From a529418a09bd605ab481c2e0947b47f178387d5c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: caesarsage <destinyerhabor6@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:07:55 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] fix(start): reconcile instance status against container
 runtime before trusting it

Signed-off-by: caesarsage <destinyerhabor6@gmail.com>
---
 cmd/start.go                       | 21 ++++++++++++++++++---
 pkg/connectors/container_client.go | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cmd/start.go b/cmd/start.go
index 828acc1b..b560bc33 100644
--- a/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/start.go
@@ -47,9 +47,24 @@ microcks start --name [name of you container/instance]`,
 				instance = &config.Instance{}
 			}
 
-			if instance.Status == "Running" {
-				fmt.Printf("Microcks instance with name %s is already running", name)
-				return
+			// The recorded status can drift from reality: a system restart,
+			// autoRemove or a manual `docker rm` removes the container while
+			// the config still says Running/Exited. Reconcile before trusting it.
+			if instance.Status != "" && instance.ContainerID != "" {
+				instanceDriver := instance.Driver
+				if instanceDriver == "" {
+					instanceDriver = driver
+				}
+				containerClient, err := connectors.NewContainerClient(instanceDriver)
+				errors.CheckError(err)
+				exists, err := containerClient.ContainerExists(instance.ContainerID)
+				containerClient.CloseClient()
+				errors.CheckError(err)
+				if !exists {
+					fmt.Printf("Container for instance %s no longer exists, recreating it\n", name)
+					instance.Status = ""
+					instance.ContainerID = ""
+				}
 			}
 
 			switch instance.Status {
diff --git a/pkg/connectors/container_client.go b/pkg/connectors/container_client.go
index 05a08da6..0201c20f 100644
--- a/pkg/connectors/container_client.go
+++ b/pkg/connectors/container_client.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ type ContainerClient interface {
 	CreateContainer(opts ContainerOpts) (string, error)
 	StartContainer(containerId string) error
 	StopContainer(continerId string) error
+	ContainerExists(containerId string) (bool, error)
 	CloseClient() error
 }
 
@@ -157,6 +158,21 @@ func (cli *containerClient) StopContainer(containerId string) error {
 	return cli.cli.ContainerStop(ctx, containerId, container.StopOptions{Timeout: &noWaitTimeout})
 }
 
+// ContainerExists reports whether the container is still known to the
+// runtime. "No such container" is a regular outcome here, not an error,
+// so callers can reconcile stale config entries.
+func (cli *containerClient) ContainerExists(containerId string) (bool, error) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	_, err := cli.cli.ContainerInspect(ctx, containerId)
+	if err != nil {
+		if client.IsErrNotFound(err) {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}
+
 func (cli *containerClient) CloseClient() error {
 	return cli.cli.Close()
 }