# Reload the config

> Apply config changes without a restart; only what changed touches the sessions.

```sh
ansage reload          # or SIGHUP, or systemctl reload ansage
```

A reload re-reads the file and applies only what changed:

| Change                                                               | Effect                                                 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| added neighbor                                                       | connects                                               |
| removed neighbor                                                     | gets Cease 6/3                                         |
| changed neighbor                                                     | reconnects with Cease 6/6                              |
| new `import`, `export`, `default_route`, or a changed filter it uses | applied to the running session, see below              |
| new `description` or `install`                                       | nothing on the wire                                    |
| own prefixes                                                         | follow the difference between the old and the new file |

Because own prefixes follow the difference, a prefix withdrawn at runtime stays withdrawn.

A new export policy re-checks every route for that neighbor and sends only the difference. For a
new import policy, ansage asks the neighbor to send its routes again (ROUTE-REFRESH), so the new
filter sees them all; a neighbor without route refresh is reconnected instead. `ansage reload` lists these
neighbors under "Neighbors updated without reconnecting". To see what a changed filter will do
before you reload, use [`ansage test --offline`](/docs/guides/test.md#before-a-change---offline).

> **Needs a restart:** `asn`, `router_id`, `listen`, `control_socket` and `metrics_listen` need a restart; a reload
> that changes them is refused as a whole, like an invalid file.

The installer applies a new config the same way: checked with the new binary, then reloaded.