> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bunny.net/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Restart Policy

> Understand when Magic Containers restarts a failed container, and how long it waits between the attempts.

If a container fails, Magic Containers restarts it automatically. You do not configure this behavior. The platform detects the failure in a few seconds.

## What counts as a failure

The platform restarts the container in these cases:

* The main process exits with a non-zero exit code.
* The application uses more memory than the [instance limit](/docs/magic-containers/limits), so the platform stops it (out of memory).
* The [startup or liveness health check](/docs/magic-containers/health-checks) fails as many times as its failure threshold.
* The application writes more than 10 GB to [ephemeral storage](/docs/magic-containers/limits), so the platform evicts the pod.

Exit codes 137 and 143 are an exception. They show that the process stopped after a stop signal, for example during a [graceful shutdown](/docs/magic-containers/graceful-shutdown). The platform treats these as an intentional stop, and not as a failure.

## Delay between the attempts

The platform waits a few seconds before each restart. The delay grows with each attempt:

| Attempt | Delay      |
| ------- | ---------- |
| 1       | About 6 s  |
| 5       | About 10 s |
| 10      | About 16 s |

The delay increases by approximately one second per attempt. It does not double.

<Info>
  A container that fails again and again therefore restarts quickly. The platform makes no long pause between the attempts.
</Info>

## When the platform stops the attempts

Each pod has a deadline for the restarts. The default deadline is different for a pod with a persistent volume. When the deadline expires, the platform stops the attempts, and it removes the pod.

## How to correct a restart loop

While the platform restarts the container, the application status stays **Processing**. Open the region, and then the pod, to read the error message and the live logs. For the steps, refer to [Troubleshooting](/docs/magic-containers/troubleshooting).

Correct the cause, and then deploy the new image or configuration. The platform creates new pods, and the restarts start again from the first attempt.

## Effect on your data

A restart gives the container a new, empty file system. Files in ephemeral storage are lost. Data on a [persistent volume](/docs/magic-containers/persistent-volumes) stays available.