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For production hosts, begin with an enable-label allow-list and monitor-only mode. Apply automatic restarts only to services with a tested rollback path. Leave --cleanup disabled until you have decided how to recover the previous version.
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What Watchtower does
Watchtower runs beside the containers it manages. At each polling event it checks the configured image for a newer version. When an eligible update is found, it pulls the new image and carries out the documented replacement and restart behavior for that container. The container’s existing configuration, including its environment, mounts, networks, and restart policy, is used as the basis for recreating it.
Eligibility and timing are separate decisions. Timing determines when Watchtower looks for changes; selection determines which containers it is allowed to inspect and update. Keeping those decisions explicit prevents a broad Docker host from becoming an unintended all-at-once deployment.
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Before you deploy
- Run Watchtower on the same Docker host as the containers it will manage, or provide access to that host’s Docker API through your normal secured Docker API mechanism.
- Confirm that each image can be pulled by the host, including registry authentication where a private registry is involved.
- Record how each important service is rolled back before enabling automatic replacement. A newer image can contain an application migration or configuration change that needs human review.
- Choose one timing mode: a seconds-based interval or a six-field cron schedule. Do not configure both.
- Decide whether Watchtower should update every discovered container or only containers carrying an explicit enable label.
The Docker socket is a powerful control interface. Mount it only into the Watchtower service that requires it, protect the host, and use the least broad Docker API exposure that fits your deployment.
Run Watchtower with a polling interval
The default polling interval in the current Watchtower argument reference is 86400 seconds, or 24 hours. You can state that value explicitly so the maintenance policy is visible in your deployment rather than relying on a default.
docker run -d
--name watchtower
--restart unless-stopped
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
containrrr/watchtower
--interval 86400This example starts Watchtower as a detached container, keeps it running after a Docker restart, mounts the local Docker API socket, and checks once every 24 hours. Replace the image reference with the Watchtower image reference approved for your environment if your deployment uses a private mirror.
For a different cadence, pass the number of seconds to --interval. The equivalent environment variable is WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVAL. Set it in the Watchtower container’s environment when your platform manages arguments separately from the service definition.
Schedule updates in a maintenance window
Use --schedule when updates should run at a predictable clock time rather than after a fixed number of seconds. Watchtower uses a six-field Cron expression. The documented example 0 0 4 * * * runs daily at 04:00.
docker run -d
--name watchtower
--restart unless-stopped
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
-e TZ=Etc/UTC
containrrr/watchtower
--schedule "0 0 4 * * *"Set TZ to the timezone that should govern the schedule. Without an intentional timezone choice, a maintenance window can occur at an unexpected local time when the host and the operator use different timezone settings.
--schedule and --interval are alternatives. Configure exactly one of them. In environment-variable form, choose either WATCHTOWER_SCHEDULE or WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVAL, not both.
Choose which containers may change
Updating all discovered containers
Without an enable-label allow-list, Watchtower can inspect the containers visible through the Docker API and update those that meet its other selection rules. This is convenient for a disposable development host, but it is a risky default on a host that also runs databases, queues, or customer-facing services.
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Using an enable-label allow-list
For a production-sensitive host, start Watchtower with --label-enable (or WATCHTOWER_LABEL_ENABLE=true). In this mode, only containers carrying the exact label com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable=true are selected.
Add the label to a service only after its owner has approved automatic updates, defined an observation window, and tested a rollback. A Compose service can carry the label like this:
services:
web:
image: example/web:stable
labels:
com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable: "true"
watchtower:
image: containrrr/watchtower
volumes:
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
command: --label-enable --schedule "0 0 4 * * *"
environment:
TZ: Etc/UTCThe label belongs on the application container, not only on the Watchtower service. Containers without the exact enabled value remain outside this allow-list.
