Darkbloom provider stuck draining after a restart

Darkbloom 0.9.9 changed how the provider restarts. darkbloom start and darkbloom restart now drain first, so requests already accepted can finish. That protects in-flight work, but a restart that is cut short can leave the Mac drained: running, online, and serving nothing.

How draining works

New requests are refused as soon as the drain starts.
Requests already accepted are allowed to finish, for up to 600 seconds by default (--timeout).
Then the provider restarts with the new settings. --force skips the wait and cancels accepted requests.

Signs your provider is stuck drained

The provider process is running, but no paid requests arrive for a long time.
No model is warm in the provider’s status even though one is configured.
The last thing that happened was a restart, a model switch or a tool that restarts Darkbloom for you with a short time limit.

Fix

Run darkbloom restart and let it run to the end. Don’t interrupt it, and don’t wrap it in a script that gives up after a minute.
Run darkbloom status and check that a model is loaded and the provider is serving.
If a script or app restarts Darkbloom for you, make sure it waits at least as long as the drain timeout.

How Bloomkeeper helps

Bloomkeeper 1.36.48 and later waits out the drain when it switches models, and restores a provider it finds left drained.

Download Bloomkeeper, free for Mac

Questions

Why did my Darkbloom provider stop serving after a restart?

Since 0.9.9, restart drains first. If the drain is cut short or times out, the provider can remain drained and serve nothing until it is restarted again and allowed to finish.

How long does a Darkbloom restart take now?

Up to the drain timeout, 600 seconds by default, when requests are in flight. With no accepted requests it is much faster.

Should I use --force?

Only when you accept cancelling requests that are in progress. It skips the drain wait.

Updated 2026-09-26. Still stuck? Ask in #bloom-dash-optimizer on the Darkbloom Slack or contact us. Bloomkeeper is independent and not affiliated with Darkbloom.