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

# Experiment Statuses

> Understand the lifecycle states an experiment moves through, from draft to completed, and what triggers each transition.

Every experiment carries a status that tells you whether it is running, waiting to run, or finished. Status also controls what you can do to the experiment — a published experiment cannot be edited or deleted, but it can be paused.

## Status Definitions

| Status        | What it means                                       | How it gets here                                                        |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft**     | Saved but never started.                            | You click **Save** without starting, or you pause a running experiment. |
| **Scheduled** | Started, but the start date is still in the future. | You click **Start Experiment** with a future start date.                |
| **Published** | Live and collecting data.                           | The start date arrives, or you start an experiment dated today.         |
| **Completed** | Finished collecting data.                           | The end date arrives, or you end it manually.                           |
| **Paused**    | Temporarily stopped.                                | You click **Pause** on a scheduled or published experiment.             |

## How Statuses Change

A scheduled experiment becomes published automatically. Experro checks for due experiments every three minutes.

Resuming a paused experiment sends it back to **Published** if the end date is still in the future. If the end date has already passed, it moves straight to **Completed**.

## Key Considerations

* Published, paused, and completed experiments are read-only. Clone the experiment to make changes.
* Published and paused experiments cannot be deleted. Pause first, or end the experiment.
* Cloning always produces a draft, with the start and end dates cleared.

<Warning>
  A draft whose end date has already passed cannot be started. Update the end date to a future date first, or the system rejects the start.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Because the scheduler runs every three minutes, an experiment whose start and end dates are less than three minutes apart may never publish. Widen the window and start it again.
</Note>

## What's Next

* [Manage Your Experiments](/experiments/managing_experiments/experiment_list)
* [Pause an Experiment](/experiments/managing_experiments/pause_an_experiment)
* [End an Experiment](/experiments/managing_experiments/end_an_experiment)