---
title: "Pause the index rebuild process"
slug: "pause-the-index-rebuild-process"
abstract: "How to pause and continue a Sitecore index rebuild process."
---
# Pause the index rebuild process

The index rebuild process can be slow or affect the live indexing performance. In such cases, you might want to temporarily pause the process to scale-up resources or adjust some configurations. You can pause and continue a rebuild process with two PowerShell commands.

> [!note]
> The `Sitecore.XconnectSearchIndexer.exe` program exits after it has sent its command. It does not wait for the rebuild process to react or reply.

To pause a running rebuild process:

1. Go to the `<xConnect role root>\App_Data\job\continuous\IndexWorker\` folder.
2. Run the `Sitecore.XConnectSearchIndexer.exe -PauseRebuild` command. You can also use the shorter `-pr` argument.

To continue a paused rebuild process:

1. Go to the `<xConnect role root>\App_Data\job\continuous\IndexWorker\` folder.
2. Run the `Sitecore.XConnectSearchIndexer.exe -ContinueRebuild` command. You can also use the shorter `-cr` argument.

The `Sitecore.XconnectSearchIndexer.exe` program returns an error message if:

- You send a `PauseRebuild` command when there is no running rebuild process to pause.
- You send a `PauseRebuild` command when the running rebuild process is in its final stage.
- You send a `ContinueRebuild` command when there is no paused rebuild process to continue.