> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sitectl.libops.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# lifecycle

> Build, start, stop, inspect, and roll out an ArchivesSpace stack with core sitectl commands.

export const Compose = () => <Tooltip headline="Compose" tip={<>
        Docker Compose is Docker's tool for defining and running multi-container applications.{" "}
        <a href="https://docs.docker.com/compose/">https://docs.docker.com/compose/</a>.
      </>}>
    <>
      <Icon icon="docker" />
      {" "}
      Compose
    </>
  </Tooltip>;

ArchivesSpace does not define its own lifecycle commands. Like every application
plugin, an ArchivesSpace stack is built, started, stopped, inspected, and rolled out
with the **core** `sitectl` commands, which operate on whichever context is active:

```bash theme={null}
sitectl create archivesspace   # scaffold the stack and its context
sitectl compose build          # build images
sitectl compose up -d          # start the stack
sitectl compose ps             # service status
sitectl compose logs -f        # follow logs
sitectl compose down           # stop the stack
sitectl deploy                 # pull updates and restart (rollout)
```

The downstream Dockerfile builds from `libops/archivesspace:4.2.0`. The companion Solr image uses the same ArchivesSpace release tag (`libops/archivesspace-solr:4.2.0`) so application and search configuration stay aligned. With the template default `ASPACE_DB_MIGRATE=true`, container startup runs ArchivesSpace's `scripts/setup-database.sh` before launching the application. `sitectl deploy` pulls dependencies, rebuilds the downstream application layer, and requires a bounded 10-minute service health wait after restart, so a startup migration that prevents ArchivesSpace from becoming healthy fails the deploy.

Before changing either release tag, back up MariaDB and the user-owned `archivesspace-data` volume, and verify a restore. Update the application and companion Solr tags together; a mixed release can start while still carrying incompatible search configuration. Do not disable `ASPACE_DB_MIGRATE` during a version change unless the release's documented migration procedure explicitly replaces the automatic setup step.

The ArchivesSpace plugin does not register the generic `dev-mode` component because broad plugin, locale, or stylesheet mounts can hide content bundled in the base image. Add customizations through the tracked downstream build context or narrowly target one customization path in a local override.

ArchivesSpace is not a PHP/nginx application runtime. Its ingress component retains generic Traefik router, hostname, scheme, trusted-forwarder, and entrypoint timeout changes, but opts the application service out of shared `PHP_*` and `NGINX_*` environment values and removes stale `PUBLIC_URL`. An upload or timeout setting is end to end only when the ArchivesSpace backend itself has a separately documented matching control.

`sitectl archivesspace ...` is reserved for ArchivesSpace-specific operations, including the
[API helpers](/plugins/archivesspace/api), [resource shortcuts](/plugins/archivesspace/resources),
and [container scripts](/plugins/archivesspace/scripts). General <Compose /> lifecycle
stays in the core CLI so the same operational contract applies to every stack.

See [`sitectl create`](/commands/create), [`sitectl compose`](/commands/compose), and
[`sitectl deploy`](/commands/deploy) for the full lifecycle reference.