Restart Docker Container Shell Script

Compose stacks sometimes leave a container Exited (127) until someone runs docker start. This script restarts by name when status is not running — with cooldown to avoid restart loops.

What this script does

Takes container name as argument
Checks docker inspect state
Restarts when not running or health is unhealthy
Cooldown file limits rapid restarts
Logs to /var/log/docker-restart.log

Prerequisites

Docker CLI
User in docker group or root
Container name must be exact

Step 1: Save the script

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/docker-restart.sh
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-restart.sh

Step 2: Full script (scroll to read)

docker-restart.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

NAME="${1:?usage: docker-restart.sh CONTAINER_NAME}"
COOLDOWN_SEC="${COOLDOWN_SEC:-120}"
STATE="/var/run/docker-restart-${NAME}.state"
LOG="/var/log/docker-restart.log"

log(){ echo "[$(date '+%F %T')] $NAME $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }

if ! docker inspect "$NAME" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  log "FAIL no such container"
  exit 2
fi

status=$(docker inspect -f '{{.State.Status}}' "$NAME")
health=$(docker inspect -f '{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}none{{end}}' "$NAME")
log "status=$status health=$health"

need_restart=0
[[ "$status" != "running" ]] && need_restart=1
[[ "$health" == "unhealthy" ]] && need_restart=1

if (( ! need_restart )); then
  log "OK"
  exit 0
fi

now=$(date +%s)
last=$(cat "$STATE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
if (( now - last < COOLDOWN_SEC )); then
  log "SKIP cooldown"
  exit 0
fi

log "restarting"
docker restart "$NAME"
echo "$now" >"$STATE"
log "restart issued"

Scroll inside the box to read the full script.

Step 3: Configure settings

Health checks: Docker health script
Cleanup: Docker cleanup
Prefer compose restart: policies for permanent fix

Shell script restarting Docker container

Step 4: Test manually

./docker-restart.sh my-nginx

docker inspect -f '{{.State.Status}}' my-nginx

Schedule with cron

sudo crontab -e

Add:

*/5 * * * * /usr/local/bin/docker-restart.sh myapp-web >> /var/log/docker-restart.log 2>&1

Restart Docker Container Shell Script Linux (docker ps, Health)