tendbotDocker containers
If your site runs in Docker, each part lives in its own container. A container that keeps restarting or has quietly stopped can take a part of your site down without any obvious error on the server itself.
- At a glance
- Group
- Availability
- Tendbot
- Can fix it
- What it does
- Restarts the container and explains why it failed.
- Approval
- Always with your OK, or your access mode
What you’ll notice
- A container’s status says “Restarting” or “Exited”
- Part of the site, like the API or background jobs, stops working
- The site works for a minute, then fails again
- A container shows as “unhealthy”
Why it usually happens
- The app inside crashes on start because of a settings error
- It runs out of memory and gets stopped
- A service it depends on, like the database, isn’t ready
- The disk is full, often from old images and logs
Fix it yourself
How to fix it by hand
Comfortable with a terminal? Here’s what an experienced admin would do. Start with the read-only commands.
- 01
List all containers
Look at the status column for “Restarting” or “Exited”.
docker ps -a - 02
Read a container’s logs
Replace my-app with the container’s name.
docker logs --tail 100 my-app - 03
Check how it exited
An exit code of 137 usually means it ran out of memory.
docker inspect --format "{{.State.ExitCode}} {{.State.OOMKilled}}" my-app - 04
Check Docker’s disk use
Old images and build cache can fill the disk.
docker system df - 05
Restart the container
After fixing the cause, restart it and watch its status.
docker restart my-app && docker ps --filter name=my-app
With Tendbot
How Tendbot fixes it
- Watches your containers for restarts, exits and failing health checks.
- Reads the container’s logs and explains why it failed in plain English.
- Offers to restart the container — shown with its risk first, then verified afterwards.
- Flags Docker images and build cache that are eating disk space.
FAQ
Docker containers: common questions
Why does my Docker container keep restarting?
The app inside is crashing, and Docker’s restart policy keeps starting it again. Its logs almost always show the error — a missing setting, a database it can’t reach, or not enough memory.
What does exit code 137 mean?
The container was stopped because the server or Docker ran out of memory for it.
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