Observe updates without applying them
Monitor-only mode is the safest first run for a sensitive service. Start Watchtower with --monitor-only. It checks for newer images, sends configured notifications, and invokes pre- and post-update hooks, but it does not perform the update.
docker run -d
--name watchtower-observer
--restart unless-stopped
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
containrrr/watchtower
--label-enable
--monitor-only
--schedule "0 0 4 * * *"Use this mode to establish which images would change and when, then inspect the logs or notification output during several scheduled runs. It is particularly useful for databases and other stateful services whose image updates require a migration check, a backup verification, or a human approval.
Monitor-only does not make a new image active. It provides visibility while leaving the running container untouched, so plan a separate, controlled change when you decide to apply an update.
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- At the selected interval or scheduled time, Watchtower checks the configured image for a newer image.
- If the image has changed and the container is eligible, Watchtower pulls the replacement image.
- Watchtower stops and recreates the container according to its documented update behavior, normally restarting it with the new image.
- Docker applies the container’s configured mounts, networks, environment, and restart policy to the replacement.
- Watchtower reports the result through its logs and any notification or hook configuration you have enabled.
A successful image pull is not the same as a healthy application. Check the service’s own readiness signal, logs, dependent services, and externally visible behavior after an update window.
When you must avoid an automatic restart
Pass --no-restart when Watchtower should not automatically restart an updated container. This separates obtaining the new image from activating it, which can be useful when an operator must coordinate a restart with a maintenance procedure.
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Because the running process is not automatically restarted, do not treat a no-restart run as a completed deployment. The host may have the newer image available while the service continues running its previous process. Schedule and execute the required restart through your normal change process, then verify the resulting container.
Use this option deliberately for each service. A blanket no-restart policy can leave several containers on mixed image versions, making dependency troubleshooting harder.
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With --cleanup, Watchtower removes the old image after it restarts a container with the new image. This limits accumulated image storage, but it also removes the immediately previous image from the local cache.
Leaving cleanup disabled preserves that local image for a quick rollback, subject to available disk space and the registry’s continued availability. If you enable cleanup, retain another rollback method: a known image tag or digest, a registry copy, a host snapshot, or a documented redeployment procedure. An image remaining in the cache is not a substitute for a database backup or an application-level recovery plan.
docker run -d
--name watchtower
--restart unless-stopped
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
containrrr/watchtower
--label-enable
--schedule "0 0 4 * * *"
--cleanupDo not add cleanup merely to make a successful run look tidy. Decide first how you will restore the previous image if the new container fails its health checks.
Special caution when Watchtower updates itself
Watchtower can be included among the containers it observes. The current documentation warns about combining --no-restart and --cleanup during a Watchtower self-update: the old Watchtower container can be renamed while a new one is not started, leaving the renamed instance running without starting a replacement.
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Configuration patterns
| Decision | Configuration | Operational effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed elapsed time | --interval 86400 or WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVAL |
Checks every configured number of seconds; the documented default is 86400 seconds. |
| Maintenance window | --schedule "0 0 4 * * *" or WATCHTOWER_SCHEDULE |
Checks daily at 04:00 according to the configured TZ. |
| Allow-list selection | --label-enable plus com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable=true |
Only explicitly labeled containers are monitored and updated. |
| Visibility without deployment | --monitor-only |
Checks, notifies, and runs hooks without applying the update. |
| Suppress automatic restart | --no-restart |
Obtains the update without automatically restarting the container. |
| Remove the prior image | --cleanup |
Deletes the old image after replacement, reducing local storage but limiting immediate image rollback. |
The table’s timing rows are mutually exclusive: choose the interval row or the schedule row. The action and storage rows can be combined, but review their interaction before applying them to production.
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Compose deployment with a safer rollout
A staged Compose configuration can keep observation and application as separate changes. First run a labeled service with monitor-only mode:
services:
app:
image: example/app:stable
labels:
com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable: "true"
watchtower:
image: containrrr/watchtower
volumes:
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
environment:
WATCHTOWER_LABEL_ENABLE: "true"
WATCHTOWER_SCHEDULE: "0 0 4 * * *"
WATCHTOWER_MONITOR_ONLY: "true"
TZ: Etc/UTCAfter reviewing the observed changes and confirming a rollback method, remove monitor-only behavior and redeploy the Watchtower service during an approved window. Keep the label allow-list in place. Add cleanup only after the first applied updates have passed your service checks and you have accepted the resulting rollback trade-off.
