When cells are starved, the enzyme TOR is inhibited, inducing autophagy. In this process, autophagosomes sequester intracellular components and then fuse with lysosomes, producing autolysosomes in which cargo is degraded to regenerate nutrients. Now, a mechanism is revealed by which lysosomes are re-formed. When starvation conditions are prolonged, mTOR is re-activated; this attenuates autophagy and results in tubules and vesicles extruding from the autolysosome and maturing into functional lysosomes.