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Slots control how many scrapers lobstr.io can run in parallel across all your Squids at the same time. Each active scraper process uses one slot. Your plan determines your total slot limit, and you can see your current usage on the lobstr.io dashboard home page.

What is a slot?

A slot is used when a Squid is actively running. More precisely, each Squid has a slots setting that controls how many scrapers it launches simultaneously to work through your task list. Each of those scrapers counts as one slot against your account limit. You can sync as many accounts as you like — slots are only consumed while scraping is actively in progress. Synced accounts that are not currently running a Squid do not use any slots. Example: On the Business plan, you have 30 slots. That means you can have up to 30 scrapers running concurrently across all your Squids at the same time.

How your total slot count is calculated

Your total slot usage is the sum of the slots setting across all your currently active Squids.
SquidSlots setting
Squid A1
Squid B4
Squid C1
Squid D1
Squid E4
Total11
In this example, 11 of your plan’s available slots are in use.

Viewing your slot count

Your current slot usage is displayed on the lobstr.io home page after you log in. The counter shows how many slots are in use out of your plan’s total.

Freeing up slots

If you’re approaching your slot limit and need capacity for another Squid, you can deactivate any Squid you’re not currently using. Deactivating a Squid immediately releases its slots.
1

Go to your Squids dashboard

Navigate to your Squids list from the lobstr.io dashboard.
2

Select the Squid to deactivate

Click the Squid you want to pause.
3

Set it to inactive

Click Change Status to > Inactive. Your total slot count updates immediately.
You can reactivate the Squid at any time and your slot count will adjust accordingly.
If you regularly need more concurrent capacity than your current plan allows, upgrading your plan is the most straightforward solution. Alternatively, stagger your Squid schedules so they don’t all run at the same time.