Do not configure WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVAL in this schedule-based example. If your platform instead uses an interval, remove the schedule variable and set the poll interval in seconds.
Verify that automation is behaving as intended
Confirm Watchtower is running
Check that the Watchtower container is up and that its logs show the expected timing configuration. A service that exits immediately cannot perform a scheduled update, even if the application containers are healthy.
Confirm Docker API access
Inspect the Watchtower service definition and verify that the intended Docker API mechanism is available inside the container. A missing or inaccessible socket prevents discovery, image pulls, and container replacement.
Confirm selection
For an allow-list deployment, verify the exact label spelling and value on every intended application container. A label on a Compose file is useful only if it is present on the created container.
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Confirm timing
Check whether you configured an interval or a cron schedule, not both. For a schedule, compare the host’s displayed time with the TZ value and remember that 0 0 4 * * * means 04:00 in that configured timezone.
Confirm the result
After an update window, compare the running container’s image identity with the image you intended to deploy, then review application logs and health checks. If monitor-only mode was enabled, expect visibility but no replacement.
Troubleshooting common outcomes
No containers are selected
If Watchtower is running with --label-enable, inspect the application container labels first. The exact enabled label is com.centurylinklabs.watchtower.enable=true. Also confirm that the Watchtower process can see the same Docker host where those containers run.
The check occurs at the wrong time
Look for both timing settings and remove one. Then verify TZ and the six fields in the Cron expression. A fixed interval is measured in seconds and does not represent a wall-clock maintenance window.
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The image changes but the service does not
Check whether --no-restart was set or whether the service is running in monitor-only mode. The former suppresses automatic restart; the latter suppresses the update itself. Apply the appropriate controlled restart or change to activate the image.
Rollback is no longer immediate
If --cleanup removed the previous local image, use the retained registry tag or digest, snapshot, or redeployment procedure you established before enabling cleanup. Do not assume the deleted cache entry can be recovered from Docker alone.
Watchtower disappears during its own update
Review whether self-update was combined with both --no-restart and --cleanup. The documented warning covers this combination. Manage Watchtower separately or remove the conflicting options, then verify the container list and logs.
Production checklist
- Run Watchtower with the intended Docker API access and protect that access as a host-level control.
- Choose one schedule:
--interval/WATCHTOWER_POLL_INTERVALor--schedule/WATCHTOWER_SCHEDULE. - Set
TZwhen a cron window must follow a specific local timezone. - Use
--label-enableand label only services that have an approved maintenance and rollback plan. - Begin sensitive services in
--monitor-onlymode and inspect logs, notifications, and hooks. - Apply updates during a maintenance window and verify application health afterward.
- Use
--no-restartonly when a separate, explicit restart procedure exists. - Enable
--cleanuponly after deciding how to restore the previous image. - Keep Watchtower’s own update path separate when the no-restart and cleanup combination could affect it.
Which setup should you choose?
Development or disposable host
An interval-based Watchtower service that can inspect all discovered containers is the simplest arrangement when interruptions and image churn are acceptable. Keep cleanup optional until you know how much disk space image history consumes.
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Small production host
Use a cron maintenance window, enable-label selection, and an initial monitor-only period. Once the observed updates are acceptable, remove monitor-only mode and retain a documented rollback path.
Stateful or high-impact service
Keep the service outside automatic application until its owner has reviewed the image change. Monitor-only mode supplies update visibility without changing the running container. If an update is later approved, coordinate image activation, data backups, migrations, health checks, and rollback independently of Watchtower’s polling schedule.
Bottom line
Auto-updating with Watchtower is a policy decision, not just a command-line switch. Give the service controlled Docker API access, choose either an interval or a six-field cron schedule, and use enable labels to create an explicit production allow-list. Monitor sensitive containers before applying changes, understand that --no-restart delays activation, and remember that --cleanup trades disk savings for the loss of the immediately cached rollback image.
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