For an existing standalone container, run docker update --restart=<policy> <container>. The change takes effect immediately. For example, docker update --restart=unless-stopped my-app changes the policy on my-app without recreating it. Use docker ps -a to find the container name or ID, then verify the result with docker inspect and docker ps.
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Choose the policy before changing it
A restart policy controls what Docker does after a container process exits and, for some policies, after the Docker daemon starts again. It is not the same as an application supervisor: Docker can relaunch the container, but it does not diagnose why the process stopped or repair a failing application.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
no |
Never automatically. This is the default. | None | A manual stop leaves it stopped. | One-shot jobs, debugging, or workloads you start deliberately |
on-failure |
When the container process exits with a non-zero status. | Unlimited unless you add :max-retries, such as on-failure:3. |
A manually stopped container is not immediately brought back by the policy. | Services where an error exit should trigger recovery but a clean exit should remain stopped |
always |
Whenever the container stops, including normal exits. | Unlimited | Docker honors a manual stop until the daemon restarts or you start the container manually. | Containers expected to run continuously |
unless-stopped |
Like always for ordinary exits. |
Unlimited | If you stop it manually, it remains stopped after a Docker daemon restart. | Long-running services that should recover automatically but respect an administrator’s stop decision |
Docker applies an increasing delay between restart attempts. The documented sequence starts at 100 milliseconds and doubles until it reaches a maximum delay of one minute. If the container runs successfully for at least 10 seconds, Docker resets that backoff. These are Docker’s documented runtime values, not an independent performance benchmark.
Change an existing standalone container
1. Find the exact container
List running and stopped containers so you do not accidentally update the wrong instance:
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docker ps -aUse the value in the NAMES column, or copy the container ID. Names are easier to read in later commands, while IDs are useful when several containers have similar names.
2. Apply the new policy
Run docker update with the policy you selected:
docker update --restart=on-failure:3 my-appThe equivalent long command is:
docker container update --restart=on-failure:3 my-appReplace on-failure:3 with no, always, unless-stopped, or on-failure without a limit. Docker states that the new restart policy takes effect instantly after docker update runs; you do not need to recreate the container merely to change this setting.
3. Verify the configuration and recent behavior
Inspect the container and check its current state:
docker inspect my-app
docker ps -aThe inspect output contains the container’s restart-policy configuration. Docker also documents .RestartCount for the number of attempted restarts and .State.StartedAt for the most recent start time. A rising restart count indicates that the process is repeatedly exiting; changing the policy does not fix the underlying exit condition.
4. Test deliberately, if the service can tolerate it
For a maintenance window, stop and start the container yourself:
docker stop my-app
docker start my-appA manual stop is a special case. Docker does not immediately restart a container that you stopped intentionally; the policy is ignored until the daemon restarts or you start the container manually. With unless-stopped, the manually stopped state is also retained when the daemon restarts. With always, Docker can bring the container back when the daemon restarts.
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Set the policy when creating a container
If you are creating a new container from the command line, put the policy on docker run:
docker run -d --name my-app --restart=unless-stopped IMAGEIMAGE represents the image reference you intend to run. Omitting --restart selects no, so the container will not be relaunched automatically. Creation-time configuration is useful for scripts and documentation because the intended behavior is visible in the same command that creates the container.
Why --rm is incompatible with a persistent restart policy
A container created with --rm is automatically removed after it stops. Docker cannot maintain a persistent restart policy for an object that is deleted on exit, so you cannot update such a container with a persistent restart policy. If the workload needs automatic restarts, recreate it without --rm, then apply the desired --restart value at creation time or with docker update.
Limit restart attempts with on-failure
Use the optional retry count when an endless loop would hide a broken deployment or waste resources:
docker update --restart=on-failure:3 my-appThis tells Docker to retry after non-zero exits, up to three attempts. A clean exit (status 0) does not trigger this policy. Leaving off the number, as in on-failure, leaves the attempts unbounded.
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Restart limits count Docker’s restart attempts; they are not a health check and they do not distinguish a transient dependency outage from a permanent configuration error. Use docker inspect my-app to examine .RestartCount and the last .State.StartedAt value while investigating repeated failures. The documented backoff still applies between attempts, and a run lasting at least 10 seconds resets that backoff.
