Fix Restart Policy in Docker: Container Solution (2026)
How to Fix “Restart Policy” in Docker (2026 Guide) The Short Answer To fix the “Restart Policy” issue in Docker and achieve an “unless-stopped” state, advanced users can directly modify the container’s restart policy using the Docker CLI command docker update --restart=unless-stopped <container_name>. This command ensures that the container will only restart unless it is explicitly stopped. Why This Error Happens Reason 1: The most common cause of this issue is that the default restart policy in Docker is set to “no” or another policy that does not meet the “unless-stopped” requirement. When a container is created without specifying a restart policy, it defaults to “no”, which means the container will not restart automatically after a failure or system reboot. Reason 2: An edge case cause is when the Docker daemon configuration overrides the container’s restart policy. For example, if the Docker daemon is configured with a global restart policy, it can override the policy set for individual containers. Impact: Container downtime and potential data loss can occur if the container is not configured to restart automatically when needed, leading to service disruptions and impacting overall system reliability. Step-by-Step Solutions Method 1: The Quick Fix Go to Docker Desktop > Settings > Docker Engine (for Docker Desktop users) or edit the /etc/docker/daemon.json file (for Linux users). Toggle the “Restart policy” option to “unless-stopped” for the specific container or set the global default to “unless-stopped”. Refresh the Docker service or restart the Docker daemon for the changes to take effect. Method 2: The Command Line/Advanced Fix To set the restart policy to “unless-stopped” for a container using the Docker CLI, run the following command: ...