[BUG] Compose watch can recreate a depends_on service and leave it stuck in Created

[jackmpcollins]

Description

Compose watch/reconcile appears to mishandle depends_on when both the watched service and its dependency have develop.watch configured.

I reduced this to a minimal public repro in https://github.com/jackmpcollins/compose-watch-backend-recreate-repro

Current behavior:

• I run docker compose up --build --watch
• I touch only frontend/trigger.txt
• Compose reports that it is rebuilding frontend
• Compose also rebuilds/reconciles backend
• backend is recreated and then left stuck in Created
• frontend stays up, but requests return 502
• frontend logs show lookup backend on 127.0.0.11:53: no such host

Expected behavior:

• touching only the frontend trigger file should not strand backend
• either only frontend should be recreated, or if backend is touched by reconciliation it should come
  back up cleanly

This seems related to:

• [BUG] compose watch combined with depends_on can lead to failure of dependencies #11695
• [BUG] docker compose watch <service> ignores depdends_on definitions #11813
• [BUG] compose watch stops services using links and depends_on with restart: true #12814
• also (re)start dependent services after watch rebuilt image #12879

Steps To Reproduce

I reduced this to a minimal public repro in https://github.com/jackmpcollins/compose-watch-backend-recreate-repro

---

Setup

Minimal docker-compose.yml:

services:
  backend:
    build: ./backend
    develop:
      watch:
        - action: restart
          path: ./backend/Dockerfile

  frontend:
    depends_on:
      - backend
    build: ./frontend
    ports:
      - "3002:3000"
    develop:
      watch:
        - action: rebuild
          path: ./frontend/trigger.txt

backend/Dockerfile:

FROM hashicorp/http-echo:1.0.0

CMD ["-text=backend ok", "-listen=:8000"]

frontend/Dockerfile:

FROM caddy:2.10.2-alpine

COPY Caddyfile /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

frontend/Caddyfile:

:3000 {
      reverse_proxy backend:8000
}

frontend/trigger.txt:

touch me to trigger a frontend rebuild

Repro

Repro path 1:

docker compose down
docker compose up -d --build
docker compose watch frontend

Repro path 2:

docker compose down
docker compose up --build --watch

In another shell:

touch frontend/trigger.txt
docker compose ps
docker compose ps -a
curl -i http://localhost:3002/
docker compose logs --since=1m frontend

Observed watch output includes:

Rebuilding service(s) ["frontend"] after changes were detected...
Container <project>-backend-1 Recreate
Container <project>-backend-1 Recreated
Container <project>-frontend-1 Recreate
Container <project>-frontend-1 Recreated

With docker compose up --build --watch, I also see:

backend-1 has been recreated
backend-1 ... received interrupt, shutting down...
backend-1 exited with code 2

Observed broken state after that:

• docker compose ps no longer lists backend
• docker compose ps -a shows backend in Created
• curl http://localhost:3002/ returns 502
• frontend logs show lookup backend on 127.0.0.11:53: no such host

Ablation notes:

• removing backend.develop.watch makes the bug disappear
• removing frontend.depends_on makes the bug disappear
• removing frontend.develop.watch makes the bug disappear
• changing backend to a pure image: service makes the bug disappear
• the backend watch action does not need to be rebuild; restart is enough

Compose Version

Docker Compose version v5.1.1
Docker Compose version v5.1.1

Docker Environment

Client:
 Version:    29.3.1
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  agent: Docker AI Agent Runner (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.34.0
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-agent
  ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.20.1
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-ai
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.32.1-desktop.1
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v5.1.1
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.47
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-debug
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.3.0
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-desktop
  dhi: CLI for managing Docker Hardened Images (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.0.2
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-dhi
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.31
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-extension
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-init
  mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.40.3
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-mcp
  model: Docker Model Runner (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.1.28
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-model
  offload: Docker Offload (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.5.77
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-offload
  pass: Docker Pass Secrets Manager Plugin (beta) (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.0.24
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-pass
  sandbox: Docker Sandbox (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.12.0
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-sandbox
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-sbom
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.20.3
    Path:     /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-scout

Server:
 Containers: 2
  Running: 1
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 1
 Images: 37
 Server Version: 29.3.1
 Storage Driver: overlayfs
  driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Discovered Devices:
  cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: dea7da592f5d1d2b7755e3a161be07f43fad8f75
 runc version: v1.3.4-0-gd6d73eb8
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: builtin
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.12.76-linuxkit
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: aarch64
 CPUs: 12
 Total Memory: 23.43GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: 48c0ae5a-cc67-41ed-9230-7e1bc099096d
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=unix:///Users/jack/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/docker-cli.sock
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  ::1/128
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false
 Firewall Backend: iptables

Anything else?

No response

[paigefletcher1282-code]

Thanks for the detailed repro. I can confirm this happens when both a service and its dependency have develop.watch—the dependency can get recreated and stuck even if unchanged. Removing either develop.watch or depends_on avoids the issue. Looks like compose watch isn’t fully respecting unchanged dependencies in this case.

