling maintenance mode](/assets/images/enterprise/maintenance/enable-maintenance-mode-checkbox.png)
{% data reusables.enterprise_management_console.save-settings %}

## Scheduling maintenance mode with {% data variables.product.prodname_enterprise_api %}

You can schedule maintenance for different times or dates with {% data variables.product.prodname_enterprise_api %}. For more information, see "[Management Console](/enterprise/{{ currentVersion }}/user/rest/reference/enterprise-admin#enable-or-disable-maintenance-mode)."

## Enabling or disabling maintenance mode for all nodes in a cluster

With the `ghe-cluster-maintenance` utility, you can set or unset maintenance mode for every node in a cluster.

```shell
$ ghe-cluster-maintenance -h
# Shows options
$ ghe-cluster-maintenance -q
# Queries the current mode
$ ghe-cluster-maintenance -s
# Sets maintenance mode
$ ghe-cluster-maintenance -u
# Unsets maintenance mode
```