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How to Restart the Docker Daemon on Linux Safely

Use the correct systemd command for regular or rootless Docker, then verify the service. Learn what a restart can do to containers and when reload may work instead.
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On a systemd-managed Linux host, restart the regular Docker Engine service with sudo systemctl restart docker. For rootless Docker managed by systemd, use systemctl --user restart docker. A daemon restart can stop running containers, so check the impact before running either command.

Choose the command for your Docker installation

First identify whether Docker runs as a regular system service or as a rootless user service, and whether systemd manages it. The commands below apply to those systemd setups; other service managers and custom installations may use different procedures.

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Regular Docker Engine service

For a system-wide Docker Engine installation managed by systemd, run:

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sudo systemctl restart docker

This restarts the Docker daemon service. Docker documents this procedure for Linux systemd installations: Docker Engine daemon start and stop.

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Rootless Docker service

For rootless Docker managed by the systemd user service, run this as the user who owns the Docker service, without sudo:

systemctl --user restart docker

Docker’s rootless service is located at ~/.config/systemd/user/docker.service by default and is managed with systemctl --user. Rootless configuration can also follow XDG_CONFIG_HOME, so its paths may differ when that variable is set. See Docker rootless mode.

What a daemon restart means for running containers

By default, terminating the Docker daemon shuts down running containers. Plan for service interruption before restarting a production host; a restart is not inherently downtime-free.

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Live restore can reduce interruption, but is not a guarantee

Docker’s live-restore feature can keep standalone containers running while the daemon is unavailable. Its scope and compatibility are limited: it does not apply to Swarm services, changes to daemon-level options can prevent restoration, and upgrade support is limited to patch releases. If the daemon stays unavailable long enough, container log buffers can fill. Consult Docker’s live restore documentation before relying on it.

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Restart policies are a different feature

Container restart policies govern what happens when a container exits or Docker restarts; they are not the same as live restore. A restart policy should not be treated as a promise that containers will remain running while the daemon is down. See Docker container restart policies.

Decide whether a reload is enough

Use a full service restart when the change requires the daemon to restart. For supported Linux configuration changes, Docker documents reloading the daemon instead of restarting it:

sudo systemctl reload docker

When systemd is not managing the daemon, Docker documents sending SIGHUP to dockerd as the alternative. Reload is not a universal substitute: whether it applies depends on the setting. Docker describes these options in its daemon live-restore guidance and logging documentation.

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Verify that Docker recovered

After the command completes, check the service with your system’s service tools. On a systemd host, for the regular service run:

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sudo systemctl status docker.service

For rootless Docker, check the user service instead:

systemctl --user status docker.service

Docker recommends checking service status with operating-system utilities. Its Linux troubleshooting guidance also documents journalctl -xu docker.service for daemon logs: Docker daemon logs.

If Docker does not start

Inspect recent daemon logs to find the startup error. For the regular system service, this command shows entries from the last five minutes:

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sudo journalctl -u docker.service --since "5 minutes ago" --no-pager

A configuration error is one possible cause. The default daemon configuration file is /etc/docker/daemon.json for a regular installation and ~/.config/docker/daemon.json for rootless mode, subject to XDG_CONFIG_HOME in rootless setups. Docker warns that the daemon will not start if an option is specified both in daemon.json and as a daemon flag. Check the configuration and the Docker daemon configuration documentation before trying another restart.

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