Understand always versus unless-stopped
These policies are similar during ordinary operation: either one can restart a container after it stops, including after a normal exit. The operational difference appears when an administrator stops the container and the Docker daemon later restarts.
always: Docker treats the container as something that should run again. A manual stop suppresses an immediate restart, but the container may be started again when the daemon restarts or when you rundocker start.unless-stopped: Docker remembers that you stopped the container. It does not automatically bring that container back after the daemon restarts until you start it yourself.
Choose unless-stopped for a host where an operator’s stop command should survive a reboot or daemon maintenance. Choose always when the container should return whenever Docker itself returns, unless you plan to manage the stop state manually.
Change a restart policy in Docker Compose
Use the service-level restart key
For a Compose-managed application, put the policy under the service that owns the container:
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image: example/app:latest
restart: unless-stoppedCompose supports no, always, on-failure with an optional maximum retry count, and unless-stopped for this service-level key. The setting belongs to the service, not at the top level of the file.
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Apply the edited file with a configuration operation
After saving compose.yml, run:
docker compose up -dThis lets Compose reconcile the running application with the edited configuration. Do not use docker compose restart as a way to load a changed YAML file. Docker explicitly documents that docker compose restart does not reflect configuration changes, including environment changes. If you already ran restart and the policy did not change, run docker compose up -d from the directory containing the edited file, then inspect the resulting container.
Compose files using the deploy specification
Some Compose deployments use the deploy specification rather than the ordinary service-level restart key. Its deploy.restart_policy can express:
- a condition:
none,on-failure, orany; - a delay between attempts;
- a maximum number of attempts; and
- an evaluation window.
These controls are meaningful only on deployment targets that support that specification. Do not assume that a deploy.restart_policy block is interchangeable with the service-level restart key in every local Compose workflow. Decide which deployment mode is actually running the workload, then configure the matching mechanism.
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A Swarm service is not managed like a standalone container. Change its restart controls with docker service update:
docker service update
--restart-condition on-failure
--restart-max-attempts 3
my-serviceSwarm exposes separate flags for the restart condition, delay, maximum attempts, and evaluation window:
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--restart-condition--restart-delay--restart-max-attempts--restart-window
Use docker update --restart=... for a container created directly with docker run. Use docker compose configuration for a Compose application, and use docker service update for a Swarm service. Applying a command from the wrong management layer will not configure the object you think it does.
Troubleshoot a policy that appears not to work
The container never restarts after you stopped it
This is expected immediately after docker stop. Docker suppresses the restart policy for a manually stopped container until the daemon restarts or you run docker start. If you need the service running again, start it explicitly. If you want the stopped state to persist through daemon restarts, use unless-stopped.
The container exits normally and stays stopped
Check the policy. on-failure reacts only to non-zero exits, so a process that exits with status 0 will remain stopped. Use always or unless-stopped when a normal exit should also result in another start.
The Compose edit did nothing
Confirm that you edited the Compose file used by the command, then run docker compose up -d. docker compose restart restarts existing containers but does not apply edited configuration, including environment changes.
The container is being removed instead of restarted
Check whether it was created with --rm. Automatic removal and a persistent restart policy are mutually exclusive. Recreate the container without --rm if it must survive an exit long enough for Docker to restart it.
It restarts repeatedly and the host appears busy
Inspect the container’s restart count and start time, then examine the application’s own logs and exit status. Docker’s backoff begins at 100 milliseconds, doubles between attempts, and tops out at one minute; a run of at least 10 seconds resets the delay. A restart policy controls relaunch timing, not the cause of the crash. Use a bounded policy such as on-failure:3 when repeated retries are not appropriate.
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A practical selection guide
- Use
nofor a container you start and stop as part of a manual workflow. - Use
on-failurewhen only error exits should trigger recovery; add a retry count when attempts must be bounded. - Use
alwaysfor a continuously running workload that should return with the Docker daemon. - Use
unless-stoppedfor a continuously running workload while preserving an operator’s deliberate stop across daemon restarts.
Once the policy is selected, apply it at the layer that owns the workload: docker update for an existing standalone container, docker run --restart for a new one, the Compose service configuration for Compose, or docker service update for Swarm.
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