I run 2 instances of binhex-radarr - one for my 1080p library, one for my 4k library

I can't seem to make it stable - every time I reboot the server it only starts one instance, the other is lost entirely from the Docker view
I've checked the xml files and both exist, can't see anything in the logs

Asking chatGPT it did suggest there can be issues with containers that connect to other container networks - all of my radar/sonarr etc.. instances connect to the binhex-qbittorrentvpn container to route any internet traffic through VPN - I can see when the array starts a bunch of "Error response from daemon: cannot join network of a non running container" - I don't think this is the route cause though as other containers start up fine, my 2nd radarr instance completely vanishes and I have to add it again from the .xml file

I have set "allow install of second instance" to Yes in community applications - I can't see any UI change though, not sure what this actually does

Are there any "best practice" guides for running multiple instances of the same docker image?

Edited December 16, 2025Dec 16 by PhilBarker

Are the names different?

And yes you must ensure correct start order, it's alphabetical by default but can be rearranged, any container dependent on another must start afterwards. Delays can be added to make sure the container has fully started before continuing.

Thanks

Yeah they’re named different.

I can’t think it’s related to run order because there’s simply no log for it even attempting to start

But I’ll sort run order out first and keep an eye on it

Using CA to run a 2nd app has always been difficult, and for most users this is the only way they know how to add containers... and don't know of the Unraid OS functionality for creating containers..

The best way to add additional containers is via Unraid's add container button on the docker page, and select the template for the container you already added (by CA).
Make sure you change the container name, ports and paths so they are different to the one already running.

Thank you!

That makes a lot of sense - when I added it through CA, it kept disappearing, so I kept re-adding it through CA

But the last time it disappeared I did what you suggest, add container button, selected the template
Since then it hasn't disappeared, I just hadn't put 2 and 2 together