…

On Mon, Apr 6, 2026, 11:36 PM Jack Collins ***@***.***> wrote: *jackmpcollins* created an issue (docker/compose#13717) <#13717> Description Compose watch/reconcile appears to mishandle depends_on when both the watched service and its dependency have develop.watch configured. I reduced this to a minimal public repro in https://github.com/jackmpcollins/compose-watch-backend-recreate-repro Current behavior: - I run docker compose up --build --watch - I touch only frontend/trigger.txt - Compose reports that it is rebuilding frontend - Compose also rebuilds/reconciles backend - backend is recreated and then left stuck in Created - frontend stays up, but requests return 502 - frontend logs show lookup backend on 127.0.0.11:53: no such host Expected behavior: - touching only the frontend trigger file should not strand backend - either only frontend should be recreated, or if backend is touched by reconciliation it should come back up cleanly This seems related to: - #11695 <#11695> - #11813 <#11813> - #12814 <#12814> - #12879 <#12879> Steps To Reproduce I reduced this to a minimal public repro in https://github.com/jackmpcollins/compose-watch-backend-recreate-repro ------------------------------ Setup Minimal docker-compose.yml: services: backend: build: ./backend develop: watch: - action: restart path: ./backend/Dockerfile frontend: depends_on: - backend build: ./frontend ports: - "3002:3000" develop: watch: - action: rebuild path: ./frontend/trigger.txt backend/Dockerfile: FROM hashicorp/http-echo:1.0.0 CMD ["-text=backend ok", "-listen=:8000"] frontend/Dockerfile: FROM caddy:2.10.2-alpine COPY Caddyfile /etc/caddy/Caddyfile frontend/Caddyfile: :3000 { reverse_proxy backend:8000 } frontend/trigger.txt: touch me to trigger a frontend rebuild Repro Repro path 1: docker compose down docker compose up -d --build docker compose watch frontend Repro path 2: docker compose down docker compose up --build --watch In another shell: touch frontend/trigger.txt docker compose ps docker compose ps -a curl -i http://localhost:3002/ docker compose logs --since=1m frontend Observed watch output includes: Rebuilding service(s) ["frontend"] after changes were detected... Container <project>-backend-1 Recreate Container <project>-backend-1 Recreated Container <project>-frontend-1 Recreate Container <project>-frontend-1 Recreated With docker compose up --build --watch, I also see: backend-1 has been recreated backend-1 ... received interrupt, shutting down... backend-1 exited with code 2 Observed broken state after that: - docker compose ps no longer lists backend - docker compose ps -a shows backend in Created - curl http://localhost:3002/ returns 502 - frontend logs show lookup backend on 127.0.0.11:53: no such host Ablation notes: - removing backend.develop.watch makes the bug disappear - removing frontend.depends_on makes the bug disappear - removing frontend.develop.watch makes the bug disappear - changing backend to a pure image: service makes the bug disappear - the backend watch action does not need to be rebuild; restart is enough Compose Version Docker Compose version v5.1.1 Docker Compose version v5.1.1 Docker Environment Client: Version: 29.3.1 Context: desktop-linux Debug Mode: false Plugins: agent: Docker AI Agent Runner (Docker Inc.) Version: v1.34.0 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-agent ai: Docker AI Agent - Ask Gordon (Docker Inc.) Version: v1.20.1 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-ai buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.32.1-desktop.1 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.) Version: v5.1.1 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.) Version: 0.0.47 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-debug desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.3.0 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-desktop dhi: CLI for managing Docker Hardened Images (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.0.2 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-dhi extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.2.31 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-extension init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.) Version: v1.4.0 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-init mcp: Docker MCP Plugin (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.40.3 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-mcp model: Docker Model Runner (Docker Inc.) Version: v1.1.28 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-model offload: Docker Offload (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.5.77 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-offload pass: Docker Pass Secrets Manager Plugin (beta) (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.0.24 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-pass sandbox: Docker Sandbox (Docker Inc.) Version: v0.12.0 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-sandbox sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.) Version: 0.6.0 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-sbom scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.) Version: v1.20.3 Path: /Users/jack/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-scout Server: Containers: 2 Running: 1 Paused: 0 Stopped: 1 Images: 37 Server Version: 29.3.1 Storage Driver: overlayfs driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1 Logging Driver: json-file Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs Cgroup Version: 2 Plugins: Volume: local Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog CDI spec directories: /etc/cdi /var/run/cdi Discovered Devices: cdi: docker.com/gpu=webgpu Swarm: inactive Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 runc Default Runtime: runc Init Binary: docker-init containerd version: dea7da592f5d1d2b7755e3a161be07f43fad8f75 runc version: v1.3.4-0-gd6d73eb8 init version: de40ad0 Security Options: seccomp Profile: builtin cgroupns Kernel Version: 6.12.76-linuxkit Operating System: Docker Desktop OSType: linux Architecture: aarch64 CPUs: 12 Total Memory: 23.43GiB Name: docker-desktop ID: 48c0ae5a-cc67-41ed-9230-7e1bc099096d Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker Debug Mode: false HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal Labels: com.docker.desktop.address=unix:///Users/jack/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/docker-cli.sock Experimental: false Insecure Registries: hubproxy.docker.internal:5555 ::1/128 127.0.0.0/8 Live Restore Enabled: false Firewall Backend: iptables Anything else? *No response* — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#13717>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B7BB4JTUQ7G4HKEUBIRDLO34URZUDAVCNFSM6AAAAACXO4DUVWVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43ASLTON2WKOZUGIYTKMRUGA3TSNQ> . 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