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

# Study lifecycle

> Pause, resume, or stop a study before editing an active panel.

Panel studies that are currently fielding must be paused or stopped before you
edit them with `PUT /studies/{study_id}` or `PATCH /studies/{study_id}`.

## Draft and provisioned states

Creating a study does not require every launch setting. A partial study is returned with `provisioning_status: "draft"` and a `missing_requirements` array. Study names may contain at most 40 characters.

Once the name, study plan, voice, and language are present, saving the study automatically provisions its interviewer. A successful response then returns `provisioning_status: "provisioned"`. Do not create participants or launch panel recruitment before that state.

If a complete study returns `provisioning_status: "ready"`, it is configured but not yet provisioned. Retry a `PATCH` with its current complete settings. Launch endpoints return `409 Conflict` with `code: "study_not_provisioned"` until provisioning succeeds.

## Pause a study

```http theme={null}
POST /api/public/v1/studies/{study_id}/pause
```

Pausing temporarily stops new responses. For panel studies, the existing
panel, recruitment progress, target cycle, and reward authorization
hold are preserved. Resume the study to continue the same panel.

## Resume a study

```http theme={null}
POST /api/public/v1/studies/{study_id}/resume
```

Resuming returns the preserved panel survey to fielding. It does not create a
replacement panel or a second reward hold.

## Stop a study

```http theme={null}
POST /api/public/v1/studies/{study_id}/stop
```

Stopping ends active or paused panel recruitment, closes the panel's target
cycle, and settles the reward hold. Any unused authorization is released.
Stopping is the appropriate choice when you do not intend to continue the
current panel.

## Editing an active panel

An edit request for a fielding panel returns `409 Conflict`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "detail": {
    "code": "active_panel_must_be_paused_or_stopped",
    "message": "This panel study is currently fielding. Pause or stop the study before editing it. Pausing preserves the panel hold; stopping settles and releases it.",
    "actions": {
      "pause": {
        "method": "POST",
        "endpoint": "/api/public/v1/studies/study_123/pause",
        "documentation_url": "https://docs.userintuition.ai/api-reference/study-lifecycle#pause-a-study"
      },
      "stop": {
        "method": "POST",
        "endpoint": "/api/public/v1/studies/study_123/stop",
        "documentation_url": "https://docs.userintuition.ai/api-reference/study-lifecycle#stop-a-study"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

After either action succeeds, retry the original edit request.